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The troubled Alfa Romeo Giulia needs serious help [UPDATE]

UPDATE: An Alfa Romeo US spokesman responded to this article with the following statement: The safety concerns expressed in the story are false. The all-new 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia is designed and engineered to meet or exceed all federal safety regulations. The Alfa Romeo Giulia will begin production for the North American market in the late second-quarter of this year. Alfa Romeo will have a full product portfolio of premium vehicles that includes plans for (8) all-new Alfa Romeo vehicles by 2020. The product launches are prioritized by segment volumes starting this year with the Alfa Romeo Giulia production for North America starting in late Q2, followed by the Midsize-UV – the 2nd largest premium segment in North America. Even on the day you dragged them kicking and screaming and gesticulating wildly to a table full of concrete evidence, Alfa Romeo executives will never admit the Giulia program is going through a tough patch. But it is. Reports say the Giulia, on the eve of production, didn't just fail one internal crash test, but failed the front, side and rear impact tests. Alfa denies it. Automotive News published a report last week saying two suppliers had insisted the Giulia, on the eve of production, didn't just fail one internal crash test, but failed the front-, side-, and rear-impact tests. A third supplier source told us the same thing. Alfa is denying it. It was due on sale in Europe late last year and was supposed to be here in the next month or two. But it wasn't, and it won't. It was to be headlined by a twin-turbo V6 that reportedly howled its way around the Nurburgring 14 seconds faster than the BMW M3 could manage. That second part is only true if you believe it's fair to compare a full lap in a standard BMW M3 with a favorable accumulation of sector times to a development prototype Giulia with 220 pounds stripped out of it and rolling on hand-cut racing slicks. No, me neither. A Promising Start The Giulia's all-new architecture was developed in just two years by a skunkworks of young engineers headed by Fiat's engineering prince, Philippe Krief, and (bafflingly) sited inside Maserati's headquarters complex in Modena, about three hours from Alfa Romeo's own Turin HQ.

2014 Quattroporte kicks off 50th anniversary for Maserati with new V6, AWD

It's not that often that we get to talk about a new Maserati model, but that's all about to change. The Italian automaker is using the 2014 Quattroporte to begin a lineup expansion that will soon grow to no fewer than five models. Entering its sixth generation, the Quattroporte has been completely redesigned, and is also adding a new V6 engine and all-wheel drive.
Pictures of the car were released last year and we've even had the chance to drive the car in France already, but we finally got to see both the 410-horsepower V6 and 530-hp V8 versions of the car at its debut at the Detroit Auto Show. The new Quattroporte is 100-percent Maserati with its svelte-ye-aggressive styling, but it adds more of a mainstream look to better compete with the growing number of high-end luxury sedans. Not all of the Autoblog staff consider it an improvement, but it doesn't stray too far from the Italian styling of the last model.
The interior has also been brought up to date with modern infotainment technology and improved luxury courtesy of a longer wheelbase bringing more space to rear-seat occupants. While the V8 we drove had a bench rear seat and oddly retro-modern wheels, the car on display had more conventional wheels and the two-passenger rear seat bucket seat layout.

2014 Maserati Quattroporte to get twin-turbo V6

As we wait for the Detroit Auto Show to get our up-close and in-depth look at the redesigned 2014 Maserati Quattroporte, some details are just starting to emerge about the car's powertrain, but nothing is official just yet. Autocar has posted a first drive of the new Quattroporte, finally spilling the beans about what motivates this sporty and luxurious sedan.
We already knew that the 2014 Quattroporte will offer two engines - a V6 and V8 - but what we didn't know is that both engines will get a pair of turbochargers and direct injection. Previously, we speculated that the smaller V6 would be supercharged, but this 3.0-liter V6 will get turbos instead helping it produce an estimated 410 horsepower. As for the larger 3.8-liter V8, this engine is said to produce 530 horsepower (confirming our previous report) to go with 479 pound-feet of torque; performance specs for the V8 include a top speed of 191 miles per hour and a 0-60 mph time of well under five seconds.
All cars will have a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive will be optional allowing for all of the engine power sent to the rear wheel during normal driving and a full 50/50 split between front and rear axles when needed. As we suspected, the 2014 Quattroporte has grown in size to better compete with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.