NAIAS 2013: Alfa Romeo Makes Triumphant Return To The US Wth AWD Hybrid, Ignored By Everyone

by Derek Kreindler

Published: January 15th, 2013

naias 2013 alfa romeo makes triumphant return to the us wth awd hybrid ignored by

This is an Alfa Romeo 166. No, really. This car, called the Trumpchi, is owned by Chinese automaker GAC, and uses an Alfa platform. Apparently it’s a 4WD Hybrid as well. It looks utterly generic and about a decade behind the rest of the competizione…err, competition.

#AlfaRomeo #ChineseCar #GAC #Naias2013 #Trumpchi

Derek Kreindler

More by Derek Kreindler

Comments

Join the conversation

7 of 31 comments

Thesparrow on Jan 15, 2013

Somehow just looking at this makes me depressed.

Like Reply
- Stumpaster on Jan 16, 2013
  
  Understandable. Inevitably in the future, this POS will be sold here thanks to solid efforts by the best marketing firms in the business, just like the POS Chinese tools and equipment sold at Home Depot and Walmart. By then, just like with the tools sold in those stores, it will be expected that in return for lower price we get an inferior product that has rather limited lifespan. The mentality will move even more towards "I don't care if this fridge falls apart in 3 years, I saved enough money to buy a new one then. More metal will be processed, more factories will burn fuels to process it, etc. etc. etc.
  
  Like
Mklrivpwner on Jan 16, 2013

Who wrote this and how do they still have a job? 1) Where in the article does the information reflect the title? Why not title it "American GDP as discussed by baseball legend Chipper Jones" It would have had the same relevance. Of course it probably should have been "Here's a picture of an asian car!" That would have been accurate to the content. The exclamation point is so that your readers have something to comment about. 2) Why did the author pressume that a current model Asian market car could reflect a future model North American market car from a European company? 3) There's so little information about the car, about Alfa's US market plans, about anything, that this whole article could have been the caption of the picture. At least then, the author would have been forced to actually write something.

Like Reply
- See 1 previous
- Beemernator on Jan 17, 2013
  
  Yeah, some actual information would be nice. Just how much of the original Alfa 166 is used, for instance. It doesn't look anything like the 166. The filler cap is in the same place. And they are both round. That is about it. In DK's defence - information on Trumpchi GA5 Sedan from Guangzhou Auto (GAC) is quite scarce. Here are some picture galleries that I found: http://chinaautoweb.com/car-models/gac-trumpchi/ http://db.auto.sohu.com/model_2967/ The specifications say that it comes with a 1.8 or 2.0 DOHC 16V I4, but with only 108kW I doubt that it is a Twin-Spark. No word about any Alfa V6, which has always been the best part of any car that is fitted into.
  
  Like
- Vsex on Jan 17, 2013
  
  @Beemernator this car has only platform of 166, its not even close to the original Alfa Romeo, totally different car
  
  Like
Infinitime on Jan 17, 2013

Here's an article from Tycho, a Dutch auto enthusist living in Beijing: Apparently, the old Fiat Twinspark is available on lesser non-hybrid models: http://www.carnewschina.com/2012/12/12/guangzhou-auto-trumpchi-ga5-launched-on-the-china-car-market/

Like Reply
Vsex on Jan 18, 2013

Fiat doesnt have twin spark, Alfa does

Like Reply