2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Rwd on 2040-cars

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Share price falls on skepticism of Chrysler-Fiat five-year plan

Following this week's Fiat Chrysler extravaganza, where the Italian-American manufacturer announced its plans for the next five years, the Autoblog staff was cautiously optimistic of the company's future. Investors? Not so much.
Fiat saw its shares tumble 12 percent in Wednesday's trading, falling from 8.67 euros ($12.06 at today's rates) to 7.44 euros ($10.35) as of this writing, with blame partly going to the Italian half of the FCA marriage, which recorded a pretty significant drop in profits during the first quarter of this year.
The plan, which will cost around $77 billion over the next several years, is facing criticism from investors thanks in part to a 1.4-percent drop in Fiat's first-quarter profits, to 622 million euros ($862 million). That figure is also short of Bloomberg analysts' projections, which predicted $1.18 billion in profits before taxes, interest and one-time items.

2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Lusso Drivers' Notes | We've got a crush on Giulia

American car enthusiasts have pined over Alfa Romeos for decades. The automaker stopped importing cars to the U.S. in 1995, with only a brief appearance with the beautiful but exotic 8C Competizione. The 4C followed along a few years later, but it too was a niche product, mainly intended to raise brand awareness than raise sales. That's where the Giulia steps in. As a compact sport sedan, Giulia is Alfa's BMW 3 Series competitor. Sure, the Giulia Quadrifoglio might get all the headlines, but cars like the Giulia Ti Lusso and Sport will be the real volume models. This is an extremely cutthroat segment with high expectations when it comes to both luxury and performance. Alfa has been out of the game for a long time, and the reputation it left wasn't exactly the greatest. Alfa Romeo has a lot riding on this car. Associate Editor Reese Counts: I like this car right from the start. It's a looker. While I prefer colors that pop, the Giulia looks wonderful even in this metallic black paint. The proportions are all perfect, and that iconic grille has rarely looked better. If Alfa does one thing right, its the styling. I felt the same way about the interior. The design is all simple and clean. The seats are particularly nice, with Ferrari-esque ribs down the middle. I'm also a big fan of the wood and leather. Only some cheap feeling plastic bits brought it down. This Giulia has a middling transmission, a good engine and great steering. There's some weird low-speed hesitation from the eight-speed that makes it feel like a dual-clutch. Once you're on it, the shifts are quick and smooth. The Lusso doesn't come with paddle shifters. That's fine. Not every car needs them. Buy the Sport if you want that sort of thing. Power and torque come on quick and effortlessly. It feels every bit as its class-leading (four-cylinder) 280 horsepower and 306 pound-feet for torque would suggest. The 5,500 rpm redline comes in quick and abrupt, making me wish it had a little more room to breathe up top. The steering is wonderful. It's quick and precise but doesn't feel jittery. I'd have to drive the competition back to back, but I think this has the best steering in the class. The wheel feels nice in your hands. Some of the other touch points are a letdown, but Alfa got the driving position and controls just right. Not a , but still a . Good engine, better steering.

Car and Driver shows off awesome 1960s ads

Someone must have recently rediscovered the keys to the archives at Car and Driver, and the access has been put to good use. Following last month's fantastic look at automotive ads from the '50s, there's now a new gallery running from March 1960 through December 1969. This collection provides a great overview of a decade full of iconic cars. If you're a fan of Carroll Shelby, particularly his Mustangs, then there's a lot to love among this group. One ad from July 1965 aimed to sell the GT350, but with an ocean of text and a tiny picture, it probably could've used a once-over by Don Draper's team. By December '65, the copywriters ironed out the problems with a spot proclaiming boldly "Shelby GT350 is 'Son of Cobra.'" The company offered some great accessories, too. For those into European motoring, there's a humorous attempt to sell the Alfa Romeo Giulia as both a racecar and family hauler. Toyota also boasts about the winning record for the 2000GT. Among the best text comes from BMW for lines like: "What's BMW got? The most advanced high-performance engine in any production car, for a cruising speed of 100 mph." Of course, Volkswagen's famous "Lemon" ad for the Beetle also gets its due here. Separately, each of these ads is fascinating, but taken together they tell the story of a great decade of motoring. Go give them all a read at Car and Driver. Related Video: News Source: Car and DriverImage Credit: GM Heritage Center Marketing/Advertising Read This Alfa Romeo BMW Ford Toyota Volkswagen shelby alfa romeo giulia shelby gt350 toyota 2000gt