Aside from the Fiat 500, which is set to go on sale in the United States as a 2011 model, the first Italian-badged vehicle of the Fiat-Chrysler tie-up will likely be a full-sized Alfa Romeo potentially built on the Chrysler LX platform in the Michigan automaker’s Brampton, Ontario, assembly plant.
Canada’s Financial Post cited a report from IHS Global Insight that the new, large Alfa Romeo would be built alongside the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger at the Brampton, Ontario, assembly plant.
The 300, Charger and Challenger’s LX platform, a byproduct of Chrysler’s tie-up with Daimler, could provide right the full-size platform that Fiat has been seeking for its Alfa Romeo brand. The Italian automaker’s last large sedan, the 166 (pictured), was not a financial success in Europe and its successor has been pushed back repeatedly. The front-wheel-drive 166 was discontinued in 2007. Originally slated to receive the 169 nameplate, rumors a few months ago suggest that Fiat might invoke either the historical Milano or Giulia badges for the model in North America.
Sized about like an Audi A6 or BMW 5-Series, the 166 was actually sold for a brief period in the United States by AutoDelta USA, a private importer from Tennesse, though the shady dealings attracted the attention of the EPA, which later shut down the operation after just 24 cars were imported.
Considered a main element to Alfa Romeo’s prosperity in North America, the 169 would be tailored specifically for the market and would not likely be built in Europe. It’s expected that Alfa Romeo would sell the 169, the smaller 159, the Spider roadster and probably the Brera sports car in North America.
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Source: www.leftlanenews.com
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