Burbbble

Alfa Romeo Giulia: An M3 Without Passion

stdClass Object ( [id] => 1183 [asset_id] => 1207 [title] => Alfa Romeo Giulia: An M3 Without Passion [alias] => alfa-romeo-giulia-an-m3-without-passion [introtext] => ::cck::934::/cck::
::fulltext::

The Alfa Romeo Giulia is about to land on American shores, and with it America will get its first impression of the historic Italian brand in a generation.

It’s important, then, for Italy. Every other car from the boot nation currently in the world’s largest automotive market is either a cheap plastic toaster or a race car that costs as much as a house and likes to light itself on fire.

Alfa is playing it safe. A little too safe.

But the Giulia is a sensible luxury sedan aimed straight at the BMW 3 series, just like every other sensible luxury sedan on the market. Alfa is playing it safe. A little too safe.

In an attempt to save itself from irrelevance, Alfa failed to take a risk and make itself stand out. Instead of making a raucous fireball of excitement, the company that spawned Enzo Ferrari could do no better than to make a bland sedan to steal some sales from the Germans. Everything has gone wrong.

In this video from popular automotive YouTubeist, Shmee150, we get an initial glimpse of what we can expect from the new Giulia Quadrifolio, a 503-bhp competitor to the BMW M3. (Here’s a top tip: If every automaker is always comparing their car to another company’s car, just go and buy the other car. It is the benchmark for a reason.)

“And immediately the design is just awesome,” says Shmee150. “A lot of Italian sort of flare. You can see the sort of new style they’re going with. And just the way the thing looks is brilliant.”

The M3 has much more exciting design with its countless vents, gills, grills, and wings

Well, not exactly, Shmee. There is no flare. It looks as ambiguous as every other sedan in the segment, except the A4 (Sorry, Audi. Fancy LEDs won’t stop me from falling asleep at the sight of your car). The Giulia has no Italian flare. In fact, the M3 has much more exciting design with its countless vents, gills, grills, and wings. Personally, I think the Giulia looks like an enlarged BMW 2 series. Certainly nothing original.

Then Shmee goes on about how exotic the exhaust note is, when in reality it's as tuned and clinical as any other turbocharged engine out there. It’s a sound we’ve heard a hundred times before in recent years.

I won’t say it’s a bad car. I’m sure it’s thrilling to drive. However, that Italian flare we all expected, that soul, it doesn’t seem to be in this car. Watch the video and decide for yourself. 

::/fulltext:: [fulltext] => [state] => 1 [catid] => 28 [created] => 2016-05-17 03:41:04 [created_by] => 434 [created_by_alias] => [modified] => 2016-05-18 17:55:51 [modified_by] => 432 [checked_out] => 0 [checked_out_time] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [publish_up] => 2016-05-17 17:22:00 [publish_down] => 0000-00-00 00:00:00 [images] => {} [urls] => {} [attribs] => {} [version] => 6 [ordering] => 26 [metakey] => Alfa Romeo, Giulia, BMW, M3, 3 series, 2 series, Italian, soul, German [metadesc] => The Alfa Romeo Giulia is about to land on American shores, and with it America will get its first impression of the historic Italian brand in a generation. [access] => 1 [hits] => 1935 [metadata] => Joomla\Registry\Registry Object ( [data:protected] => stdClass Object ( ) [initialized:protected] => 1 [separator] => . ) [featured] => 0 [language] => * [xreference] => [category_title] => Car Videos [category_alias] => car-videos [category_access] => 1 [author] => Jeff Knoespel [parent_title] => ROOT [parent_id] => 1 [parent_route] => [parent_alias] => root [rating] => [rating_count] => [params] => Joomla\Registry\Registry Object ( [data:protected] => stdClass Object ( [article_layout] => _:default [show_title] => 1 [link_titles] => 1 [show_intro] => 1 [info_block_position] => 0 [show_category] => 1 [link_category] => 1 [show_parent_category] => 0 [link_parent_category] => 0 [show_author] => 0 [link_author] => 0 [show_create_date] => 0 [show_modify_date] => 0 [show_publish_date] => 1 [show_item_navigation] => 1 [show_vote] => 0 [show_readmore] => 1 [show_readmore_title] => 1 [readmore_limit] => 100 [show_tags] => 0 [show_icons] => 0 [show_print_icon] => 0 [show_email_icon] => 0 [show_hits] => 0 [show_noauth] => 0 [urls_position] => 0 [show_publishing_options] => 1 [show_article_options] => 1 [save_history] => 1 [history_limit] => 10 [show_urls_images_frontend] => 0 [show_urls_images_backend] => 1 [targeta] => 0 [targetb] => 0 [targetc] => 0 [float_intro] => left [float_fulltext] => none [category_layout] => _:blog [show_category_heading_title_text] => 0 [show_category_title] => 0 [show_description] => 0 [show_description_image] => 1 [maxLevel] => 1 [show_empty_categories] => 0 [show_no_articles] => 0 [show_subcat_desc] => 0 [show_cat_num_articles] => 0 [show_cat_tags] => 0 [show_base_description] => 1 [maxLevelcat] => -1 [show_empty_categories_cat] => 0 [show_subcat_desc_cat] => 0 [show_cat_num_articles_cat] => 1 [num_leading_articles] => 0 [num_intro_articles] => 1000 [num_columns] => 1 [num_links] => 0 [multi_column_order] => 0 [show_subcategory_content] => 0 [show_pagination_limit] => 1 [filter_field] => hide [show_headings] => 1 [list_show_date] => 0 [date_format] => [list_show_hits] => 1 [list_show_author] => 1 [orderby_pri] => order [orderby_sec] => rdate [order_date] => published [show_pagination] => 2 [show_pagination_results] => 1 [show_featured] => show [show_feed_link] => 1 [feed_summary] => 0 [feed_show_readmore] => 0 [show_page_heading] => [layout_type] => blog [menu_text] => 1 [pageclass_sfx] => car-videos [secure] => 0 [page_title] => Car Videos [page_description] => An automotive outlet to talk cars, read auto industry news, look at deals on rare vehicles, download car photography, and generally not take things too seriously. [page_rights] => [robots] => [access-view] => 1 ) [initialized:protected] => 1 [separator] => . ) [tagLayout] => Joomla\CMS\Layout\FileLayout Object ( [layoutId:protected] => joomla.content.tags [basePath:protected] => [fullPath:protected] => [includePaths:protected] => Array ( ) [options:protected] => Joomla\Registry\Registry Object ( [data:protected] => stdClass Object ( [component] => com_content [client] => 0 ) [initialized:protected] => [separator] => . ) [data:protected] => Array ( ) [debugMessages:protected] => Array ( ) ) [slug] => 1183:alfa-romeo-giulia-an-m3-without-passion [catslug] => 28:car-videos [parent_slug] => [readmore_link] => /car-videos?id=1183:alfa-romeo-giulia-an-m3-without-passion [text] =>
Jeff Knoespel

The Alfa Romeo Giulia is about to land on American shores, and with it America will get its first impression of the historic Italian brand in a generation.

It’s important, then, for Italy. Every other car from the boot nation currently in the world’s largest automotive market is either a cheap plastic toaster or a race car that costs as much as a house and likes to light itself on fire.

Alfa is playing it safe. A little too safe.

But the Giulia is a sensible luxury sedan aimed straight at the BMW 3 series, just like every other sensible luxury sedan on the market. Alfa is playing it safe. A little too safe.

In an attempt to save itself from irrelevance, Alfa failed to take a risk and make itself stand out. Instead of making a raucous fireball of excitement, the company that spawned Enzo Ferrari could do no better than to make a bland sedan to steal some sales from the Germans. Everything has gone wrong.

In this video from popular automotive YouTubeist, Shmee150, we get an initial glimpse of what we can expect from the new Giulia Quadrifolio, a 503-bhp competitor to the BMW M3. (Here’s a top tip: If every automaker is always comparing their car to another company’s car, just go and buy the other car. It is the benchmark for a reason.)

“And immediately the design is just awesome,” says Shmee150. “A lot of Italian sort of flare. You can see the sort of new style they’re going with. And just the way the thing looks is brilliant.”

The M3 has much more exciting design with its countless vents, gills, grills, and wings

Well, not exactly, Shmee. There is no flare. It looks as ambiguous as every other sedan in the segment, except the A4 (Sorry, Audi. Fancy LEDs won’t stop me from falling asleep at the sight of your car). The Giulia has no Italian flare. In fact, the M3 has much more exciting design with its countless vents, gills, grills, and wings. Personally, I think the Giulia looks like an enlarged BMW 2 series. Certainly nothing original.

Then Shmee goes on about how exotic the exhaust note is, when in reality it's as tuned and clinical as any other turbocharged engine out there. It’s a sound we’ve heard a hundred times before in recent years.

I won’t say it’s a bad car. I’m sure it’s thrilling to drive. However, that Italian flare we all expected, that soul, it doesn’t seem to be in this car. Watch the video and decide for yourself. 

BMW german italian Alfa Romeo Giulia

[tags] => Joomla\CMS\Helper\TagsHelper Object ( [tagsChanged:protected] => [replaceTags:protected] => [typeAlias] => [itemTags] => Array ( [0] => stdClass Object ( [tag_id] => 2 [id] => 2 [parent_id] => 1 [lft] => 1 [rgt] => 2 [level] => 1 [path] => bmw [title] => BMW [alias] => bmw [note] => [description] => [published] => 1 [checked_out] => 0 [checked_out_time] => 2016-01-25 06:47:58 [access] => 1 [params] => {} [metadesc] => [metakey] => [metadata] => {} [created_user_id] => 432 [created_time] => 2016-01-25 06:47:58 [created_by_alias] => [modified_user_id] => 0 [modified_time] => 2016-01-25 06:47:58 [images] => {} [urls] => {} [hits] => 10 [language] => * [version] => 1 [publish_up] => 2016-01-25 06:47:58 [publish_down] => 2016-01-25 06:47:58 ) [1] => stdClass Object ( [tag_id] => 15 [id] => 15 [parent_id] => 1 [lft] => 27 [rgt] => 28 [level] => 1 [path] => german [title] => german [alias] => german [note] => [description] => [published] => 1 [checked_out] => 0 [checked_out_time] => 2016-01-27 07:01:11 [access] => 1 [params] => {} [metadesc] => [metakey] => [metadata] => {} [created_user_id] => 432 [created_time] => 2016-01-27 07:01:11 [created_by_alias] => [modified_user_id] => 0 [modified_time] => 2016-01-27 07:01:11 [images] => {} [urls] => {} [hits] => 16 [language] => * [version] => 1 [publish_up] => 2016-01-27 07:01:11 [publish_down] => 2016-01-27 07:01:11 ) [2] => stdClass Object ( [tag_id] => 34 [id] => 34 [parent_id] => 1 [lft] => 65 [rgt] => 66 [level] => 1 [path] => italian [title] => italian [alias] => italian [note] => [description] => [published] => 1 [checked_out] => 0 [checked_out_time] => 2016-03-02 05:26:13 [access] => 1 [params] => {} [metadesc] => [metakey] => [metadata] => {} [created_user_id] => 432 [created_time] => 2016-03-02 05:26:13 [created_by_alias] => [modified_user_id] => 0 [modified_time] => 2016-03-02 05:26:13 [images] => {} [urls] => {} [hits] => 30 [language] => * [version] => 1 [publish_up] => 2016-03-02 05:26:13 [publish_down] => 2016-03-02 05:26:13 ) [3] => stdClass Object ( [tag_id] => 70 [id] => 70 [parent_id] => 1 [lft] => 137 [rgt] => 138 [level] => 1 [path] => alfa-romeo [title] => Alfa Romeo [alias] => alfa-romeo [note] => [description] => [published] => 1 [checked_out] => 0 [checked_out_time] => 2016-03-02 19:58:02 [access] => 1 [params] => {} [metadesc] => [metakey] => [metadata] => {} [created_user_id] => 433 [created_time] => 2016-03-02 19:58:02 [created_by_alias] => [modified_user_id] => 0 [modified_time] => 2016-03-02 19:58:02 [images] => {} [urls] => {} [hits] => 3 [language] => * [version] => 1 [publish_up] => 2016-03-02 19:58:02 [publish_down] => 2016-03-02 19:58:02 ) [4] => stdClass Object ( [tag_id] => 429 [id] => 429 [parent_id] => 1 [lft] => 855 [rgt] => 856 [level] => 1 [path] => giulia [title] => Giulia [alias] => giulia [note] => [description] => [published] => 1 [checked_out] => 0 [checked_out_time] => 2016-05-07 17:29:37 [access] => 1 [params] => {} [metadesc] => [metakey] => [metadata] => {} [created_user_id] => 432 [created_time] => 2016-05-07 17:29:37 [created_by_alias] => [modified_user_id] => 0 [modified_time] => 2016-05-07 17:29:37 [images] => {} [urls] => {} [hits] => 0 [language] => * [version] => 1 [publish_up] => 2016-05-07 17:29:37 [publish_down] => 2016-05-07 17:29:37 ) ) ) [jcfields] => Array ( ) [event] => stdClass Object ( [afterDisplayTitle] => [beforeDisplayContent] => [afterDisplayContent] => ) [prev] => /car-videos/1181-porsche-356-off-road-film [next] => /car-videos/1162-the-porsche-718-reborn [prev_label] => Prev [next_label] => Next [pagination] => [paginationposition] => 1 [paginationrelative] => 0 [contact_link] => /dash/jeff )
Alfa Romeo Giulia

Here is your anonymous sports sedan, sir

Jeff Knoespel

The Alfa Romeo Giulia is about to land on American shores, and with it America will get its first impression of the historic Italian brand in a generation.

It’s important, then, for Italy. Every other car from the boot nation currently in the world’s largest automotive market is either a cheap plastic toaster or a race car that costs as much as a house and likes to light itself on fire.

Alfa is playing it safe. A little too safe.

But the Giulia is a sensible luxury sedan aimed straight at the BMW 3 series, just like every other sensible luxury sedan on the market. Alfa is playing it safe. A little too safe.

In an attempt to save itself from irrelevance, Alfa failed to take a risk and make itself stand out. Instead of making a raucous fireball of excitement, the company that spawned Enzo Ferrari could do no better than to make a bland sedan to steal some sales from the Germans. Everything has gone wrong.

In this video from popular automotive YouTubeist, Shmee150, we get an initial glimpse of what we can expect from the new Giulia Quadrifolio, a 503-bhp competitor to the BMW M3. (Here’s a top tip: If every automaker is always comparing their car to another company’s car, just go and buy the other car. It is the benchmark for a reason.)

“And immediately the design is just awesome,” says Shmee150. “A lot of Italian sort of flare. You can see the sort of new style they’re going with. And just the way the thing looks is brilliant.”

The M3 has much more exciting design with its countless vents, gills, grills, and wings

Well, not exactly, Shmee. There is no flare. It looks as ambiguous as every other sedan in the segment, except the A4 (Sorry, Audi. Fancy LEDs won’t stop me from falling asleep at the sight of your car). The Giulia has no Italian flare. In fact, the M3 has much more exciting design with its countless vents, gills, grills, and wings. Personally, I think the Giulia looks like an enlarged BMW 2 series. Certainly nothing original.

Then Shmee goes on about how exotic the exhaust note is, when in reality it's as tuned and clinical as any other turbocharged engine out there. It’s a sound we’ve heard a hundred times before in recent years.

I won’t say it’s a bad car. I’m sure it’s thrilling to drive. However, that Italian flare we all expected, that soul, it doesn’t seem to be in this car. Watch the video and decide for yourself. 

BMW german italian Alfa Romeo Giulia