Posted on 04/16/2008 10:49:25 AM PDT by Red Badger
Chrysler now has a partnership with China-based automaker Chery to rebadge a small car for the South American market, a partnership with Volkswagen to build VW-badged minivans, and a brand new deal with Nissan in which it will supply the Japanese automaker a full-size truck in exchange for a new small car. Rumor has it that the Cerberus-owned automaker isn't done shaking hands quite yet.
The latest partnership may involve Italian automaker Fiat, as reported by the German newspaper Handelsblatt. According to the paper, the deal with Fiat would involve freeing up some of Chrysler's production capacity in the U.S. for Fiat to build Alfa Romeos here. We're not sure what Chrysler would get out of the deal besides money, but Fiat would accomplish a step that makes reintroducing Alfa Romeo cars in the U.S. that much easier. Chrysler-built Alfa Romeos, though? We've seen Chrysler-built Maseratis in the past (Maserati TC ring a bell?), which didn't work out too well. Hopefully this time, things will be different.
Ping, ciao...............
“FIAT” - “Fix It Again, Tony”.
The Maserati TC!
We've screwed that pooch before, me-thinks!
A nice looking car which will smoke like a house on fire and rust out in 2 years.
Some Alfa’s are very pretty.
The problem was that historically they built junk, and often they weren’t safe.
Bob Nardelli’s brain on crack?
Sono sempre stato un grande appassionato dell’Alfa,sin da quando ero piccolo. Il mio sogno era di avere una macchina che portasse questo marchio e grazie a mio papà un giorno si è avverato! Aveva acquistato la 33 1.7 Boxer 16V (3za serie), che secondo un mio parere era un vero e proprio mostro:Ha delle prestazioni fantastiche!
...and suck gas like there was no tomorrow.................
I owned a FIAT X1/9 once. I was UNDER it more than I was IN it!..............
If that was in English would you be banned?............
Henry Ford.
Looks is one thing. I owned a beautiful X1/9, but it was a POS ..............
good thing they aren’t teaming up for an American version of the Fiat 126p...all I’ll say is that it was very fine Socialist automobile...;)
Is that a Fiat? It looks more like a Subaru.
}:-)4
The old Alfa engine, designed in 1929, is the old Offenhauser engine. Simply fabulous
Better to produce Fiat “Cinco Centos” with the price of gas going up. Cheap car where if you need an engine just hand pull the old one out and replace it. I saw many of them in southern Italy in the mid 90’s and they were the old 50’s models so apparently they’re easy to keep going. How many 50’s Chrysler cars did you see on the road in the 90’s, 80’s, 70’s? (Rhet ?)
Its a joint venture between Chrysler and Renault that became Chrysler’s “Eagle” division after the AMC purchase. The US version of my car was caled “Medallion”.
Drool!
“historically they built junk”
To quote Fr. Francis Mulcahy, “Not true! Not True!”
Some of the “craftsmanship” of Alfa’s was sometimes considered lacking. Don’t forget, most came to the States in the pre-metal alloys that didn’t rust era. Lest we forget, US cars of the same era the were of the “they historically they built junk” type, too.
Above all, their was styling and still is decades ahead of any of the crappola you see coming out of Detriot or Japan.
Google Chery Crash Tests! They totally implode on slight contact.
Some of our folks rented an Alfa during a business trip over there. Lets just say the days of the GTV6 are over, they really are very nice.
Some of our folks rented an Alfa during a business trip over there. Lets just say the days of the GTV6 are over, they really are very nice.
Amen, brother.
Buy one for me now.
Renault and AMC had been in an “Alliance” before the Chrysler merger.......
I have a ‘91 164l that drives like a champ. Could use as a daily driver if I didn’t bus in.
That's the truth. I bought a brand new 1987 Spyder fresh out of college. Got rid of it after a year. I only put 7000 miles on it, but it never went more than five or six weeks without visiting the dealership for service.
Sure was pretty, though. This one looks like my old one:
My wife’s mother bought an ‘81 Spider new and we’re still driving it. So there! :~)
My step dad was a FIAT mechanic.
He was a very busy man and never unemployed.
Agreed. They do make beautiful cars. Too bad they run like junk & rust like a Panama banana boat.
My Fiat was a pleasure to drive when it would move under its own power. The electrical system was a nightmare!...............
Magnetti Merelli gave Joe Lucas a run for his money...
Feeble
Italian
Attempt at
Transportation
No way I would trust Fiat to build an Alfa. Yea yea yea I know Fiat now owns Alfa, but Fiat doesn't build'em.
The New Alfa’s are awesome, know why? There’s a German in charge.....
I had one just like yours but mine was red.Fastest car
I ever owned when it ran which wasn`t often.
Came out one morning to see my horse with his head
in the car,he`d eaten the roof off for some reason,Had
to order a new top,took about 2 months to get a new top.
Expensive to keep up car.
I always thought the 128 was a nice looking little sports car. Back in the late 60s, early 70s, a ton of money went to Italy, the UK, etc for these primitive vehicles. They sure got a chunk of mine...
If it runs on ethanol call it an Alfalfa Romeo.
Impressive!
If it plays for the Dallas Cowboys we call it the Tony Romeo!..............
LOL! Now that's funny!
I lived in Boston when I owned mine. You think upkeep was expensive? Try insurance for a 23 year old unmarried man in Boston. Had to cut back on the beer to pay for the policy (and to make sure I could still fit behind the wheel.)
It's Expensive to keep up horse!...............
Did you know that the YUGO was originally a FIAT?.................
Hey,ya gotta admit it was a chick-magnet tho.
Don`t think I ever saw a white Spyder,nice.
One huge problem with late 50's and early 60's FIATS was that they had a manual choke AND a throttle. Which hadn't been seen on American cars since the early 40s. Customers couldn't figure it out!
I must have made a thousand "Won't Start" service calls. Rough running? Guy had driven 3 weeks with the choke out. Italian cars require real drivers ... not wimp consumers. That's what Jap cars are for. Also, the Weber and Solex carbs were incredibly sensitive to dirt no human eye could see; no filter could trap ... so it was helpful to know how to remove the jets and clean them with compressed air. Then Alfa came out with their own fuel injection, which ran off a pump from their diesel parts bin, working on them made me the formerly well-known consultant engineer I would like to be again today!
I owned a FIAT 124 Wagon from 1967 that is so famous it is on the internet! Still running strong, I hope. 75 mph cruise, 35 mpg, disc brakes all around, and very comfortable on long trips. Very good handling. Went over 250,000 miles for me ...great fun. Bought it in a Thrift Shop in Santa Monica!
BTW-- 124 1600 Coupe, 1971-1973 ---One of the best cars ever made anywhere. Fabulous performance. Regulated out of existence
The 124 sedan series is still in production in India, Russia, Poland, and God knows where else. It is definitely in the running for "Most Units Produced" of any car ever manufactured. I have driven the new FIATS in Italy, and they are definitely now on a par with the Japs from the point of view of user-friendliness ... and their owners tell me reliability is excellent.
And I would kill for another Alfa Giulia Spider.
Chrysler has much excess capacity.
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