An associate of one of our spy photographers stumbled upon a camouflaged Alfa Romeo Giulietta hatchback at a gas station in Detroit on Wednesday morning.
The Italian compact model was covered in what looks like a matte black vinyl wrap with all Alfa Romeo logos hidden. Now, before you jump to the wrong conclusions, let us tell you that this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Giulietta in the States.
In fact, back in 2010, a whole truckload of Giuliettas was snagged on a Michigan freeway heading towards the Chrysler Group’s headquarters in Auburn Hills. For all we know, this may be one of the leftovers.
You see, the Fiat Group has been constantly pushing back Alfa Romeo’s launch in the States for a variety of reasons ranging from the economic downturn on either side of the Atlantic to problems related to the cars themselves.
Last we heard, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said that Alfa Romeo’s return to the U.S. would take place in early 2013 with the forthcoming production version of the 4C mid-engined sports car – though we wouldn’t rush to make plans just yet…
As for the Giulietta, it’s supposed to receive its U.S. debut in mid-2013, though a recent report from Autonews said that Alfa may reverse its decision because according to an inside source, “U.S. clinics showed that the Giulietta’s cockpit feels too narrow to potential customers”.
Furthermore, Alfa has said that the Giulietta will gain a mild-life facelift in 2014, so it would make more sense for the Italians to wait another year if they have decided to bring the current generation to the States.
A lot of “ifs” and “maybes” indeed. For now, the closest you can get to the Giulietta is its American cousin, the new 2013 Dodge Dart sedan which is based on a wider and elongated version of the Alfa’s CUSW platform.
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