Bojan Vrbnjak
The name was actually unnoticeable: Milan, capital city Lombardy in the north of Italy. But still, she is a new little one Alfa Romeo, which was thus baptized, caused in Italy a lot of problems. That is why it has now been renamed. Milano becomes Junior. No joke, April Fool's Day is not late.
This is how the brand responded to the allegations the Italian minister for economic development Adolf Urs. Politician"Brothers of Italy” is the group Stellantis accused, that by naming the car, produced in Poland, after the Italian city misleads customers. Quasi like Parma ham from Silesia. The brand therefore made a historic decision: "to promote a peaceful atmosphere” the new car will henceforth be called “Alfa Romeo Junior". In short, the small Italian car has a rich history behind it.
Reason or cause
Na Poland it is not possible to make a car with a name Milan. This prohibited by Italian law, which was introduced in 2003 and stipulates that they shall not laugh make claims, who they mislead the consumer. (The only question is what Ferrero does it with a Piedmont cherry that doesn't even exist ...) "These are misleading claims that are specifically linked to geographical indications,” was the minister's accusation after the presentation. But it did Alfa Romeo decided not to immediately comment on the minister's remarks and that she would probably consider her next steps. Instead, a press conference was called yesterday, at which the president of the board spoke Jean Philippe Imparato"We have decided to change the name, even though we know that we are not obliged to, as we want to maintain the positive emotions that our products have always evoked and avoid any controversy."
Tribute to hometown
Learned and his colleagues want to emphasize four points:
– The name of the car does not indicate its geographical origin, if we cite other examples from the past;
– there is a precise reference to the Polish origin of the car;
– Alfa Romeo Milano is designed, manufactured, tested and registered in Italy;
– the name refers to the historical tradition and culture of the Alfa Romeo company. "The name Milano was chosen as a tribute to the city where it all began in 1910," adds Imparato.
Alfa Romeo Junior
Boss Alpha somewhat smugly thanked the Italian government as well: "The attention we have received for our new 'sports compact' in recent days is very exciting, as we have had an unprecedented number of views on the online configurator, causing the website to crash for a few hours."
A new name from the history of the brand
After all, he has too new name "Junior" a lot to do with the brand Alfa Romeo, especially since she was also shortlisted for Milan: following the success of the model Giulia and its coupe versions Giulia Sprint GT, which he designed Giugiaro for Bertone, Alfa Romeo wanted to appeal to a younger audience looking for a great and exclusive car without excessive purchase and running costs.
GT 1300 Junior was introduced 26. September 1966 in Balocco. Under the bonnet was a 1290cc twin cylinder engine, now with 89 BAM, who was able to do more than 170 km/h, which was only slightly less than the 1600 model. With more than 92.000 units sold the GT 1300 Junior quickly became the best-selling model in the series. Will the new one succeed? Milan …. excuse me … Junior?
