Champagne is a type of sparkling wine exclusive to the Champagne region of the French Republic. There is a parallel to be made with Parmigiano Reggiano, an Italian cheese specific to the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia.
The Italian Parliament passed Law 350/2003 in December 2003, with said law stipulating that imported and exported products are illegal if said products bear false or misleading origin labelling. This law got Stellantis in hot waters over the Alfa Romeo Milano, a B-segment crossover that's actually produced in Tychy, Poland on a platform developed by French automaker PSA.
Industry Minister Adolfo Urso challenged Stellantis on Thursday, April 11. Chief executive officer Carlos Tavares defended the Milano by arguing that 10,000 euros would be added to the starting price of the small crossover had Stellantis picked an Italian factory over the Tychy plant in Poland.
Be that as it may, Stellantis begrudgingly accepted defeat. Today, April 15, the Milano has been renamed in order to please the Industry Minister and to make the Italian automaker's newest product legal to sell in the Italian Republic. One has to wonder what Alfa Romeo was thinking, especially if you remember that Italy is sensible to products with a protected designation of origin.
The same can be said about France, and speaking of which, remember that Stellantis is made up of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA. Given the aforementioned, Stellantis really dropped the ball when deciding on Milano for this fellow.
Photo: Alfa Romeo
Funnier still, the press release confirming the Junior name is a bit passive-aggressive on the automaker's part. Attached below, said press release is passive-aggressive beginning with the title and first paragraph. The second paragraph reads that "the name meets all legal requirements," then Alfa Romeo says the change of name was done "in the spirit of promoting mutual understanding."
You can't make this up. Looking at the glass half full, Alfa Romeo and the Junior nameplate go a long way back. Originally based in Milan, the Turinese company introduced the GT Junior range of models in 1966, beginning with the 1,290-cc GT 1300 Junior.
The four-cylinder lump in question cranks out 90 metric ponies or 89 mechanical horsepower, enabling a top speed of 170 kilometers per hour (106 miles per hour). Alfa Romeo didn't bother confirming the top speed of the Junior, but did mention 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour) in electric mode for the Ibrida. The internal combustion Jeep Avenger, which is also made in Tychy, is rated at up to 184 kph (114 mph).
Alfa Romeo Italia continues advertising the small crossover under the Milano handle at the moment of reporting. Prices kick off at €29,900 or $32,150 at current exchange rates for both the Milano Ibrida and Milano Elettrica. The latter is available with up to 240 ps (237 hp) for the Veloce specification, whereas the hybrid will receive an electric drive unit for the rear axle in the nearest of futures.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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