Since its reveal at the Detroit Auto Show, the new 2013 Dodge Dart has received a lot of positive reactions and Dodge intends to make it even better. Based on the Italian Alfa Romeo Giulietta platform, the solid European chassis will be further finessed for sport and performance under the care of Ralph Gilles and the magicians of SRT. The SRT4 is back!

While many of the components are carry-overs from Alfa Romeo, the SRT-4 will likely create an engine that produces no less than the 285-hp and 265 lb.-ft. of torque found in the forerunning Caliber SRT4. A likely powerplant would be a larger displacement, turbocharged and intercooled variant of the Dart’s Tigershark 2.0 liter engine.

Other hardware upgrades include stiffer springs and dampers, larger wheels, and stickier rubber. As for the exterior, think modern day Neon SRT4 as the Dart SRT4 will be stylized with aggressive yet functional vents, scoops, and rear spoiler.

Pricing on the SRT4 should fall near $30,000.

GALLERY: 2013 Dodge Dart

[Source: Motortrend]

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While past reports have suggested that the Dodge Avenger is dead, speculation has apparently been a bit premature. Chrysler/Fiat have plans for a number of new cars in the future including the introduction of new midsize sedans which will update the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger for 2013. The new Avenger and 200 will be based on the Dodge Dart platform. Chrysler/Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne also intends to have a Chrysler premium compact hatchback in the mix, known for now as the “Chrysler 100.” If given the ‘okay’ for production, then the Chrysler hatch will be exported as Fiat European luxury brand Lancia as well.

Also, next generation crossovers 2013 Jeep Compass and Jeep Liberty will receive the Dart platform too. Despite the small-car platform, Marchionne insists, ”It’s going to be a trail-rated, full-blooded Jeep that has its origins in the architecture of a sports car.”

But more importantly, Italian sports car enthusiasts of the western hemisphere have long awaited the return of Alfa Romeo ever since the merger of Chrysler and Fiat was first announced. While Alfa Romeo’s return to the United States has been delayed until 2013, Marchionne insists the legendary Italian marque will return. “There will be plants making Alfas in the United States and Europe,” says Marchionne. “I need to export to Europe from the U.S. The volumes I get here are how I reintroduce Alfa to Europe.”

Expectations are high for the Alfa vehicles as an upcoming 1.8-liter engine producing a staggering 300-hp is currently in the works. In regards to Alfa Romeo vehicles for the United States, Marchionne said, ”We had to make sure they were lightweight, fast cars with Alfa powertrains.

[Source: USA Today]

Better late than never, Alfa Romeo announces the scheduled arrival of their 4C sports car to American soil by 2013. First, an Alfa Romeo 4C prototype will make an appearance in the middle of next year before the Italian automaker’s official return to North America.

More than just a pretty face, the Alfa Romeo 4C will feature an aluminum direct-injection 1.8 liter turbo on a tube-mounted aluminum frame. Weighing in at a feathery 1,980 lbs, the 4C will use sheet-molded composite panels to wrap around its aluminum bones. The Alfa Romeo 4C is expected to deliver approximately 230-hp and should be capable of 0-60 in 4.5 seconds. Fiat engineering chief Mauro Pierallini says Alfa Romeo will build 18,000 4C’s over the lifetime of the car and that it will be sold in the United States along with the Giulia sedan as well as Alfa Romeo’s first SUV. Executives suggest the Alfa Romeo 4C’s price tag targets $45,000 USD.

Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergia Marchionne boldly explained that the 159 that the Giulia will replaced was, “400 kg too heavy and by default uncompetitive. We will never, ever do this again. The next Giulia had better smell, look, and drive like an Alfa or it will not wear the badge. We need to resurrect Alfa in the proper way.”

If Marchionne is so adamant on building proper Alfas, then there is no reason why Alfa Romeo shouldn’t be a hit when it comes stateside.

GALLERY: Alfa Romeo 4C

While America anxiously awaits Alfa Romeo’s return, Fiat has been getting busy deciding to produce the 4C sports coupe, packing plenty of lightweight carbon fiber, a turbocharged four-cylinder powerplant with 230-hp, rear-wheel-drive and a 4.5-second 0-60 mph time.

The concept originally debuted at last year’s Geneva Motor Show in a matte red finish (pictured above) and then made another appearance in a liquid-metal finish in Frankfurt a few months ago. Since then, many Europeans have been speculating whether or not Alfa Romeo would go ahead and produce the 4C but now Top Gear is reporting that they will, with testing of the vehicle beginning next year and hitting the market in 2013.

Reports are saying that the 4C will be priced at around £45,000, which is $70,000 or so. For the performance that Alfa Romeo intends to pack in the vehicle, it should be formidable within that price range out in Europe and it’ll be rather interesting to see if it’ll ever make its way to the American market when Chrysler reintroduces the brand to the US.

There is also a chance that Alfa Romeo will over a more powerful 4C model with around 300-hp and possibly a roadster variant later on.

GALLERY: Alfa Romeo 4C

[Source: TopGear]

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat-Chrysler, is looking forward to 2013 for being a big year for the Italian-American brand. Marchionne is looking ahead to a collection of new Chrysler products, the reintroduction of Alfa Romeo back to America and have a chance to fully combine Fiat and Chrysler into one company.

Fiat, who now owns more than 50-percent of Chrysler, is waiting quietly for Europe’s currency crisis to clear up before deciding on future vehicle investments in the country. And with five money-losing plants in Italy, Chrysler has ironically become Fiat’s strong point in their portfolio. Chrysler made up two-thirds of Fiat’s third-quarter profits thanks to the rebounding US auto industry. On the other hand, Fiat has had to deal with the euro crisis and rigid Italian labor laws.

Looking towards the future however, Chrysler will be launching the Dodge Dart next year which is their compact car built on a Fiat platform to compete with Toyota‘s Corolla and Honda‘s Civic. But 2013 is when everything will be coming together for Fiat-Chrysler, with several refreshed Jeep models making their debuts, and the relaunch of Alfa Romeo into the United States.

We’re not sure how well received Alfa Romeo will be in the US, considering Fiat sales hasn’t exactly gone well in America. Chrysler has sold less than 18,000 500s this year, well shy of their original 50,000 target. We just hope they get a little more clever this time around with Alfa Romeo and avoid any sort of collaboration with J. Lo. Seriously Chrysler, more Fiats would sell if you didn’t associate it with J. Lo.

[Source: Automotive News]

What happens when you mix a stunt driver with a sporty hatchback, skidpad and more than 2,738 water balloons? Just ask Terry Grant.

The driving pro held a total of 19 world records for his fancy automotive footwork, but recently garnered his 20th by bursting the most-ever water balloons.

Grant got to take part in a ridiculous-but-awesome stunt using the Alfa Romeo MiTo. The automaker arranged the balloons in a giant iteration of their iconic snake and cross logo and filmed him from multiple angles crashing and splashing through the aquatic arrangement.

It was a chance for Grant to get another world record under his belt and a great venue for Alfa to show off their 170 horsepower MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde hatchback.

You can watch the video below

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Fiat will build Alfa Romeo vehicles in China starting in July, 2012, as part of a joint venture with local partner Guanhzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd.

Company president Zeng Qinghong told Automotive News that ”Besides the Fiat brand, after talks between the two shareholders, we will introduce the Alfa Romeo brand to the venture company.”  No timetable was given for when the vehicles would go on sale, but the new venture would be dubbed Guangqi Fiat.

Guangqi Fiat will initially produce 140,000 vehicles annually, and will likely expand beyond just Fiat and Alfa Romeo cars. Fiat has large interests in commercial vehicles, trucks and other vehicles. Alfa Romeo will also have to compete in an increasingly crowded premium vehicle segment in China.

[Source: Automotive News]

Chrysler is getting some Italian style thanks to former Ferrari designer Lorenzo Ramaciotti, 63, who will now be lending a hand at Chrysler and Lancia.

Ramciotti was lured out of retirement to head up the project, which aims for a common design language for the two brands. “We are trying to find an international language, which could have a place both here in Italy and in the U.S.,” said Ramaciotti in an interview with Bloomberg. “If you put all the models into the showroom, they must fit together. It’s a delicate problem.”

Sergio Machionne, Chief Executive Officer of Fiat and Chrysler, hopes sharing designs will boost both Chrysler and floundering Italian sister company Lancia, a weak link for Fiat. The carmaker loses an estimated $1.08 billion annually in Europe. If all goes as planned, the new Chrysler-Lancia line will boost group sales 64 percent by 2014.

Sharing vehicles between manufacturers is a quick way to cut costs, but it can have a high price.

“It’s extremely difficult to succeed in a strategy of globalizing design,” said Roberto Verganti, a management professor at Milan Polytechnic. “The risk is making international cars with no personality. When you buy a Lancia, you are looking for a piece of Italy, and when you choose a Chrysler, you are getting a slice of America.”

Despite the plan to marry models between Chrysler and Lancia, Fiat doesn’t plan to do the same for other brands including Dodge, Jeep, Maserati and Alfa Romeo, all of which will retain their respective identities.

Currently, Chrysler provides re-badged Grand Voyagers and 300s to Lancia, with Lancia calling them the Voyager and Thema respectively. For now, the cars are attracting attention in showrooms, but they haven’t been hot sellers in the depressed Italian economy. “Reactions are good. The Thema is pretty, design is attractive for Italians, too, but no one is buying these kinds of cars now,” said Roberto Ferrari, who owns a Lancia dealer outside Milan.

Overall, Chrysler only sold 37,000 cars in Europe last year, including Jeep and Dodge. That number is down by almost 38 percent since 2007 when they peaked at 120,000 units.

The news isn’t all bad for Fiat’s rebranded American cars though. Since June, the company enjoyed 18,000 orders for their rebranded version of the Dodge Journey minivan, more than double their total sales for 2009.

[Source: Bloomberg]

With the previous generation Alfa Romeo Spider now firmly in the ground, Alfa is looking to the next generation, and reports indicate that it will be a substantial break from the last car (pictured above), based on the stunning but portly Brera sports coupe.

Alfa is eager to fast track the Spider in time for Alfa’s 2013 launch in North America. Brand recognition for Alfa Romeo remains high in the United States, thanks in part to Dustin Hoffman’s iconic Spider in the 1960′s classic film The Graduate. Power should come from a 1.7L turbocharged 4-cylinder making roughly 150 horsepower and weigh an amazing 2200 lbs.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Dodge will unveil its new 2013 compact car during the January 2012 Detroit Auto Show. Since this is the first all-new car designed by the combined Chrysler and Fiat Company that will debut three months from now, we are used to expecting information to leak prior to the car’s official unveiling, whether from spies and insiders or scheduled leaks from the company itself.

However, in this case, little is known about the new compact so far. Possibly named the Dodge Hornet (concept above), the new compact will replace the dated Caliber hatchback and aims to bring the fight back to its staple competitors Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Ford Focus, and Hyundai Elantra.

Built on a modified C-Evo chassis that underpins the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and sharing powerplants with Fiat, the Dodge compact will be slightly wider than the European variant in order to provide space for the mandatory-for-the-U.S. safety equipment, but will otherwise share identical dimensions. Because of this, a major concern has risen due to its length of only 171 inches, which is significantly shorter than its competitors. Comparatively, the length of a Chevrolet Cruze is almost a foot longer at 181 inches.

Falling between compact and subcompact, the success of Dodge’s new small car will greatly depend on how cleverly packaged the cabin space will be. After all, it’s now how big it is, it’s how you use it.

[Source: motorauthority]

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is making Alfa Romeo’s U.S. re-launch a top priority, calling it “the most difficult thing I have to do”. Alfa Romeo last sold cars in the U.S. in 1995, but the brand still has a strong image in the U.S., spurring Marchionne to focus efforts on North America.

Alfa Romeo’s image has taken a beating in Europe over its legendary quality issues, and this factor provided further impetus for Fiat to focus their efforts in the U.S., where Alfa’s are viewed with nostalgic fondness. Marchionne hopes that Alfa will sell 80,000 cars in the U.S.  in 2014, with 400,000 units sold globally – up from 150,000 currently.

Alfa will offer the 4C sports car and a compact SUV will be offered initially with the Giulia sedan and wagon, the Mito hatchback, a new Spider and a Chrysler 300C-derived 6C sedan coming as well. The 4C is said to be a key halo designed to capitalize on memories of Dustin Hoffman’s Alfa Spider in the iconic film The Graduate.

[Source: AutoCar]

Alfa Romeo has announced plans to build a new turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that will produce an impressive 300-hp from a displacement of just 1.8-liters. Claiming it will be, “setting a new performance standard in its category” the all aluminum engine will feature direct injection, dual variable valve timing and will comply with future emissions standards both in Europe and the U.S. – an strong indication that it will find its way in some of Alfa’s U.S.-bound models.

“This is an extremely important step for Alfa Romeo, as we continue to reposition our brand and prepare it for global distribution. The United States remains our primary objective as we prepare for a 2013 introduction of our models,” added Harald J. Wester, Fiat’s Chief Technology Officer and head of the Alfa Romeo and Maserati Brands. “The dedication of Group-wide resources to develop specific powertrain solutions for the specific needs of Alfa Romeo is a reflection of the renewed thrust we are placing on the development of this brand. This is a first step in a series of initiatives to be implemented in the near future which will reconnect Alfa Romeo to its historical roots as a premium Italian sports car brand.”

Set to begin production in 2013 at the brand’s FMA plant in Pratola Serra, it is designed for use both longitudinally and transversely. The new powerplant could find its way under the hood of the upcoming 4C sports car, as well as a rumored flagship sedan based off the Chrysler 300.

GALLERY: Alfa Romeo 4C Concept