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The upcoming Alfa Romeo 169 will be based on a Dodge Charger platform and built in Canada, according to reports.

Analysts IHS Global Insight said the car will go into production in 2011 and $62,000 (£38,000) in the US.

See all the latest Alfa Romeo reviews, news and video

The car’s platform sharing comes as a result of the alliance between Fiat and Chrysler, the US manufacturer’s 300 model sharing the same underpinni...Read the full article

Autocar:

The upcoming Alfa Romeo 169 will be based on a Dodge Charger platform and built in Canada, according to reports

Oh dear oh dear oh dear....

Looking forward to the 159 arriving with an interior clad in beaver pelts and thanks to the Americans unable to go aroound a rooundaboot (some of that obviously thanks to the Canucks)

Hmmm... at first glance - Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! But then again 1. Chrysler 300C/Dodge Charger etc platform is rear wheel drive - good I think, 2. it's based on a Mercedes platform in the first place - generally good (certainly a strong base) 3. Saves a LOAD of money for both Alfa thru simple access to RWD and Chrysler thru economies of scale. What's actually not to like?

simonb22@hotmail.com:

What's actually not to like?

 

It is based on a Merc platform, you are right, but a pretty bl00dy old one and not a particularly exciting one in it's heyday. That's not to say that this is automatically a bad thing- as you say, at least it's RWD and platforms can be modernized and tweaked fairly easily so it may turn out to be an OK platform with a bit of alfa love poured over it?

simonb22@hotmail.com:

it's based on a Mercedes platform in the first place

Is this Platform not now 2 generations out of date?

simonb22@hotmail.com:

What's actually not to like?

 

Mercedes suffered in there ill fated tie-up with the Chrysler group and they are a very strong company and relatively cash rich. FIAT/Alfa are poor by comparison in both respects do they stand a chance? 

 

 

jonfortwo:

Mercedes suffered in there ill fated tie-up with the Chrysler group and they are a very strong company and relatively cash rich. FIAT/Alfa are poor by comparison in both respects do they stand a chance? 

 

To be fair I think Mercedes got what they deserved. Chrysler definitely suffered from the tie-up. The only good thing to come out of it was the 300C. After the break-up Chrysler were left with nothing. All their bright people had gone because they weren't German enough.

 I am not saying Fiat ownership is a good thing , but it hasn't hurt Ferrari.

Uncle Mellow:

jonfortwo:

Mercedes suffered in there ill fated tie-up with the Chrysler group and they are a very strong company and relatively cash rich. FIAT/Alfa are poor by comparison in both respects do they stand a chance? 

 

To be fair I think Mercedes got what they deserved. Chrysler definitely suffered from the tie-up. The only good thing to come out of it was the 300C. After the break-up Chrysler were left with nothing. All their bright people had gone because they weren't German enough.

Absoultely.  Everyone loves to beat up on Chrysler, but the fact is that they suffered a great deal under the "merger of equals" that saw the company gutted of any talent and ability they had.

Bob Eaton, the former head of GM Europe who was Chrysler's CEO at the time, was completely unmatched against Jurgen Schrempp.  Eaton was soon pushed out the door post-merger so Schrempp could control things unabated.  Chrysler was one of the most profitable automakers in the world at the end of the 1990s.  Though they were known as "innovators" for doing more with less (Chrysler was always the weakest among the Big 3 automakers), they put out solid products for the time and many North Americans were attracted to their offerings.

Led by American Tom Gale and Brit Trevor Creed, they even had one of the better corporate design houses in the industry at the time of the takeover.

But slowly everything erroded.  The Germans were all about installing their people and their procedures. They kept Chrysler people from positions of authority and slowly drove them out of the company. Even the supervisory Board started with 4 Americans (out of 11) and was down to 1 in a year.

It was a very bad time for the Auburn Hills crew.  They couldn't get any of their product plans approved in Stuttgart, they had no voice at the top of the company, and the very corporate execs who made the company a success were fleeing left and right.  How can a company survive successfully when their talent and knowledge pool drains away to nothing?

So while Chrysler has been far from the company they once were, it wasn't entirely their fault that things went down the tubes like they did.  The Germans have their own way of doing things and the Americans weren't exactly kept in the highest regards by their corporate parents.

It was all a formula for disaster.  No wonder they lost money and did doing so poorly.

theonlydt:

Looking forward to the 159 arriving with an interior clad in beaver pelts and thanks to the Americans unable to go aroound a rooundaboot (some of that obviously thanks to the Canucks)

I take Offense to all you have said. You seem to be very missinformed about Canada.

Have you looked at a map, ever? Do you see all that space? Well there's Road's all over that wide open space... So, pick your best road in the UK and I'll find you a spot in Canada that will have a similar road. With no cameras/gasto's/cops/traffic. Well, very few Cops.

 So what you get are great roads with No traffic. Oh and Cars are Cheap! Check the $CDN65,000 (£35.2394)Sticker on a New Benz C63. Oh and $1.15/L to fuel it. He he he...

Now don't get me wrong there are brutal straight lines. I've heard of some that go on for days. But there are HUGE Mountians and Lots of Coast. and some crazy Ice Age stuff in the middle. That means Roads with Corners. And that's where all the fun is.

Please don't dump on us because of the US. We don't care for them much either, really. 

The Chrysler Plant in Brampton has a great reputation for quality product. They Make all the Big "HEMI" stuff there. Not in the US. Strange...

Check out the TARGA Newfoundland. And MAGNA. And the Campagna T-Rex

Canada Rules!

lol well said Big Mac- they're an ascerbic lot in here :p, always had a soft spot for Eagles, specially the vision, shame they dont make them anymore.Maybe with more focus on Canada they would ressurect the brand, i doubt it would happen now, but would be nice.

Big Mac:

I take Offense to all you have said. You seem to be very missinformed about Canada

 

A light hearted joke - I assure you. Have been to Canada many times. My wife is Canadian. I'm moving to Canada.

 

And are you honestly advising me to check out Newfoundland - no matter how good the roads it's not worth the risk of running into the locals :D

I've a soft spot for Canada too, never been but 2 of my favourite bands are Canadian (Rush/Voivod). However, the very thought of a Canadian built, ex-Merc, ex-Chrysler platformed 169 makes me shudder.

The GM-sourced, Alfa-tweaked "twin phaser" V6 engine will never be as loved as the original Busso-designed V6. Likewise, I'm sure the 169 will be solid and well-made and rwd (does that count for much in these "electronic counter measures" days?), but it will never be thought of in the way the 164 is.

I went to test-drive a 159ti, but the salesman, who saw me turn up in my 156 v6, put me off it, saying they weren't as nice to drive as the 156!

Alfa RIP, I'm off to find a good deal on a GT...