1978 Black Alfa Rameo Spider Convertible on 2040-cars

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‘Yee haw’ in Italian - Alfa Romeo Giulia is the Car of Texas

You can't underestimate the visceral pull of the new Giulia Quadrifoglio's 505 horsepower wrapped in Alfa Romeo's sweet, seductive sheetmetal. Autoblog said the hottest Giulia "puts some practical meat on the bone for American drivers bored of the usual Audi A4/Mercedes C-Class/ BMW 3 Series suspects." The Quadrifoglio delivers 60 mph in 3.8 seconds and laps the Nurburgring Nordschleife in just 7:32. This makes it - for the moment - the fastest four-passenger production car around the 12.9-mile circuit. Austin's Circuit of the Americas F1 venue isn't Germany's Nordschleife, but that's where the Texas Auto Writers Association gathered for its annual Spring Roundup - some 50 auto writers, broadcasters and bloggers evaluating 40-plus cars and crossovers in 11 categories, with best-of-class wins such as Performance Car of Texas, Family Car of Texas and – ultimately – best of show, the Car of Texas. In a vote as out of the blue as that one back in November, Giulia got the nod. When evaluating a Car of Texas at a track, the Giulia Quadrifoglio is a no-brainer. Beyond its brute power is a linear dynamic behind the wheel, even if the track's official road speed for this event was 60 miles per hour. Competing against it in the Performance Sedan category were the Dodge Charger R/T and SRT Hellcat, along with a Lexus GS F and VW Jetta GLI. Beyond its surfeit of power is the Giulia's raucous personality and – we'll admit – novelty. Many of the younger journalists at COTA had only vague memories of the brand. This was also, regrettably, a relatively weak grouping of performance machinery. The headliners – such as the Mercedes-AMG GT S and Nissan GT-R – were prominent, but cars most likely to be tagged a Car of Texas, such as a Shelby Mustang or hot Camaro, weren't. Ford brought only its Focus RS, and GM execs have deemed regional press events not worthy of their attention. Also, both BMW and Audi were no-shows, although – in defense of the Giulia – the M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63S were whipped by the Alfa in at least one recent hot sedan comparison. In short, Alfa swept a smallish field. But a win's a win, and every win bodes well for Alfa, even in a market where the first car is a truck, and the second car might be a second truck. Related Video: Auto News Alfa Romeo Ownership Luxury Performance Sedan no ribbon

You probably won't see FCA's famous Easter eggs on an Alfa Romeo

They started in Jeeps, with images of seven-slot grilles showing up on windshield edges, the text "SINCE 1941" appearing in the clear plastic of headlight units, and a relief map of Moab engraved into a rubber cubby liner. Then a Chrysler got a map of Detroit and the outline of Laguna Seca materialized near the Viper's window switch. We've come to call them Easter eggs, but Klaus Busse points out that they were never really meant to be secrets, just ways to dress up what he calls "dead plastic." He's nevertheless cool with the phrase being applied and likes the enthusiastic response these design details get. Busse is intimately familiar with many of them, having signed off on many of them in his time as head interior designer for FCA's US operations. He recently moved to Europe to lead Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Fiat design there, so when I caught up with him next to the new Stelvio crossover at the Alfa stand in LA, I had to ask: Are we going to see any of those neat design details in Alfas or Maseratis anytime soon? The short answer is no. But he didn't say it's out of the question. Busse said if, for example, a designer wanted to put an Italian phrase somewhere on a car that was in keeping with the brand, he would allow it. Although he didn't come out and say it, it seems like he might feel this type of fun design element isn't necessarily appropriate for a higher-end brand like Alfa. And I get that. But I'm still going to check all the compartments of that new Alfa crossover for a map of the Stelvio Pass. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio: LA 2016 View 11 Photos Design/Style LA Auto Show Alfa Romeo Jeep 2016 LA Auto Show easter egg

Fiat Chrysler's Q3 profit boosted by strong North American earnings

MILAN, Italy — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) reported a 17 percent jump in third-quarter adjusted operating profit on Tuesday, helped by a strong performance in its key North American market and improving operations in Europe and Latin America. The world's seventh-largest carmaker still makes the lion's share of its profits in North America, so improving, or at least maintaining, its margins there is a key focus. The carmaker reported an 8 percent adjusted operating profit margin in the region, up from 7.6 percent a year ago, despite a drop in sales and shipments. "FCA's profitability in North America remained strong in the quarter despite a weakening market there," a Milan-based analyst said. FCA's profitability compares with an 8.3 percent North America margin reached in the quarter by bigger U.S. rival GM , showing CEO Sergio Marchionne making progress towards his goal of closing the margin gap with GM and the company's other U.S. rival, Ford, by 2018. The company's confirmation of its full-year outlook also pushed shares higher, a trader added. The stock was up 2.8 percent by 1129 GMT, outperforming a 1 percent rise in the European auto index. FCA has been retooling some U.S. factories to boost output of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and trucks while ending production of some unprofitable sedans to strengthen profitability as the U.S. car market comes off its peak. The company said a drop in North America shipments due to lower fleet sales and discontinued models was partially offset by higher deliveries of Ram trucks and two models from the Alfa Romeo stable: the Stelvio sport utility vehicle and Giulia sedan. Profitability also improved in Europe, helped by sales of the Stelvio and the new Jeep Compass, and Latin America, while margins at Maserati remained strong at 13.8 percent due to strong demand for its first SUV, the Levante. In a later conference call, investors are looking for hints on the new strategy to 2022 which the company promised to unveil early next year. Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said earlier this year that FCA would streamline its portfolio and that components businesses, including Magneti Marelli, would be separated from the group, possibly via a spin-off. While FCA confirmed its targets this year, doubts remain about its exposure to a weakening U.S. market, recall costs and potential fines over emissions after it was targeted by European and U.S.