Now what? Maybe no new Spider?!

[James Bratek <james_bratek@domain.elided>]

From the May 20 issue of AutoWeek:

Alfa Romeo's projected re-entry into the North American market may be
postponed due to widespread financial troubles within Fiat Auto and its
holding company, Fiat Group. Fiat and partner General Motors had planned to
bring Alfa back to America starting with the next Spider at the end of 2004
for the 2005 model year, but sources in Europe say that plan has been
scrapped.

Turns out also, says our source, that the next Spider itself is in question
due to lack of cash to properly develop its new platform and then re-tool
the factory to build it. Saab's 9-3X also could be affected, considering the
next Spider platform was expected to underpin the all-wheel-drive hatch.

Another fun machine suffering from this uncertainty is the
Italdesign-Giugiaro Alfa Romeo Brera concept. It finds itself well down the
list of priorities as Fiat tries to survive and deal with the possibility
that 20 percent shareholder General Motors may exercise an option to buy the
entire company in January 2004.
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