VW buying Alfa Romeo? Posted 2010/07/26 @ 05:00 AM By Myles Kornblatt
This rumor has been going around for a while, but here is some new fuel for the fire. The Volkswagen Group’s Chairman Martin Winterkorn has reportedly called Alfa Romeo a “dream brand” for VW.
While Fiat has not publicly said its premium performance brand is for sale, it is easily understood that they could be willing to part with Alfa for the right price. Fiat doesn’t disclose the profit loss for each brand in its group, but industry analysts believe Alfa Romeo has not been making money for many years. This puts Fiat in a particularly tough spot recently as it sinks money into overhauling Chrysler.
Volkswagen may have some room left in its balance sheet after a failed tie-in with Proton back in May, but is VW the best fit for Alfa? Any extra reliability that would come from this marriage would be a welcomed addition to Alfa Romeo, but at what cost? Would the German company’s straight-laced engineers interfere too much with one of the most passionate car brands on earth?
There are plenty of times we see the good girl fall in love with the bad boy. In fact, the VW Group did a miracle with Lamborghini. But with a full line of Audis (and a few up-market VWs,) where would Alfa fit in this family?
This one is just a rumor for now, but if this goes forward, this may cause the largest outcry from enthusiasts since Porsche decided to build a sedan.
It surprises me that nobody is talking about the SEAT-brand, also a part of the Gruppe? They did everything to copy Alfa Romeo, so why bother about the Italians?
Comment by GTR24
I like SEAT, too. SEAT was on its way out of the Fiat family about the same time as Alfa was on its way in. I just don't think it gets to play in Alfa's higher prices because it hasn't been racing as long.
