We were supposed to get the first official photos of the 147's replacement (see factory spy shots here and here) on Monday, November 30, but according to a report from Autonews, Alfa Romeo has postponed the presentation of its new premium hatch to an unspecified date because of bickering between the company and its current and former Milan-based workers on the car's name.
Fiat S.p.A had planned to call its BMW 1-Series challenger the Milano but the firm's workers in Milan (Milano in Italian) are said to have objected to the use of city's name on a model that would be launched as Alfa Romeo is winding down its operations in the city where it was established almost a century ago.
When Fiat S.p.A acquired Alfa Romeo in 1986, the automaker employed around 20,000 workers in and around the city of Milano. Following the end of vehicle production in the turn of the century, Fiat S.p.A. announced that it would relocate Alfa's last remaining 232 Milan-based designers and engineers to Turin, located 150km or a little over 90 miles to the west.
The report goes on to say that according to a close source to the matter, the 147's successor will most likely be called the Giulietta instead. If true, it will be the third time that Alfa Romeo has used this name on one of its models after the 1950s and 1970s cars.
We remind you that Alfa Romeo also changed the name of its Mi.To supermini. Originally called Junior, Alfa Romeo organized an internet competition to name the car, but while the public chose the 'Furiosa', the Italian marque decided otherwise naming the three-door hatch Mi.To.
Stay tuned on Carscoop as we'll bring you more info on the Milano / Giulietta hatch during the day.
Via: Autonews (sub. Req.)
Alfa Romeo Giuliettas of the Past
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