Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo's ninety years of existence encompass some of the most important chapters in motoring history. It is a story of cars, designers, races and engines that stand as technological and sporting milestones of the Twentieth century. A brand such as Alfa Romeo is the sum of all these parts, and also of the work and professional pride of the thousands of people&mdash-gineers, workers and managers--who have succeeded one another in its factories and offices and on the racing track. ... Alfa Romeos are still not made for people who believe driving is boring and see cars only as a means of getting from A to B. They are built to transcend the essential and enter the realm of emotion. They embody aesthetic taste, a passion for sophisticated engineering, the pleasure of sitting behind a driving wheel and the desire to express one's own personality. Key Dates: Changes name to Società Anonima Italiana Ing. Nicola Romeo & Company; production of first 'Alfa Romeo' cars. Alfa Romeo is one of the most famous sports cars in the world, along with Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati, Corvette, Lamborghini, and Jaguar. After experiencing severe economic difficulties during the early 1990s, which resulted in the company's pullout from the U.S. market, Alfa Romeo and its parent company, Fiat, have performed a turnaround of the legendary carmaker--booking international success with the 156 model, introduced in 1998 to universal acclaim, followed by the 166 sedan. In 2000 the company prepared for more success with the October launch of the 147. Alfa Romeo's renewed success has not been enough for Fiat, however, which saw losses totaling more than US$100 million in 1999. In March 2000, Fiat announced a share-swap partnership agreement with General Motors Corporation (GM), giving the U.S. carmaker 20 percent of Fiat and making Italy's dominant automaker the largest single GM shareholder, with 5.1 percent of the Detroit company. The GM-Fiat agreement has already produced a bonus for Alfa Romeo--following the agreement, Fiat announced its intention to reintroduce Alfa Romeo to the U.S. market with a new Spider design. Alfa Romeo was founded in Portello, just north of Milan, in 1910. Cav Ugo Stella, managing director of a Portello assembly plant for the Darracq, a French automobile, decided to organize a group to purchase the plant and build a car more suitable for the harsh and mountainous Italian roads. Along with a few Milanese businessmen, he took out a loan to purchase the Darracq plant. The group named itself the Lombardy Car Manufacturing Company (Società Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili) and soon was known by its initials--ALFA. Ugo Stella hired Giuseppi Merosi as chief automotive designer of the new company. Merosi had worked previously as a designer for Marchand, Fiat, and Bianchi car companies and was well qualified to design both touring cars and cars for the racing circuit. His first design for ALFA included a monobloc engine, high tension magneto ignition, three-bearing crankshaft, side valves, and pressure lubrication. A radiator badge also was designed for the new firm's cars, including the soon-to-be famous red cross and snake, symbols that were part of the emblems of the city of Milan and the Visconti family. A blue border surrounded the edge of the circular badge, with the word 'ALFA' at the top and 'MILANO' at the bottom. First inscribed in brass lettering, the lettering was replaced shortly afterward with white enamel. During the first year of business, ALFA manufactured ten cars each of a 12 horsepower and a 24 horsepower model; one year later, production had increased to 40 cars of each model. By the time World War I began in 1914, ALFA was manufacturing 272 chassis a year with a staff of almost 300. Although revenues from car sales seemed to provide adequate funds for ALFA to continue business, in 1915 the company was acquired, suddenly and surprisingly, by Nicola Romeo. From rather humble beginnings, Romeo had graduated from