Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automaker founded in 24 June 1910 in Milan. Alfa Romeo has been a part of the Fiat Group since 1986. The company was originally known as A.L.F.A., which is an acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (translated: Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company).

Type	Private
Predecessor	Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID)
Founded	24 June 1910 in Milan, Italy
Founder(s)	Alexandre Darracq/Ugo Stella Nicola Romeo
Headquarters	Turin, Italy
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Luca di Montezemolo (President) Luca De Meo (CEO)
Industry	Automotive
Products	Automobiles
Parent	Fiat S.p.A.
Website	AlfaRomeo.com

Production

Until the 1980s, Alfa Romeos, except for the Alfasud, were rear-wheel-drive.

According to the current Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne in order to reap economies of scale, all new Alfa Romeo models will be made from the same basic platform (i.e., frame). Even Maserati will share components with some Alfas.

Quadrifoglio badge on the Alfetta 159

Cloverleaf, or Quadrifoglio, badges denote high-end in comfort and engine size variants of Alfa Romeo cars, but previously denoted Alfa Romeo racing cars in the pre-Second-World-War era. The image first appeared in 1923 when Ugo Sivocci presented one prior to the start of the 14th Targa Florio as a good luck token to the team. This became the symbol of competition Alfas, denoting higher performance. Some modern Alfas wear a cloverleaf badge which is typically a green four leaf clover on a white background (Quadrifoglio Verde), but variants of blue on white have been recently observed as well.

The Alfettas of the early 1980s had models available sold as the "Silver Leaf" and "Gold Leaf" (Quadrifoglio Oro). These models were the top of the range. Badging was the Alfa Cloverleaf in either gold or silver to denote the specification level. The Gold Leaf model was also sold as the "159i" in some markets, the name in homage to the original 159.

The trim levels (option packages) offered today on the various nameplates (model lines) include the lusso ("luxury"), turismo ("touring"), and the GTA (gran tourismo alleggerita ("light-weight grand tourer"). The GTA package is offered in the 147 and 156 and includes a V-6 engine. In the past, Alfa Romeo offered a Sprint (from Italian sprintare, "to accelerate fast") trim level.

During the 1990s, Alfa Romeo moved car production to other districts in Italy. The Pomigliano d’Arco plant produced the 155, followed by the 145 and the 146, while Arese manufactured the 164 and new Spider and GTV. The 156 was launched in 1997, and became quite successful for Alfa Romeo; in 1998 it was voted “Car of the Year”. The same year a new flagship, the 166 (assembled in Rivalta, near Turin) was launched. At the beginning of the third millennium, the 147 was released, which won the prestigious title of “Car of the Year 2001”. In 2003 the Arese factory is closed.

The 155, 156, and GTV/Spider are no longer produced. The GTV/Spider was made in limited numbers, and is still a sought after model.

The Arese factory today hosts almost nothing and is nearly abandoned. What remains are some offices and the great Alfa Romeo Historical Museum, a must-see for Alfa Romeo fans.

Right-hand drive production post-1960

In the 60s, the main Alfa Romeo seat was moved from inside Milan to a very large and nearby area extending over the municipalities of Arese, Lainate and Garbagnate Milanese. However, since then the Alfa seat is known to be in Arese, since the offices and the main entrance of the area are there.

In the late 1960s, a number of European automobile manufacturers established facilities in South Africa to assemble right hand drive vehicles. Fiat and other Italian manufacturers established factories along with these other manufacturers, Alfa-Romeos were assembled in Brits, outside of Pretoria in the Transvaal Province of South Africa. With the imposition of sanctions by western powers in the 1970s and 1980s, South Africa became self sufficient, and in car production came to rely more and more on the products from local factories. This led to a remarkable set of circumstances where between 1972 and 1989, South Africa had the greatest number of Alfa Romeos on the road outside of Italy.

Return to the United States

In 1995 Alfa Romeo ceased exporting cars to the United States, the last model to be sold being the 164. Rumors began of their return, however as the FAQ on Alfa's English website had said "The long-awaited return of Alfa Romeo to the United States market should take place by 2007, with a range of new models."

Alfa Romeo's return to United States was confirmed on 5 May 2006 by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne. It will begin in 2008, by selling the 8C Competizione. Alfa Romeo resumed sales in the United States with the 8C Competizione in October 2008.^[10] In late 2009, Alfa Romeo will release the 159, Brera, and Spider after they receive a mid-life styling and technical refreshening. It is anticipated that a year or two later will see the introduction of the Kamal SUV, 169, and possibly the B-segment Mi.To (as a competitor for the MINI Cooper). As with the 8C Competizione, Alfa Romeos will be initially sold at Maserati dealers throughout United States. Alfa Romeo and Chrysler are currently in discussions, with Alfa Romeo possibly using Chrysler manufacturing plants that have been shut down due to unneeded product.

Due to the global financial crisis of 2008, the full return of Alfa Romeo to the US market with the release of Alfa Romeo models other than the 8C Competizione will be delayed until 2011.