Alfa Romeo 2000 Reviews

Gerry Dorizas has arrived at the most critical time in the history of the red lion and will take the company through the shutdown of local production, and the death of the Commodore, into a future that is still being defined.Greek-born Dorizas is not in Australia to win a popularity contest, but he says he is at Holden because he believes in the brand and its future. "Everywhere I have been, there has been a fire," Dorizas tells Carsguide.That means he's been through troubled times at Alfa Romeo, and Volkswagen, Toyota, Hyundai and even Mercedes-Benz. Most recently, he was in India with Volkswagen. And that's not a good place.His plan, broadly speaking, is to return Holden to the top by putting its customers first. His target is number one in showrooms by 2020. But it's not going to be easy, or quick, which is why he is committed to at least seven years at the helm of Holden.And there you have the big difference between Dorizas an every other CEO I have seen at Holden over the past 30-something years. Holden was always a stepping stone to somewhere else, even if it was the last stop on the road to retirement for German firebrand Peter Hanenberger and Aussie sales guru John Bagshaw. There has been a long succession of mid-level American managers who came and then moved on with a tick on their report card, even if blokes like Mark Reuss and Alan Batey continue their love affair with Holden and Australia from their new jobs in America."I have joined Holden. I have not joined GM," Dorizas says bluntly. He is not ready to share any product plans, but talks optimistically about changing the Holden culture from headquarters in Fishermans Bend down to the workshop floor in the most remote dealership. "The brand is made up of people. There is a lot of work for all of us. I'm ready to fight," he says. "We have to get our customers back. We have to delight our customers."The reaction to Dorizas' plan is predictable and not particularly positive. "Tell him he's dreaming," says one rival executive. But he has a plan and he's been hired from the outside to make a difference on the inside. "What I ask is, give us a chance. Don't be so tough on us. We will walk the talk," Dorizas promises.But 2020 is a long way off, and a return to number one in Australia at the expense of Toyota is every further from today's reality. So, what can we take away from the first Carsguide chat with The Chief?Dorizas is smart and feisty, he has experience and good ideas, and he's not just a company man. The first change he has made is obvious. Every Holden executive now has a red lion badge on their suit lapel, which seems like a tiny thing but is a very real reflection of renewed pride in a brand which has lost its shine.This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover 

The site of a former Bunnings store in Hoppers Crossing is being redeveloped into a multi-franchise car dealership. The facility, at 163-179 Old Geelong Rd, will become the new home of Werribee Hyundai and Werribee Chrysler Jeep Dodge Alfa Fiat.Bunnings relocated to a bigger site last year. Wilmac Properties is developing the 26,000sq m site which is expected to be completed between June and September. Hopper Motor Group chief executive Paul Hopper said the existing building would be converted into an automotive service, car storage and car washing facilities over two levels.Two new showrooms will be built in front of it with 250 new and used cars on display, he said. Once completed it will generate about 200 ongoing jobs. 'The project represents one of the most substantial private investments in the area in recent years," he said. 

Alfa Romeo is one of the most evocative names in the world of motoring

Alfa is keen to grab a larger slice of the pie in Australia and the updated second generation Mito is part of that plan.

Through the snaking bitumen circuit the carbon-fibre coupe skips and twitches, grumbles and roars and arrests every gram of the driver's attention.

Priced at some $50,000 a seat, Alfa Romeo's tiny new flagship isn't cheap — but it's one of the stars of the Geneva motor show. The roadster take on the beguiling 4C coupe follows the hardtop into local showrooms early next year, from $100,000 to as much as $120,000 for a special launch edition. The coupe arrives late this year priced from about $80,000.The launch edition features bigger wheels, sports bodywork, extra carbon-fibre components and upgraded cabin trim. Fiat Chrysler spokeswoman Karla Leach says 120 customers have paid deposits for the coupe without knowing the final price. The Spider was confirmed as an addition to the range this week."Some people who have paid deposits for the coupe may change to the Spider," she says. The 4C is the Mini-Me version of Alfa's limited-edition 8C, which was built by Maserati with a Ferrari engine.Despite its relative diminutive size, the 4C emulates the 8C's high-performance mandate and light weight with a carbon-fibre body and a 1750cc turbocharged petrol engine, dual-clutch transmission and rear-wheel-drive. The Spider sticks with the formula, weighing only 895kg and measuring less than 4m long and 1.2m high.The engine, an evolution of the Giulietta hatchback's turbo four, is tuned to 177kW/350Nm for a 0-100km/h sprint time of only 4.5 seconds. The 4C's power plant has redesigned intake and exhaust ports, direct fuel injection, continuous variable valve timing for inlet and exhaust and a scavenging control setup to eliminate turbo lag.The dual-clutch transmission has six ratios, selected by paddle-shifters. New for the brand is the 4C's DNA selector - it has three standard drivetrain settings, dynamic, natural and all-weather. A "race" mode sharpens engine, steering and transmission responses.This reporter is on Twitter: @cg_dowling Watch the desktop version of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider trailer video here. 

Twelve months after the hardtop 4C made its first appearance in production form, Alfa Romeo has taken the wraps off a new soft-top Spider version of its carbon-fibre sports car.The Spider replaces the existing hardtop’s carbon fixed roof with a removable soft panel, fixed carbon roll hoop, and the glass engine cover is replaced by a sculpted carbon decklid.The body has been shaped to maintain the same downforce capabilities of the hardtop, while minimising cabin turbulence with the roof open. Alfa claims that the Spider’s dry weight is still within 1000kg, compared with the hardtop’s 895kg dry figure.Aside from the open roof, the Spider also scores much improved ‘Clamshell’ headlights, eight-spoke 18 and 19 inch staggered alloy wheels and twinned central exhausts to replace the hardtop’s dual corner exits. This exhaust is a dual-stage carbon and titanium unit designed by  Akrapovic – a brand well known in motorcycle racing circles.The suspension has been tweaked to suit the Spider’s slightly altered weight distribution, but is otherwise mechanically identical to the 4C hardtop, with a mid-mounted 177kW/350Nm 1.7-litre petrol turbo and Alfa’s six-speed TCT dual-clutch auto driving the rear wheels.The 4C Spider is scheduled to appear in European showrooms in early 2015, but Alfa is yet to confirm the likely limited production run. Only 4500 hardtops are being built, and Spider numbers are only likely to be a fraction of this figure.It’s unclear at this stage if any 4C Spiders will make their way to Australia, but with the Australia-Pacific region allocated about 10 percent of the hardtop’s production limit, you’ll want to make good friends with your local Alfa dealer.This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn Watch the desktop version of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider trailer video here.  

Despite an official full steam ahead on the Mazda/Fiat Chrysler joint project to develop an Italian-badged roadster based on the next MX-5, its now looking like that badge may not be Alfa Romeo after all.The project has been praised by Alfa loyalists craving the return of an affordable rear-drive Alfa, but Fiat Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne has repeatedly insisted that he will not allow any Alfa Romeo models to be built outside Italy.Both versions of the car were planned to be built by Mazda in Japan, and recent spy shots of each version undergoing testing suggest that development is well underway.According to Automotive News Europe, the Fiat Chrysler end of the project is now more likely to wear a Fiat or Abarth badge when it arrives after the fourth-generation MX-5’s 2015 debut.Citing anonymous sources, the report suggests that product planners will soon decide which of Fiat Chrysler’s suite of brands the new model will fit under. If the Fiat Chrysler model does shift from Alfa, a significant redesign will likely be necessary, particularly around the trademark Alfa shield grille nose. The mechanicals will likely remain as planned though, with the expected 1.4-litre turbo engine already in use across several Fiat Chrysler models.Such a move would not leave Alfa without a rear-drive convertible either, with a drop-top version of its 4C sports car due to be revealed in Geneva this week.This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn 

We're still waiting for the Alfa Romeo 4C to hit Australian showrooms, with overseas demand for the beautiful sports coupe meaning delivery down under will be delayed for a while. And now it seems like we'll be left hankering after another variant of the Alfa halo car, with an open-top Spider said to be heading for a global unveiling at Geneva motor show next week -- three years after the 4C concept was first shown there.Reports suggest the 4C Spider won't have a folding convertible roof but a removable panel -- there's no suggestion yet about whether there will be onboard storage for the roof section once you unlatch it, but it may be a fold-and-stow design.The Italian carmaker has previously said taking the top off the 4C would be comparatively easy, given the torsional stiffness gained from the car's largely carbon-fibre chassis. However Alfa Romeo development chief Guglielmo Caviasso has signalled that the car would target a light weight, meaning a mechanised folding roof is off the table.There's talk of the headlight design of the coupe being dumped for styling that reverts more to that of the original concept, while a fresh alloy wheel wardrobe is also on the cards.However the 4C Spider is likely to be powered by the coupe's mid-mounted 1.7-litre turbo four-cylinder, with two levels of tune -- a 176kW/350Nm version and a Launch Edition with the horses geed up to 179kW -- matched to a dual-clutch automatic.The big question for Australia will be supply. Alfa is producing only 4500 of the 4C coupe in its first year -- of which 1000 will be Launch Edition models -- and the local HQ has previously said the Australia-Pacific region would get around 10 per cent of that, but how many of those are allocated for our shores is yet to be revealed. The cars were scheduled to arrive in the second quarter of this year, but in 2013 Alfa Romeo Australia put a hold on orders until the final quota is known -- and with more than 100 expressions of interest in hand.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

If there is such a thing as a sampler in the automobile industry this must surely be one.