pennellotref

e li voglio vedere a tirar fuori i soldi necessari per acquisire il "tutto"

non stiamo parlando del proverbiale cadavere del nemico che passa sul fiume... il "buon" Piech nel 2009 si è seduto ad aspettarlo.... mi sa che ci passerà la pensione su quella riva

Ho l'impressione che nonno Piech sia un tantino nervosetto:

Secondo me il ragionamento è questo:

Italianen, tu ezzere forte da yankee, mentre noi ezzere forti da ravioli al vapore. Qvindi tu aiuta me da yankee e io aiuta te da ravioli al vapore.

Poi, magari, boh, si metteranno d'accordo sui commerciali, del tipo, in SevelSud esce PSA ed entra VW...

A quanto ne so, ma potrei sbagliarmi, è SevelNord che è stata cancellata mentre la JV di SevelSud è stata rinnovata per altri 5 anni; la nuova scadenza non la ricordo......

Non sono gli effetti del primo sole............sono gli effetti da"plenipotenziarismo-imperialismo acuto e cronico" da Weltmeister.......... Lo dicevo io che questo era il periodo peggiore per vedere i tedeschi campioni del mondo....... Seriamente............è assolutamente vero che i teteschi volkswaganiani hanno gravissimi problemi in USA ed attualmente in NA Chrysler è una corazzata. Non mi stupirei se ci fossero "colloqui vari nel retrobottega" con FCA per migliorare il proprio (dei tedeschi) profilo di business in NA. La domanda vera è........cosa ne verrebbe ad FCA ???????

The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Can Kill 1.5 Gallons Of Gas A Minute

The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Can Kill 1.5 Gallons Of Gas A Minute

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Gasoline. Traffic laws. Other car companies. Common decency. Sanity. The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is about to declare war on all of them, and more. In addition to its official price, Dodge announced some of its other performance stats today, and it is officially batshit nuts all around.

The folks at Autoblog got themselves a nice sit-down with Tim Kiniskis, President and CEO of Dodge, and the tidbits he dropped during the interview are not only amazing, but also kind of terrifying:

The Hellcat can burn 1.5 gallons of gas per minute. That must be at full throttle, because if you back off it can return up to 20 mpg on the highway. If it has the same 19 gallon tank as the current Challenger, that means you'll kill a tank in under half an hour with heavy hoonage. Gasoline - you're gonna need a lot of it!

He expects the 0-60 mph second time to be "in the mid-threes." Sounds appropriate.

SRT had to build new dynos to test it. The ones they used for the Viper weren't up to the task.

It has a top speed of 199 mph. Probably not something you should try yourself, but hey, it can do it.

There's a "valet mode" that lowers power overall. Second-gear starts, a 4,000 RPM limit, less power. A lot of cars do this, but it's good to have here in case the kid parking your car at the restaurant decides to try that last item with a few of his buddies.

You can get it with a manual. We knew that already, but it's still awesome.

Handling. It is not mentioned anywhere in the interview.

Try and stop it. Just try and stop it. See where that gets you.

Ammazza se sbevazzano 'sti 707 puledri !!!!!!!!!!

https://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/sammy-hagar-joins-the-laferrari-club--vowing-to-never-drive-55-143805512.html

Sammy Hagar joins the LaFerrari club, vowing to never drive 55

By Marco R. della Cava 32 minutes ago Motoramic

N-D Photography | Marco della Cava

As man caves go, the studio-slash-garage of Rock and Rock Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar looks modest from the outside. Just a one-story stucco affair in the Marin County town of San Rafael, Calif., nestled amid a series of industrial warehouses. But the car parked in the driveway — a green Ferrari 456 GT — begins to give away the automotive plot.

Just past the non-descript front door, a hallway brims with photos, gold records and other memorabilia from the rocker’s tours of duty as a solo artist, Van Halen frontman and Chickenfoot founder. But at the back of the building, past an impressive recording studio, is a cavernous room with a dozen sports cars. While marques such as Aston Martin, Lotus and Ford take a bow, this space is really all about one brand: Ferrari.

Hagar owns a half-dozen Prancing Horses, all of which I’ve seen him drive routinely over the decade that I’ve known him. Now he’s on the road to adding one more: a $1.4 million LaFerrari, the company’s latest supercar over which collectors the world over have been battling. Only 499 will be built, and one is destined for Hagar’s garage, a prospect that leaves the 66-year-old sounding more like a giddy six-year-old.

“I couldn’t be more excited, and I’m buying it to drive it,” says Hagar, whose passion for speed is neatly summarized in his autobiographical 1984 hit, “I Can’t Drive 55.”

“I suspect I might even have to take some more driving courses to really be able to pilot this baby with confidence,” he says. “From everything I’ve read about the LaFerrari, you need to recalibrate your brain when you get inside."

Still from Sammy Hagar's I Can't Drive 55

While the LaFerrari's 950 hp will push Hagar’s driving skills to the limit, the musician is no stranger to fast Maranello steeds. His first purchase dates back to the late ‘70s and a four-headlight 330 GT 2+2. When his solo album “Standing Hampton” raced up the charts a few years later, it was time to upgrade to a 1982 512 BBi, a black beauty that starred in Hagar’s

That car remains in his stable today, alongside a 400i automatic coupe, an iconic and increasingly valuable Daytona, the aforementioned 456 2+2, and a custom-painted (by Ferrari) black with red stripe 599 GTB. Although he recently sold a prized 275 GTS to help finance the pricey LaFerrari, Hagar says he has no intention of letting any more cars go.

“I’m lucky because I can get this new car but keep the rest of them,” says Hagar. And why so many of this one marque? “I don’t know. I’ve eyed other supercars, like the Bugatti Veyron, but in the end I have always felt so connected to Ferraris.”

In truth, Hagar’s growing collection isn’t the result of his rock star status. While his Van Halen years produced some of the band’s best-selling albums (and an ongoing debate as to which incarnation of the band — Hagar vs original frontman David Lee Roth — is best), the singer’s entrepreneurial bent is responsible for most of his lucre. Hagar’s tequila company, Cabo Wabo, named after his bar in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, sold a few years back to Gruppo Campari for nearly $100 million.

Not that Hagar is sitting on his liquid laurels. He continues to record and tour; he and drummer Jason Bonham, guitarist Vic Johnson and ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony are on tour this summer as Sammy Hagar & Friends: A Journey Through the History of Rock. Hagar’s Beach Bar rum and Beach Bar and Grill restaurants donate proceeds to a range of children’s charities.

On a recent break in rehearsals for the summer tour, Hagar immediately diverts the conversation back to his LaFerrari, for which he recently plunked down a $250,000 deposit at his local Ferrari of San Francisco dealership. He laughs at the mention of the cost.

Sammy Hagar practicing

“When they first told me about the price, they said it would be around $800,000. I thought, ‘OK, fine,’ and then I found out they were talking euros not dollars and I flipped,” he says, laughing. “I thought someone was pulling my leg. I guess not.”Truth is, a few years ago Hagar was desperately searching for an Enzo, Ferrari’s 2002 supercar that had initially left him cold.

“I saw it when it first came out at a racetrack, and I don’t know why but I just didn’t get it at all,” he says. “Then a few years ago I was at Quail Lodge (for their annual summer motorsports gathering) and I fell in love. Every one I saw was around $1.7 million and now I hear they’re even more because of the LaFerrari coming out.”

When he couldn’t find the right Enzo, he approached a few friends in Ferrari’s inner circle and expressed an interest in getting the new supercar. “That wasn’t a given, I soon learned,” he says. “There are plenty of collectors who have far more than I do. But I was committed and things worked out.” (Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo reportedly approves every LaFerrari customer to weed out speculators, and buyers typically must already own multiple Ferraris.)

The next step will be to fly to factory headquarters in Maranello sometime this winter in order to be fitted for the LaFerrari’s trademark custom driver’s seat, as well as choose the car’s color palette and interior trim. Although known for decades as the Red Rocker, Hagar is sure of one thing: his LaFerrari won’t be classic Rosso Ferrari, or even anything close.

“The way I see it, a car this radical doesn’t need to be painted red, because it already screams red,” he says. Although many of his cars are in fact black, “even that color now seems too flashy to me. Early in my rock and roll days, sure, I wanted to shock and impress, but as I get older I really don’t like that. The color for my car will say elegance.”

He thinks he knows what that will be, though he’s honing in on a particular shade: white, along with a cream leather interior accented by carbon fiber.

“Whatever I come up with has to feel timeless to me,” he says. “I don’t ever plan to sell it, but if I wanted to or had to one day, at least I won’t be one of the hundreds of red ones out there.”

For Hagar, what is perhaps strangest of all about this particular automotive experience is that it involves huge money for a machine he has yet to see in the flesh. But, he says, sometimes - as with a good riff, lyric or bandmate — you go with your gut. And if you’re ever in Marin County in 2015 and see a white LaFerrari cruising around, you can bet who’ll be at the wheel.

“I have no doubt this car will be amazing,” he says. “Bring it on.”

Grande Sammy !!!!!!!!!

Cherokee Trailhawk alle prese con il famigerato Hell's Revenge Moab Desert Utah. Ovviamente non fa proprio tutto quello che fa il Wrangler però................mica male !!!!!!!!!!

P.S.: anche la passeggera non è male...........

Al min. 2.10.............. Ruota posteriore destra in uscita dalla variante............Secondo voi è un guasto oppure no ???????????

P.S.: Madò quanto viaggia !!!!!!!!!

A tutto maggio siamo a +76% in totale sul 2013 (dati carsitaly) e 26934 suddivisi in 20255 Viaggio e 6679 Ottimo

http://www.carsitaly.net/fiat-car-sales_china.htm

Affidiamoci a chi se ne intende della materia:

Tecnologia in auto: il meglio e il peggio del 2014 - Tom's Hardware

Aggiunta:

Recensione di Tom's dell'8.4 con descrizione dettagliata dell'hardware:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/jeep-grand-cherokee-uconnect-access-review,3573.html

Articolo analogo di Allpar:

http://www.allpar.com/corporate/tech/uconnect.html

Chrysler produce su licenza l'8HP45 (ribattezzato 845RE e leggermente modificato rispetto al ZF originale), a quanto mi risulta per ora l'8HP70 lo compra da ZF USA ma ci dovrebbe essere un piano per iniziarlo a produrre internamente (probabilmente una volta sgombrate le linee del vecchio NAG). Maserati usa una variante dell'8HP70, pure quella acquistata

Ora Chrysler dispone anche dell'8HP90 in una versione parzialmente modificata (non so se prodotto o acquistato, ma credo la seconda ipotesi) il cui utilizzo è per ora circoscritto alla Challenger SRT Hellcat

rosa no........mia figlia me la chiesta cosi

Una punizione esemplare ci vuole....................comprale una UP grigio topo.........ovviamente diesel

IMHO, i prezzi sono olandesi e quindi influenzati dalla mostruosa tassazione vigente da quelle parti

cancellato

Video-recensione della Chrysler 200 (versione V6 AWD) di saabkyle04:

Differenze tra Europa e USA:

Alfa 4C US and Euro Chassis Differences | Fiat 500 USA

Il "bisteccone" olandese da 1,98 m () non ci è andato leggero...........

First Drive

2015 Alfa Romeo 4C [w/video]

The Exquisite Beauty Of Imperfection

By Seyth MiersmaRSS feedGoogle+

Posted Jun 16th 2014 11:57AM

Vital Stats

Engine:Turbo 1.7L I4Power:237 HP / 258 LB-FTTransmission:6-Speed DCT0-60 Time:4.4 Seconds (est) Top Speed:160 MPH Drivetrain:Rear-Wheel DriveCurb Weight:2,465 LBSSeating:2Cargo:3.9 CU-FTMPG:24 City / 34 HWY (est)Base Price:$53,900 As-Tested Price:$65,945

The dissonance between first look and first wheel turn was jarring.

Alfa Romeo had chosen a suitably hip venue in which to showcase the coupe that will mark the brand's honest-to-God return to the US market – a graffiti-festooned warehouse housing a boutique furniture company in San Francisco's Mission District. The curvilinear sports car proved a lovely stylistic counterpoint to its concrete and metal backdrop while feeling perfectly synced with the eye-watering square-footage prices of the environs. Where the young, rich, beautiful people gather, the 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C will be a star.

And wherever they drive, expect things to get pretty loud. No sooner had I doubled over, dropped into the driver's seat, and fired to life the Alfa's utterly raucous little 1.7-liter engine, did the 'symphony' of the 4C begin. An introductory note of an inevitable chin scrape as I pulled out of the hipster parking lot and into the street was quickly followed by the uncivilized racket of the engine warming up, with only wafer-thin glass to filter the hubbub just behind my head. At a cold idle, the sound isn't unlike what I'd imagine it would be like to live inside of a Volkswagen TDI engine bay.

Thankfully, as traffic cleared and The City's streets turned swiftly into undulating coastal roads, the experiential delta between heartthrob looks and project-car manners started to shrink. Unlike the last Alfas to be sold en masse on our shores, this is no beautiful boulevardier. What the 4C is, however, is hot hell's own driver's car.

On public backroads, the Alfa is nothing short of a scalpel.

Last year, newly minted Infiniti PR maestro (and former Autoblog European editor) Matt Davis had the cheek to call the 4C a "baby 458." That's an awfully powerful endorsement for a $55k featherweight rocking a mid-mounted turbo four, but the setting of the bar so high wasn't without just cause. Despite gaining a few hundred pounds worth of thicker carbon fiber, heavier US-spec airbags, standard AC and audio equipment and the like, the handsome Alfa coupe really does live up to its Italian sports car roots.

With respect to the punchy engine, it's that carbon fiber tub that really sets the stage for this coupe to handle and perform so brilliantly. Added weight noted, let us pause for a moment to note that the 4C still tips the scales at an improbable 2,465 pounds. That number makes it about 50 pounds lighter than a soft-top Mazda MX-5 Miata, more than 400 lbs down on a Porsche Cayman and a tremendous 600 lbs below the awesome (non-supercharged) Lotus Evora. It's light enough that my driving experience – at roughly 235 lbs – may be significantly different than someone closer to an average size and weight. That both blows my mind and makes me want to cut out carbs.

The CF superstructure, bookended with aluminum subframes front and rear, also allows the 4C to be exceptionally stiff and flex-free when flung with increasing madness along California's golden coast. Taking "the long way" from downtown Frisco to Sonoma Raceway (called Infineon in a previous life, and still referred to as Sears Point by the graybeards in our group), means mile after mile of mountainous, coastal switchbacks connected by graceful lengths of wide-open two-lane blacktop. Save for the Italian Alps, it's pretty much the place in which the Alfa feels most at home. Carving precise lines from corner to corner was a matter of course with the 4C, its impressive underpinnings deleting any hint of roll and its brief, 93.7-inch wheelbase allowing for terse changes of direction.

The 4C has the best-judged steering for the enthusiast driver this side of an F1 car.

Despite enough space between Prius drivers and work vans to take many of the Highway 1 corners with speed, I can't say that I was ever able to upset the rear end of the 41/59-weight-split 4C. The wide tarmac and soft-looking runoffs of the racetrack gave me enough confidence (eventually) to find the grip limits of the piquant coupe – as well as a dose of throttle-off oversteer if you're silly enough to lift when you shouldn't – but on public backroads, the Alfa is nothing short of a scalpel.

It must be said, too, that the desire to toss the 4C from bend to bend is enflamed by its throwback, no-power-assist, 15.7:1-ratioed steering. Back in San Francisco, the unassisted steering would doubtless become thorny – and quick – for anyone that didn't practice regular upper-body resistance training. This isn't a car setup to cosset the stylish-coupe driver with the demands of an urban/suburban driving route. In stark contrast to ever more livable models from Porsche and the Chevrolet Corvette, for instance, the 4C seems to turn up its shield-emblazoned nose at compromise for comfort. The upside is a steering experience that's jaw dropping for those who care about things like tactility and weight mid-corner, while still avoiding the almost too-chatty character of things like Elise and Evora.

In short, the 4C has the best-judged steering for the enthusiast driver this side of an F1 car. It's f------ brilliant.

Alfa claims a 0 to 60 sprint of 4.4 seconds, which feels very accurate.

The power unit amidships is a pretty entertaining thing as well. Afla keeps calling the direct-injection, turbocharged four-cylinder a "1.75-liter" engine, but the truth is that it displaces 1,742cc. Normally those 42cc of cylinder would get rounded out to 1.7-liters, but Alfa claims a history of 1.75L engines is powerful enough to keep the tradition going... fine. The important bit is the way the engine delivers its 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, anyway, not its exact displacement.

With the single-turbo engine making its peak power at a fairly high 6,000 rpm, and its max torque starting at 2,200 rpm, the accelerative experience is slightly more linear than most current turbo engines I've driven. Lag isn't a particular issue for the 4C, as the quick-spinning four is up to speed in almost no time at all when given a solid bootful of accelerator. Alfa claims a 0 to 60 sprint of 4.4 seconds, which feels very accurate. (The 4C also offers launch control when its DNA drive mode has been toggled into Race, making a real, mid-four-second starting sprint very doable.) The ample torque also allows for excellent response at speeds over 60 miles per hour, an area in which other, higher-strung small displacement engines don't always shine.

Back in the city, the clatter of this direct-injected mill was rather grinding, as I mentioned, but out on the open road (or on the track) and fitted with the optional racing exhaust ($500), the 4C sounds like a thoroughbred. At least from the outside. Listening to cars start, run, accelerate and downshift out at Sonoma was enough to raise the hairs on my arms at some points; so stirring was the deep, Italianate resonance of their exhausts. And, to be fair, the overall sonic vibe was pretty stirring when I was behind the wheel of one, as well. Still, the audio experience when doing something as mundane as highway driving could be charitably described as "droning."

I've always loathed button-activated transmissions, and this Alfa setup does squat for changing my mind on the subject.

The six-speed dual-clutch transmission has a similar kind of bipolarity. Yes, I found the trans remarkably adept at snapping off every shift I asked for as I caned the Alfa up and down the hills of the racetrack, and have no complaints about the quickness with which it executes on its own when left in automatic modes. But the compact packaging of the pushbutton gear selector wasn't enough to make up for its clunkiness in mundane operations like, say, finding reverse. The buttons take a solid depression before they'll activate the desired gear (probably by design) and even then the response time seems glacial compared with a traditional shift lever. I'll admit that I've always loathed button-activated transmissions, and this Alfa setup does squat for changing my mind on the subject.

There's no question that the small confines of the 4C cabin are also a compromise to the kind of motive comfort we all now expect, but I was ecstatic to find that there's more than enough room in the driver's chair for a big Dutchman like me. (There was a lot of chatter among the Autoblog staff about whether or not my six-foot, five-inch frame would find a home in the slinky Alfa... haters all of them.) With an inch more headroom (38 inches) than is offered by a hardtop-raised Mazda Miata, not only could I swing in and out of the 4C cabin with relative ease (see video below), I could even wear a helmet while doing so. The only issue my above-average height posed for driving was my ability to see the top 10-percent of the central, digital speedometer and information display (which is pretty small, really), and a reduction in visibility from a low roof.

The 4C will never win with numbers crunchers.

The story from the passenger side is totally different. Infringed upon by the hugely wide carbon-fiber sill on my right and a super-low dashboard above, it was all I could do to straighten my legs and hang on tightly while I rode shotgun. The posture that I (and any larger person) had to adopt to even fit in the right chair, was roughly analogous to that of a woman who's just discovered her skirt is way too short and tight while sitting down to a dinner in a public place. Ladies, beware your clothing choices when faced with a ride in a 4C; egress in anything but pants or a maxi dress is best performed in a concealed spot. I'll say no more.

None of that, nor the slightly underwhelming cabin decorations, would keep me from owning this Alfa, I should add. It's just too good a steer and too stunning to look at for me to summon up the effort to care about mildly unsatisfactory in-cabin plastics. The heart wants what the heart wants.

And that axiom basically holds true for the 4C value proposition as a whole. I'd stake my bottom dollar on the fact that, with one glance at the $65,945 as-tested price and the 237-hp output, some Autoblog reader is going to sound off, "that's Corvette money!" They will, of course, be correct and be utterly missing the point all at the same time. The mid-sixties pricing that Alfa Romeo believes the 4C will sell at, will of course buy any manner of sports car that is 'better' than this Italian coupe in some regard. Clearly cars like the BMW M4, or Porsche Cayman S, or Jaguar F-Type Coupe or the beloved C7 offer advantages of power, practicality, price, poshness or some combination therein. The 4C will never win with numbers crunchers.

The 4C will never win with numbers crunchers. It will win with those that want something pure, complex and beautiful.

It will win with those that want something pure, complex and beautiful, however. Drivers who value handling and touch more than top-speed figures and rank in the horsepower wars. At just 500 units, the Launch Edition of the 4C – and its all-options-in $69,695-price tag – will also help seduce those buyers seeking something rare, and possibly iconic, depending on how well Alfa's larger American resurrection plan takes hold. For those of particular, discerning and idiosyncratic driving tastes, this car and its impressive subdermal technology will be a bargain. Everyone else will unblinkingly buy the 'Vette.

As my first downtown stint behind the wheel proved, the 4C is not a car that will suit as a daily driver for anyone but the deeply masochistic. Yet driving it as intended is so magical – perhaps even improved thanks to the character of its most obvious flaws – that I think it deserves a rank among the very best sports cars one can buy today. Welcome back to the neighborhood, Alfa; now, show us more like this one, please.

Related Gallery2015 Alfa Romeo 4C: First Drive

http://www.autonews.com/article/20140616/RETAIL07/306169947/new-alfa-dealers-lots-of-orders

[h=1]New Alfa dealers, lots of orders[/h][h=3]86 retailers are 1st of 3 waves to get 300 U.S., Canadian franchises[/h]The 4C coupe will be the first new Alfa Romeo sold in the United States since 1995.

Larry P. Vellequette

Automotive News

June 16, 2014 - 12:01 am ET

DETROIT -- Newly minted Alfa Romeo dealerships in the United States and Canada are about to receive their first cars.

Many of the vehicles are already spoken for.

Dealers who were granted Alfa Romeo franchises last week are holding scores of cash deposits for the 4C coupe, the first new Alfa Romeo sold in the United States since 1995.

"We've already got deposits on eight of those 4C coupes," said Jim Benson, a longtime Chrysler Group dealer in Greer, S.C. His Fiat dealership was awarded one of 86 Alfa franchises last week. "Alfa Romeo has a lot of followers out there."

The deposits were placed as long as two years ago, dealers said. They conclude that demand should be strong when Alfa finally returns to U.S. showrooms.

Automotive News spoke last week with five of the Alfa franchise recipients. All said they were holding customer deposits of hundreds or thousands of dollars for yet-to-be delivered 4Cs.

[TABLE=class: box_article, align: left]

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[TR]

[TD]Grady: Dealers are chosen on performance.

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Peter Grady, head of network development for Chrysler Group, said the automaker plans to award two more waves of Alfa Romeo franchises to dealers in the United States and Canada.

One wave will come in the fourth quarter and the other in the first quarter of 2015. In five years, there will be about 300 Alfa Romeo stores in the two countries.

"It's all based on performance," Grady said. "They're judged based on sales performance, customer advocacy and service advocacy."

Chrysler broadly defines advocacy as whether a consumer would recommend a sales or service transaction with the dealership to someone else.

All but three of the initial 86 North American franchises were awarded to Fiat franchisees. Three were given to Maserati franchise holders in California, Maryland and Wisconsin. Grady said more Fiat dealers will be awarded Alfa franchises.

"As the Fiat dealers perform, they'll be included as we expand the network. We're approaching it as if we really do have one chance to launch this in the marketplace, so we have to go at it very strong," Grady said.

Dealers receiving Alfa franchises will be asked to pay for tools and signs but won't be charged for the franchise, Grady said. For the most part, dealers will be able to sell Alfa Romeos from their existing stores at least until Alfa Romeo's new product line comes to North America. That is expected beginning in 2016, Grady said.

Getting units to sell may be a problem for several years. Grady said the brand plans to bring only between 1,000 and 1,200 Alfa Romeo 4Cs to North America annually.

A mid-sized sedan based on the brand's new Giorgio architecture is expected to begin production in late 2015, debut in Europe in mid-2016 and arrive in the United States in late 2016.

Seven other Alfa vehicles, all unidentified in the brand's five-year global product plan, are set to appear between 2016 and 2018, brand head Harald Wester said in May.

Grady said the 4C "is a specialty car, and where you have a specialty car, you start to see concentrations in the West Coast, Southeast and Northeast."

"That's where the [market] is for that car," he said. "But it doesn't stop dealers from outperforming their market."

Dealers in the first wave are making last-minute preparations for the 4C -- which is expected this summer -- and long-term plans for their new franchise.

Rick Case, owner of Rick Case Fiat in Davie, Fla., initially plans to retail the 4C out of his Fiat store. "But we'll be building a new dealership for Alfa Romeo and Maserati, a much bigger dealership. We expect it to be done before the end of the year.

"We have a lot of orders, 28 orders already," for the 4C, he said. "Some have been waiting for two years."

Some Fiat dealers have struggled with only two nameplates to sell. They look to Alfa to broaden their product mix and boost revenue.

"I hope with a fuller lineup of Fiats and a complete line of Alfas, maybe in a couple years we'll have a real store to be talking about," said Ralph Mahalak Jr., who owns Fiat of Winter Haven in Florida.

"The products that they have are cool. They're just not wide enough. It's like if you made me a Dodge Dart/Jeep Patriot-only store. Those are good products, but that would be a little bit of a challenge, too."

John Yark, owner of Yark Fiat in Toledo, Ohio, said that adding Alfa won't immediately boost his dealership's bottom line.

"It's a long play. When you look at the volumes we're doing with Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram products, it's not going to be a volume play," Yark said. "But who knows? We started out selling Oldsmobiles originally, so we know that things can change over time."

L'eccitazione sale..........sperem !!!!

Sti simpaticoni di americani , non hanno ancora capito che non è Chrysler che ha comprato Fiat ma il contrario .... Sono parecchio duri di comprendogno

.

No, sanno bene come stanno le cose E' che da un punto di vista giuridico, FCA ancora non esiste, l'iter giuridico-organizzativo è ancora in via di definizione. Se vai sul sito istituzionale di Chrysler, vedrai che accanto ai marchi americani ci sono anche parte di quelli italiani, ossia Fiat ed ora Alfa. Questo è legato al fatto che, giuridicamente ed organizzativamente parlando, Chrysler è distributrice ufficiale dei marchi italiani ed è per questo che sono riportati sul sito. Tra l'altro, nel caso di Fiat, Chrysler è anche produttrice e per questo riceve un tot da parte di Fiat. E' la stessa cosa che avviene per esempio nel caso di Luxottica: se vai sul sito di quest'ultima vedrai che la medesima controlla una miriade infinita di marchi, ma solo alcuni a titolo proprietario, altri a titolo di soggetto produttore-distributore (e talvolta anche ideatore) per conto terzi .

Iniziare con un pò di bestialità non aiuta a suonare autorevole:

E nell'articolo non c'è solo quella.........

Recensione Motor Trend e TFL car:

2015 Alfa Romeo 4C First Test - Motor Trend All Pages

First Test:[h=1]2015 Alfa Romeo 4C[/h] [h=2]Alfa's Atonement for Past Sins Puts us in a Very Forgiving Mood[/h] By Frank Markus | Photos By Courtesy of the Manufacturer, A. J. Mueller | June 13, 2014 |

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Remember the Alfa Romeo 8C that began the storied brand's halting return to the U.S. market? Well, forget it. With the hindsight of half a decade, that quarter-million dollar beauty looks like a cynical attempt to wrap aging hand-me-down hardware in a beautiful new wrapper -- kind of like the Crossfire did at one-seventh the price. This 4C is Alfa's make-good for such past sins, and we're promised it spearheads a lineup that will include eight cars by 2018.

If you've read anything about the 4C, it's probably been gushing, glowing hyperbole suggesting that this feathery mid-engine track-star might have been co-developed in heaven by the holy ghosts of Enzo Ferrari, Colin Chapman and some nameless, incredibly crafty bean-counter. Divine intervention on that last front was surely required to finagle a starting price of $55,195 for a car with a carbon-fiber tub constructed the slow Formula 1 way by hand-laying pre-impregnated carbon fiber sheets and autoclaving them, not the newer, more efficient Lamborghini Aventador/BMW i3 way of laying dry fiber mats in molds and injecting resin. The aluminum subframes at either end add even more cost, and while these are somewhat offset by a few bits and pieces shared with mainstream models (like the dry twin-clutch transmission), the X-Ray view of this car looks as much like a supercar as the outer skin does. Trust me, this is as earnest, contrite, and heartfelt an atonement for past Alfa sins as we could reasonably hope for.

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The very first thing I do when the PowerPoint presentations wrap is nab the keys to the lightest 4C available -- with the cloth seats, the smaller 17-inch front/18-inch rear tires, the "racing exhaust" ($500 well spent to leave off the muffler) -- and bolt from central San Francisco to the Golden Gate bridge and the twisty Marin County roads on the other side. The sound of that exhaust bouncing off buildings and the car's eagerness to jink past, around, and between the lumbering commuters has me grinning like an idiot, brainstorming fresh hyperbole, and fearing for my license.

Up on the deserted and tightly kinked tarmac the fun-quotient quadruples, and after about 5 miles of flailing away at the unassisted 15.7:1 steering, my pecs are burning a bit. Steering effort at speed isn't particularly high (it's perfect), but the repeated arm-over-arm work required by the slightly slowish ratio keeps the muscles busy. It's the most entertaining upper-body workout you'll never find, however, attended as it is by a never ending succession of turbo whistles, blow-off valve pops, over-run braaaaaps, and the like. Dynamic handling is superbly neutral. The car turns in eagerly and tightens its line when the throttle closes, but it resists tail-out hoonigan behavior pretty strongly. I sample a car equipped with the 18/19-inch footwear and a muffler later on the exact same stretch of road, and find that much of this amusing audio is stifled, but the ride quality and handling limits seem about the same. (Pirelli P Zero ARs are fitted in both setups.)

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The very next thing my co-driver and I do is to perch our 4C on a set of corner scales. The results: 2437 pounds with a 41/59 percent front/rear balance (the muffler and upsized wheels will add only 18 pounds to our afternoon car measured on the same scales). Okay, that's 405 pounds heavier than an Exige, but it's 622 pounds lighter than a Cayman. And with each of its 237 horses lugging 10.3 pounds, it splits the difference between the base and S versions of the mid-engine Porsche (9.7 and 11.1). The more dearly departed Exige scaled at 7.9 lb/hp.

How do the performance numbers compare? Third on our things-to-do list is to mount a VBox, dial up Race mode on the cutely named DNA drive-mode switch (hold the toggle in the Dynamic position for 6 seconds), pull the left (-) shift paddle, floor both pedals, and release the brake. The transmission executes a 6000-rpm launch and upshifts itself at the optimal rpm (an indicated 6200 in first, 6500 thereafter), getting a bark of wheelspin in second. The result: A blistering 4.3-second dash to 60 mph en route to a 12.8-second, 108.8-mph quarter-mile. That beats the manual Exige by 0.2 second and 0.9 mph (thanks twin-clutch!) and trails our best twin-clutch Cayman S by exactly the same margin. Braking from 60 mph looks less impressive at 113 feet versus Exige's 105 and Cayman S' 101, but the different test surface could account for some of that. I certainly can't find any fault with the feel or fade-resistance of the four-wheel vented-and-perforated Brembo discs.

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Stop four on the day's itinerary is Infineon Raceway, where a fleet of four cars fitted with the track package (stiffer suspension, the larger 18/19-inch wheel/tire package, and race exhaust) beckon. Here the car really feels at home, and only here can one muster both the courage and the speed required to generate full-on trail-brake-induced oversteer and point the car into the next turn. This only works in Race mode, which switches off the stability control system, and even then it's tricky to maintain a slide as the "Q2 electronic limited slip" software continues to dither the inside rear brake to equalize wheel speeds across the rear axle. Drifters may need to pull a Q2 fuse and fit slipperier tires. There's even more to love. The instrument display mimics those in the Ferrari 458 or Lambo Aventador, changing the graphics, color, and content with each drive mode, and flashing a bright yellow rev band when it's time to shift up; the light, cheap Parrot Asteroid radio lets your phone provide navigation and other advanced telematics content (though you'll find it connects to Android phones easier than it does to iPhones); the seats provide ample lateral support without feeling cramped; and a wide, flat footwell allows the passenger to brace sufficiently for high-g cornering without handholds. Yes, the climate controls feel chintzy, the airbags deploy from clearly visible doors, there's no glovebox or armrests, the cupholders are too small, the rear-view mirror is worthless (except for watching the engine rock as you get on and off the gas), it's too loud, etc. If any of that bothers you, Porsche has a Cayman with your name on it. The 4C goes on sale late this year at 86 dealers (83 of which currently sell Fiat; the others Maserati) in 33 states. The first 500 will be special launch edition models, equipped with the track pack, special wheels, leather/microfiber seats and steering wheel, special carbon fiber trim inside and out, a larger spoiler and fender air inlets. The price: $69,695. Hold out for a base car; it'll be the steal of the century. Keep reading for the 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C test chart and more than 140 additional photos.

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[h=2]4C FAQ[/h] [h=2]When's the Spider coming?[/h]Don't hold your breath. Removing the roof of this extremely rigid structure poses no engineering challenges, but with the profit margin at practically nil as is and a production capacity of about 1000 cars per year, it'll be tough to concoct a business case for a second model. [h=2]Why no stick!?[/h] This is a no-compromises high-performing sports car; manual shifting would slow the car a bunch. Also, packaging a shifter and the complicated linkage required to reach the transverse-mounted transaxle would have resulted in an unsatisfying shifter feel. [h=2]What's this thing going to be like to repair and insure?[/h]Insurance rates are ultimately determined by the overall value of the car, so we're assured there will be no big surprises there. Front and rear crash damage is usually confined to the replaceable aluminum structure. Major crashes that impact the carbon-fiber tub will summon a U.S.-based "Flying Doctor," who will assess the damage and suggest repair, replacement of a section, or total loss.

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[h=2]Isn't that just a Giulietta/Dart front suspension moved to the back?[/h]Nope. Yes, it's a strut design, but a unique and pretty sophisticated one. To make it package lower, the lower spring perch also serves as the upper mount to the suspension upright, and by canting the spring inboard at a greater angle than the strut rod, the spring imparts a side-load that helps reduce friction in the strut. Also, the lower control arm forms a very wide triangle that would never fit under a Dart. [h=2]Why no twin-scroll turbo?[/h]Twin-scrolls are a no-brainer in twin-turbo big-displacement engines, where they help build boost at a lower rpm for great grunt off the line. Here the priority was high-rpm power, which a single-scroll helps optimize. The intake is tuned to help bolster the low-end torque that a twin-scroll would have provided. [h=2]How does that slinky body do in the wind tunnel?[/h]Great! And all the magic is underneath. Carefully managing the flow of all cooling airflow under the body and out the rear diffuser helps deliver a 0.33 Cd with a -0.05 coefficient of lift (meaning there's modest downforce) balanced front to rear, without any gigantic spoilers, wings, or splitters. [h=2]I thought the carbon fiber tub was unidirectional, but the tub looks like a weave.[/h]The tub is formed of layer upon layer of one-directional carbon fiber, aligned for optimal strength in all areas, but that stuff is ugly to look at, so the there's a layer of 2 x 2 twill carbon fiber on top for looks. [h=2]Why does the American version weigh 200 pounds more than the global model?[/h]Europe granted the 4C low-volume exemptions from some regulations. Alfa did not pursue such exemptions in the U.S., so additional reinforcements are required primarily for frontal and side-impact crash protection, and our unbelted-occupant crash tests demanded a different (and heavier) set of airbags.

[TABLE=class: insettxt, width: 100%]

[TR=class: hdr]

[TD=colspan: 2, align: center] 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C (base) [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr1]

[TD=colspan: 2] POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT [/TD]

[TD] Mid-engine, RWD [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] ENGINE TYPE [/TD]

[TD] Turbocharged I-4, alum) block/head [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] VALVETRAIN [/TD]

[TD] DOHC, 4 valves/cyl [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] DISPLACEMENT [/TD]

[TD] 106.3 cu in/1742cc [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] COMPRESSION RATIO [/TD]

[TD] 9.3:1 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] POWER (SAE NET) [/TD]

[TD] 237 hp @ 6000 rpm [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] TORQUE (SAE NET) [/TD]

[TD] 258 lb-ft @ 2200 rpm [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] REDLINE [/TD]

[TD] 6500 rpm [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] WEIGHT TO POWER [/TD]

[TD] 10.3 lb/hp [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] TRANSMISSION [/TD]

[TD] 6-speed twin-clutch auto. [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO [/TD]

[TD] 4.12:1/2.56:1 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR [/TD]

[TD] Control arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar; struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] STEERING RATIO [/TD]

[TD] 15.7:1 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK [/TD]

[TD] 2.7 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] BRAKES, F;R [/TD]

[TD] 12.0-in vented, drilled disc; 11.5-in vented, drilled disc, ABS [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] WHEELS, F;R [/TD]

[TD] 7.0 x 18-in; 8.5 x 19-in, cast aluminum [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] TIRES, F;R [/TD]

[TD] 205/45ZR17 88Y; 235/40ZR-18 95Y Pirelli P Zero AR [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr1]

[TD=colspan: 2] DIMENSIONS [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] WHEELBASE [/TD]

[TD] 93.7 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] TRACK, F/R [/TD]

[TD] 64.5/63.1 in [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT [/TD]

[TD] 157.5 x 73.5 x 46.6 in [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] TURNING CIRCLE [/TD]

[TD] 40.5 ft [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] CURB WEIGHT [/TD]

[TD] 2437 lb [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] WEIGHT DIST., F/R [/TD]

[TD] 41/59 % [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] SEATING CAPACITY [/TD]

[TD] 2 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] HEADROOM [/TD]

[TD] 38.0 in [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] LEGROOM [/TD]

[TD] 42.7 in [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] SHOULDER ROOM [/TD]

[TD] 49.8 in [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] CARGO VOLUME [/TD]

[TD] 3.7 cu ft [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr1]

[TD=colspan: 2] TEST DATA [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD=colspan: 2] ACCELERATION TO MPH [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] 0-30 [/TD]

[TD] 1.6 sec [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] 0-40 [/TD]

[TD] 2.4 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] 0-50 [/TD]

[TD] 3.2 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] 0-60 [/TD]

[TD] 4.3 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] 0-70 [/TD]

[TD] 5.4 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] 0-80 [/TD]

[TD] 6.9 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] 0-90 [/TD]

[TD] 8.7 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] 0-100 [/TD]

[TD] 10.7 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] PASSING, 45-65 MPH [/TD]

[TD] 2.1 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] QUARTER MILE [/TD]

[TD] 12.8 sec @ 108.8 mph [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] BRAKING, 60-0 MPH [/TD]

[TD] 113 ft [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH [/TD]

[TD] 2100 rpm [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr1]

[TD=colspan: 2] CONSUMER INFO [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] BASE PRICE [/TD]

[TD] $55,195 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] PRICE AS TESTED [/TD]

[TD] $57,795 [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL [/TD]

[TD] Yes/Yes [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] AIRBAGS [/TD]

[TD] Dual front, front side, driver knee [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] BASIC WARRANTY [/TD]

[TD] 4 yrs/50,000 miles [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] POWERTRAIN WARRANTY [/TD]

[TD] 4 yrs/50,000 miles [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE [/TD]

[TD] 4 yrs/50,000 miles [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] FUEL CAPACITY [/TD]

[TD] 10.5 gal [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON [/TD]

[TD] 24/34/28 mpg [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] ENERGY CONS., CITY/HWY [/TD]

[TD] 140/99 kW-hrs/100 miles [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr3]

[TD] CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB [/TD]

[TD] 0.70 lb/mile [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR=class: hdr2]

[TD] RECOMMENDED FUEL [/TD]

[TD] Unleaded premium [/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Read more: 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C First Test - Motor Trend