The Dodge Dart is the resurrection of the midsize car that became popular back in the ’70s which makes use of the platform that serves as the foundation of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. The new Dodge compact sedan is the first product of the cooperation between Fiat and Chrysler since the take over of Fiat back in 2009.

The design of the 2013 Dart does not take the lines of its Italian cousin since it is a 4-door sedan and not a 5-door hatchback. The vehicle is also wider and longer compared to the Giulietta. The crosshair grille also shows a very Dodge character plus the rear lights which takes inspiration from the Dodge Charger.

The Dodge Dart is 4,672 mm in length, 1,830 mm in width, and 1,465 mm in height. The wheelbase is pegged at 2,703 mm. Looking at these numbers, this ride is very much similar to the size of the newest 3-Series from BMW.

The interior of the Dodge Dart makes use of soft-touch, high quality materials plus a high tech reconfigurable cluster display of gauges among other features. The seven-inch display can be customized the driver to include a navigation system showing assist for every turn, eco-meter, audio, compass, temperatures, fuel economy, and analog or digital gauges.

It can also be setup with a media center making use of an 8.4 inch Uconnect touch screen that has built in features like radio, iPod control, navigation, blue tooth, weather updates, and other interesting stuff.

Buyers can also choose from twelve body colors, 14 combinations of color and trim for the interior, and seven options for the rims of the vehicle.

The Dart will have three options for the 4-cylinder gas engine ranging from 160 bhp to 184 bhp.

Here is a good video to give you a sneak peek of the 2013 Dodge Dart :

The build for the Alfa Romeo 4C is actually being handled by a small team formed out of the main product development structure of the company. The management loved the initial design concept that they gave it an immediate go so a car can be displayed during the Geneva show last March.

The concept car presented last March made use of a carbon tub by Dallara, a company which also helped with Alfa 8C, Bugatti Veyron, and the KTM X-bow. The production version of the 4C will use an in-house architecture designed by the team of Alfa Romeo. The final output will make use of a carbon fiber center tub and aluminum frames for the front and tail portion. It will be cheaper but a bit heavier.

The carbon fiber skin is ruled out since it will be very difficult to do production wise plus it will be really expensive. The Alfa 4C will have an SMC skin which is a light form of the GRP.

The design team of Alfa Romeo ensures though that even with the change of materials for the production version, the car will still look very much like the concept car. The interior of the Alfa 4C will also be true to what was presented with the concept vehicle. The Alfa 4C interior will appear simple and lightweight with separation of the driver and passenger and the dial pod.

Alfa Romeo is also working on the down force of the production version to give it a very good grip. The secret though will not be on the aerodynamics but more on the lightness of the car. The engineers want to keep it at around 900 kilograms on the scales and at around 4 meters in length.

Alfa is also looking to install a 230 horsepower engine which gives it a two thumbs up for a very reasonable price.

Alfa Romeo is expected to tap an executive to spearhead its operations in the United States before the end of the year prior to their planned relaunch in 2013. Alfa Romeo exited the US market back in 1995 but market tests done recently showed positive results for the brand. The market pulse have convinced the management of Alfa to first focus on North America before crawling back into Europe.

Marchionne pointed out that the desirability indications of the Alfa Romeo as a brand is still positive despite being absent in the market for quite some time now. Alfa is still among the well known car brands across the globe so the company wants to take advantage of the eagerness of the market.

The mother company foresees Alfa Romeo to deliver around 400,000 units annually to its global consumers as soon as 2014. The target is quite on the ambitious side as the sales reports reflect an average of about 150,000 per year since the ’80s.

In North America, Fiat sees Alfa Romeo to roll out 85,000 vehicles by 2014 which the CEO considers as a realistic goal.

The relaunch of Alfa Romeo will have the following lineup up for grabs the rear drive compact Alfa Romeo 4C and the SUV which was developed in collaboration with Jeep. The role of the 4C in the US relaunch is vital as it rekindles the love of the market for the Alfa Spider made famous by the film The Graduate that showed in the 1960s.

Alfa Romeo will also have the 6C during the 2014 relaunch of the brand. This will be the flagship saloon lifting its DNA from the platform of the Chrysler 300. It will have the tamer version of the V63.6L Pentastar powerplant under its hood. The lineup will also include a new version of the Spider, the 5-door Mito.

Fiat is also expanding its network to around 150 dealerships before the end of the year.

The product plan of Alfa Romeo plans to launch their “brand igniters” primarily anchored on two new cars. These new vehicles is expected to catapult the sales of Alfa Romeo up and also improve its image on the market.

First in line is the 4C Supercar from Alfa Romeo which boasts of a carbonfiber body and a mid engine configuration. This car will also mark the return of the brand to the shores of the US. The 4C supercar is not expected to roll out in volume but the two seater with the state of the art technology will serve to remind the market of Alfa Romeo’s credentials and sport history.

The second car is the 2014 Spider roadster which according to insiders will have an excellent power-weight ratio, sporty driving attitude, and distinctive design lines.

Another important product in the pipeline is the next gen Giulia saloon and its sportwagon version. This car will be tapping into the Giulietta platform. It is expected to takeover the place of the 159 come 2014. Alfa Romeo will also field an SUV available to their global market to replace its mid-size premium model which will stop production by 2012. The latter will be meeting the Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series  head on in the luxury car market.

Amid all these plans is the new Alfa Romeo 1.8 turbocharged powerplant capable of producing 300 horsepower that will be used in a wide range of vehicles.

The Italian carmaker recently released a teaser of the 4C on their Facebook page which was initially introduced as a concept car at the Geneva Salon.

According to the topman of Chrysler and Fiat groups, Sergio Marchionne, the 4C will be rolling onto dealerships in Europe by the first half of next year while some sample units getting on to U.S. shore before the end of 2012. Consumers in the US might after all see the production version of the Alfa Romeo 4C, or if not Alfa might field a 4C roadster version or even a more aggressive version.

In Geneva this year, the 4C concept was presented having a 1.75L turbocharged petrol engine equipped with direct injection. This engine is paired with twin clutch Alfa TCT transmission. The concept rear wheel drive 4C only weighs around 1,873 pounds with a power weight ratio of 4 kg per horsepower and can speed up from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour below 5 seconds. Top speed is pegged at 255 kph.

Watch the promo video below of the Alfa Romeo 4C:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Just recently, Fiat S.p.A. has announced its approval of the $1.78 billion budget that will be used to ready the factory where the very first SUV will be born in the 101 years history of Alfa. This will also be where a new Jeep model unit will be made, in replacement of the former Patriot / Compass models.

It is speculated that the production output will start showing by the latter part of year 2012. This was confirmed by Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of the joint Fiat-Chrysler team.

According to the partnership’s spokesperson, the new Alfa SUV model will be going head to head with Mercedes-Benz GLK, Audi Q5, and the BMW X3. Marchionne also adds that the Mirafiori, Turin plant is the sole factory where the new Jeep model will be produced.

Out of the initial 280,000 units to me made in the Turin plant will be sold in the European market while the other half will be sold in North America. The new Alfa model units carry a big weight since it’s part of the Fiat’s re-launch in North America that is scheduled in early 2013.

An estimated 15,000 Jeep units are expected to be made in a year while Alfa units are expected to be somewhere around 100,000 to 130,000.

Marchionne mentioned a brand new Chrysler-built small SUV will be the first batch of Alfas that will be sold in the US along with the new Guilia saloon and estate models.   In late 2011, five brand new Guilia models will be launched in Europe to replace the 159 executive car model while the Guiletta-based small SUVs will launch export in Europe by 2012.  Another five-door Mito version will be exported to the US by 2013 in sync with its launch in Europe.

A rear-drive two-seater roadster is said to start production in 2013 in the U.S. with the assembly plant yet to be announced.  In 2014, a larger Jeep Liberty-based SUV will be produced in the U.S. under Chrysler and will be launched in Europe as well.  The remodeled Guiletta hatchback will also make its debut in 2014.

Fiat’s Marchionne mentioned that the Alfa brand is expected to sell 85,000 units by 2014 in the U.S.  This goal will help the brand reach its yearly international sales of 500,000 units.  A smashing 100,000 Alfa units were sold in 2009.  About 100 of these units were sold through their U.S. dealerships with Maserati.

Like its two predecessors, the TZ3 is also a legitimate race car. However, this new machine is made with an aluminum body which is stretched over a carbon fiber chassis and a tube frame. As was already indicated, the car isn’t lacking in power at all. Significantly upgraded from its forbears’ engines, the TZ3 performs at its best with nothing less than a V8 engine.

According to Zagato, the TZ3 was commissioned by Martin Kapp, a German collector. The car was created to celebrate 100 years of F1 racing with Ferrari, Autodelta, Alfa Corse, and Scuderia Zagato. Certainly, the creators of the TZ3 did the job well, what with panache and class to spare.

The TZ3 Corsa can seat two people. It’s equipped with a rear-wheel drive supercar and its engine is mounted mid-front. It weighs only 850 kg which should be easily maneuverable with the power of its 4.2L V8 engine. The Corba is fitted with a 6-speed sequential gearbox. The car can sprint in 3.5 seconds to its top speed which is 300 kilometers per hour.

The market for the 500 can expect a same skeletal frame but using a modified platform to build on. The redesigned chassis will be shedding of some pounds off from the car and also contribute in improving the cars dynamics. The US 500 will be assembled in their Mexico plants.

The new 500 will be using some technologies used for the development of the new Fiat 500C. The designers are also working on decreasing the cars noise, harshness, and vibration.

The European release of the 500 will not be getting the changes as its US sibling but Fiat will be using the platform for the new Ypsilon under the Lancia brand year and for the new Panda by 2011.

Fiat is also going for a major upgrade of the B-platform utilized for cars like the Alfa Mito and the Fiat Punto.

Another great news is the high-performance Giulietta which might be badged as the Cloverleaf or GTA. This release was previewed during the Geneva Motor Show sporting a turbocharged multiair engine that is capable of giving out 235 bhp. The top of the range Giullietta will use electronic Q2 differential, active dumpers, and a dual clutch transmission. This is scheduled to be out this April.

It is very unlikely that we’ll see a Mito GTA because the development was of the car was put into a halt last year when the company had to revise its priorities because of the global recession.

The American market has not accepted the functionality of a hatchback as the everyday family car. It just follows that a wagon from the luxury segment will be on the top choice of the list. Mercedes Benz and BMW are both selling their smaller units but they both veered away from selling the hatch versions in the United States.

Alfa Romeo is following suit and may be opting to send the bigger Giulia sedan to the American market. It might just be the first Alfa Romeo that will be produced in high volume to mark the return of the brand in the U.S. soil.

An Italian newspaper published an interview with the top executive of Alfa Romeo who discloses that the Giulia will be rolling of the dealerships by 2012. The CEO explained that they are keeping the MiTo (who is doing reasonably well against the Fiat 500 and the Mini!) and the new Milan for a more viable market in European countries. So it is clear that the Alfa Romeo will have the Giulia leading its return on the U.S. roads.

Bigger cars actually have bigger rooms to earn a profit compared to smaller cars like the MiTo. It might be a wise decision for the Italian car maker to have Giulia over the Milano or MiTo in a hesitant U.S. market.