Alfa Romeo should have already found a way to get the 4C sports car to the United States by now, but it hasn’t. Owner Fiat had so far announced that the car will need to be heavier to comply with US laws, as well as the fact that it hasn’t decided how to get sales rolling in anything resembling a timely fashion. This is becoming a brand trait not limited to the 4C, and I’m sure lots of people (including group CEO Sergio Marchionne) are beginning to lose their temper.
Yes, the Fiat boss has some very tricky decision making to consider, so as to not affect either Fiat or Chrysler negatively in its declared effort to completely buy out the American company and do a massive merger, but it needs to be done already…
Bloomberg reports that Fiat needs to close the deal on Chrysler, sort out the UAW union conundrum and gain complete use of the company’s resources, because otherwise, the logistics of bringing the 4C to the US are not in its favor.
The video posted below goes into more detail as to why the two events are linked, but to me it sounded a bit pessimistic on the reporters’ side – maybe more is known but cannot be revealed yet.
I think the 4C will not achieve cult status (which it can, given what it is, how it was made and who built it) if it doesn’t cross the pond into the US where its $50,000-ish expected price tag will not be as prohibitive as it is in cash-strapped Europe.
By Andrei Nedelea
VIDEO