They may never import our heartthrob, the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA (pictured) to these shores, but Alfa is nonetheless edging closer to the US market, particularly in light of recent corporate bobs and weaves by parent Fiat Auto, as AutoWeek points out.
As we noted last week (no credit taken, a one-eyed egret could have seen it coming), the company's move to unhinge Maserati from Ferrari, to reside under the Fiat Group umbrella, set the pick for a closer relationship with Alfa Romeo, particularly in terms of US federalization — seeing how Maserati sells a third of its cars in the US. Moreover, as AutoWeek reports, in the breakup of the recent GM/Fiat Group alliance, GM agreed to provide Alfa with Northstar V-8 engines, as well as assistance in federalizing the cars. The sticking point? A dealer network more extensive than Maserati's must be established, though whether GM's clout in this area is available to Fiat remains to be seen. All may be revealed, or at least implied, in Geneva.
Fiat Auto's new CEO making plans to bring Alfa Romeo back to U.S., sources say [AutoWeek]
Related:
Fiat Takes Over Maserati Ahead of Ferrari Offering [internal]