More cars are coming our way from Europe, as Fiat considers bringing Alfa-Romeo back and BMW expands the Mini model lineup. Fewer choices will be available from a U.S. firm, as GM will drop the XUV version of the GMC Envoy and the four-wheel-steering option in its large pickups and SUVs.
RETURN OF ALFA: Alfa-Romeo was always supposed to be returning to North America as part of the deal between GM and Fiat, but many people feared that would not happen now that that marriage has been put asunder. Following a rash of executive and structural changes, however, it looks like the famous luxury brand from Italy may still be coming back.
According to sources inside GM and Fiat, the Italian-Canadian lawyer, Sergio Marchionne, who's now the boss of the Fiat Group, is now planning to bring Alfa back, with some help from technical help from GM.
The whole thing is vague because it's still unsubstantiated, but sources in Detroit and Italy say that Marchionne wants Alfa back here in 2007. The idea seems to be that his recent move to separate Maserati from Ferrari would help him use the former brand as a hook to bring launch Alfa.
GM is also said to be involved because an arrangement it has with Fiat has it supplying the Northstar V-8 that had always been planned as the engine for the production version of the Kubang SUV that was originally badged as a Maserati but would wear the Alfa logo when it's built.
Needless to say, a lot of details need to be verified and worked out before Alfa returns to this continent, but it seems certain that Marchionne certainly wants to make it happen.
GM AXES QUADRASTEER: The biggest advance in large truck handling ever will go off the market soon, as General Motors stops offering Delphi's four-wheel-steering system with its large pickups and SUVs.
Quadrasteer was developed as an aid for people who tow trailers, but it was just as much a boon to owners in tighter urban settings because it reduced the amount of room needed to turn or park.
It will continue as an option on the Chevrolet Silverado and Suburban and the GMC Sierra and Yukon Denali through the end of the 2005 model year, but it won't be part of the package when the next generation of the large pickup trucks debuts in 2006.
Cost is generally given as the big reason consumers did not take to the technology, so GM halved the price. But that still didn't make it palatable to truck buyers, who couldn't really see its advantages without living with it.
People who have a vehicle with Quadrasteer are usually great fans, and it will be hard for them to return to the more cumbersome traditional vehicle.
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According to sources inside GM and Fiat, the Italian-Canadian lawyer, Sergio Marchionne, who's now the boss of the Fiat Group, is now planning to bring Alfa back, with some help from technical help from GM.
The whole thing is vague because it's still unsubstantiated, but sources in Detroit and Italy say that Marchionne wants Alfa back here in 2007. The idea seems to be that his recent move to separate Maserati from Ferrari would help him use the former brand as a hook to bring launch Alfa.
GM is also said to be involved because an arrangement it has with Fiat has it supplying the Northstar V-8 that had always been planned as the engine for the production version of the Kubang SUV that was originally badged as a Maserati but would wear the Alfa logo when it's built.
Needless to say, a lot of details need to be verified and worked out before Alfa returns to this continent, but it seems certain that Marchionne certainly wants to make it happen.
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| Chevrolet Silverado |
Quadrasteer was developed as an aid for people who tow trailers, but it was just as much a boon to owners in tighter urban settings because it reduced the amount of room needed to turn or park.
It will continue as an option on the Chevrolet Silverado and Suburban and the GMC Sierra and Yukon Denali through the end of the 2005 model year, but it won't be part of the package when the next generation of the large pickup trucks debuts in 2006.
Cost is generally given as the big reason consumers did not take to the technology, so GM halved the price. But that still didn't make it palatable to truck buyers, who couldn't really see its advantages without living with it.
People who have a vehicle with Quadrasteer are usually great fans, and it will be hard for them to return to the more cumbersome traditional vehicle.