Alfa Romeo Partners With Maserati To Enter U.S.

Maserati, the exotic Italian car manufacturer, has ambitious plans for the future, which may well entail linking up with its fellow countryman Alfa Romeo in the U.S. to boost sports car sales there.

Maserati, owned by Italian mass car maker Fiat which itself recently emerged from a messy divorce from General Motors Corp., is lucky to be alive.

It has been a serial loss maker and last year notched up its 17th year in a row of red ink. That is set to end in 2007.

"Maserati will finally return to profitability in 2007, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne told financial analysts after announcing its results for 2006.

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LexusNumberOne4ever - 5/7/2007 10:34:54 AM

-2 Boost

Alfa uses Fiat platforms and they're tying up with Maserati?

Maserati should be tied with Ferrari to do this exotic, exclusive Italian thing.

atomicbri - 5/7/2007 10:59:32 AM

+1 Boost

The new Maserati uses Alfa platform in case you didnt know and Fiat is letting Alfa create more of its own platforms to share with Maserati. Remember Fiat owns Maserati, part of Ferarri, Alfa, and Lancia. So tying up with Maserati makes total sense since they are both owned by parent Fiat. I can't wait to see Alfa back here on these shores!

NikolaiPetroff3333 - 5/7/2007 4:20:03 PM

+1 Boost

Nonsense, Maserati does not use Alfa platforms. Alfa uses ex GM platforms and Maserati has it's own. All this Maser/Alfa platform sharing is just rumors for now, i.e. maybe Alfa 169 will use the Qporte platform.

atomicbri - 5/7/2007 10:17:21 PM

+1 Boost

Sorry to burst your bubble dude, but read this and weep. The article is found here

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060717/FREE/60710015&SearchID=73251926929644

Here is an excerpt from it:

"The decision to return Alfa Romeo to the North American market stems from a strategic plan laid out by parent company Fiat, which aims for a close alignment with Maserati. The plan calls for Alfa Romeo and Maserati to develop new models using common components to lower costs, speed development and improve profitability.
Under an earlier plan, Maserati was aligned with Ferrari, but that was abandoned last year when it became apparent that developing Maserati models to the same standards used at Ferrari proved too expensive for Maserati’s volume ambitions. By grouping Alfa Romeo and Maserati together, Fiat hopes to have finally found a complementary pairing."

S4cabriofoxone - 5/7/2007 9:52:48 PM

+2 Boost

I'm excited for Alfa to enter the U.S. Maseratis are beautifiul, and if AR gets the privelege to have some of its models based on them, it would make them even more attractive- and not just on the outside.

NikolaiPetroff3333 - 5/8/2007 6:03:29 AM

+1 Boost

Alfa "might" develop platforms with Maserati. As of 2007 they are completely DIFFERENT. I owned a 2005 Alfa GT coupe, I know a thing or two about Alfas. Right now, Alfa and Maserati use different platforms. So when atomicbri says that Alfa and Maserati use the same platform, he is wrong.
Fiat changes opinions faster then a baby's nappy is changed.
Latest rumors are that maybe the Alfa 169 will use a version of the Qporte platform. That is it.

mp2dtw - 5/9/2007 12:28:10 AM

+1 Boost

Good, Alfa's re-entering the US market. In Detroit we've known this for 3-4 years because of all the Alfa Romeos with manufacturer plates driving around. This year, I've seen no fewer than 30 Peugeots with manufacturer plates in suburban Detroit. They must be next.