Interesting article about Fiat in The Economist

[vml]

There is a long article in the Economist about the recovery of Fiat auto. You can take a look at Fiat | Rebirth of a carmaker | Economist.com
But, quoting from the article, these are most of the Alfa bits:

"Although Mr Marchionne sees Lancia as a purely European marque, he has said that he wants Alfa Romeo to return to America for the first time since the early 1990s. He is looking for a partner, possibly Chrysler, to build the cars there within the next three or four years. Mr Marchionne believes that despite having lost its way many years ago, Alfa is still a world brand that people identify with. He says: “Alfa was known for lighter, faster, more agile vehicles. Who doesn't remember the Duetto in 'The Graduate'? It's just a pity we ended up doing the exact opposite of what Alfa drivers wanted. The 159 is one of the heaviest D-segment cars around. We have to go back and clean that up.”

That is a job for Luca De Meo, a 40-year-old regarded by some inside the firm as a possible heir to Mr Marchionne. Mr De Meo, who is the group's head of marketing as well as Alfa's new chief executive, admits that the expensive, limited-edition 8C Spider is a “halo” model rather than a practical contribution to Alfa's recovery, “a sign of competence and a blueprint” for Alfa's brand values. The cars that will decide Alfa's immediate future are the new MiTo, which is based on the Punto and has been designed to match the driving dynamics of BMW's Mini, and the 149, successor to the compact 147 hatchback.

Mr Marchionne says that the MiTo (the name stands for Milan and Turin), which will be launched this summer, will “come up looking and smelling like Alfas of the future”, but that it is the 149 which will really set the mark for the rest of Alfa's range. He says: “We threw the 149 back for more than 30 months because it wasn't enough of an improvement. It was the smartest thing we've ever done.” Mr Marchionne has set Alfa and Lancia sales targets of 300,000 each in 2010. Last year they managed only 275,000 combined."

[Echo Leader]

Those are aggressive sales goals. 600,000 combined from 275,000 in two years? Here's hoping!

He has interesting quotes about the MiTo and the 149. Seems a bit odd to me that, with the MiTo release around the corner, he has effectively downplayed it's roll in the vanguard of a new, revived and focused Alfa Romeo. Maybe it was the author's interpretation that has colored it this way, but reading that article it's almost like the old quote (and I paraphrase) "I'd like you to meet our daughter, Lilly, and our other daughter, Lilly's sister."

[MALDI]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vml He says: “Alfa was known for lighter, faster, more agile vehicles. Who doesn't remember the Duetto in 'The Graduate'? It's just a pity we ended up doing the exact opposite of what Alfa drivers wanted. The 159 is one of the heaviest D-segment cars around. We have to go back and clean that up.”

[sclater]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Echo Leader Those are aggressive sales goals. 600,000 combined from 275,000 in two years? Here's hoping! He has interesting quotes about the MiTo and the 149. Seems a bit odd to me that, with the MiTo release around the corner, he has effectively downplayed it's roll in the vanguard of a new, revived and focused Alfa Romeo. Maybe it was the author's interpretation that has colored it this way, but reading that article it's almost like the old quote (and I paraphrase) "I'd like you to meet our daughter, Lilly, and our other daughter, Lilly's sister."

[lgbalfa]

great article.

thanks for sharing.

[Arna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Echo Leader Seems a bit odd to me that, with the MiTo release around the corner, he has effectively downplayed it's roll in the vanguard of a new, revived and focused Alfa Romeo. Maybe it was the author's interpretation that has colored it this way, but reading that article it's almost like the old quote (and I paraphrase) "I'd like you to meet our daughter, Lilly, and our other daughter, Lilly's sister."

[Echo Leader]

Hmmm, some interesting thoughts. Arna, you seem really angry about Alfa's current cars and market position. I see posts from you in a number of threads that are....pointed. I fail to see the MiTo as some sort of albatros. Maybe it's more terrible than I can imagine, but I don't see it as somehow out of place in the world's car market. I can certainly understand the desire of everyone on this board to see Alfa return to, as sclater says, "its roots". I just wonder if those roots will allow the company to reach sales goals of 600,000. I hope so.

Was Alfa a healthy growing company following the 105/115? Did they ever achieve massive sales and sustained success while exhibiting the qualities we all hope they return to? Is the MiTo more terrible then the 147 was? That was European Car of the Year.

[Arna]

Echo,

I know I have a tendency to be harsh. It's not because I hate Alfa. It's because that I love it. So many people here praise everything new model that Alfa releases. I resent the MiTo for what it is and I resent it more when the execs say its the future of the company and I completely hate it when orum goers praise it and say it is very "Alfa." I seriously don't know what the ***** they are talking about. I still feel like I've been waiting for a proper sports car from Alfa since the S4 went out of production in 1994. Is it REALLY too much to hope for a car similar to that one in the future?

BTW, I dig the fact that your user name is a Star Wars reference.

[sclater]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arna Echo, I know I have a tendency to be harsh. It's not because I hate Alfa. It's because that I love it. So many people here praise everything new model that Alfa releases. I resent the MiTo for what it is and I resent it more when the execs say its the future of the company and I completely hate it when orum goers praise it and say it is very "Alfa." I seriously don't know what the ***** they are talking about. I still feel like I've been waiting for a proper sports car from Alfa since the S4 went out of production in 1994. Is it REALLY too much to hope for a car similar to that one in the future? BTW, I dig the fact that your user name is a Star Wars reference.

[Echo Leader]

Arna,

Thanks for that post, I appreciate your viewpoint on the whole thing. I can certainly understand passionate feelings about Alfa and their business. It happens to me too now and again. As for the MiTO specifically, I can't really say if it is very "Alfa" or not as I haven't even seen one in person, much less driven one. As sclater notes above, Alfa does have a need for a "hot hatch" type car, and they have some cool heritage in that department. I guess I'm saying that if the MiTo is dynamically excellent, well-crafted and enjoyable to drive, I think it will be good for Alfa's bottom line. And what's good for Alfa's bottom line can probably be characterized as good for us. That statement carries with it the hope that Alfa would take profits from a car like the MiTo and produce a proper sports car. I know I'm waiting for a resurrection of the GTV6.

Between my handle and your avatar, we're some cool cats. I find it funny to picture Vader saying "STFU!!" and other similar internet jargon to people now. Another guy on the BB, bobsiopener, autocrosses his GTV6 with a Emperial insignia on his helmet. It's clutch.

[MALDI]

To add some prespective, it is always interesting to watch the ups and downs of Alfa Romeo. It is a fascinating corporate history. Some decades they can do no wrong on the street or track, other decades they are on the verge of bankruptcy. Yet they always hang on (since 1910!) somehow. Every Alfa owner/ethusiast has their own love/hate relationship with the marque. But, you know, Alfa will still be around after we are all dead, afterall, those that started the company almost 100 years ago are no longer with us but their creation remains.