Yes, Alfa Romeo is returning to these shores. That's great news for fans of this storied Italian brand. The question is—will it be met with success or failure?

Now that may seem like a silly question to all the gearheads here, but the fact of the matter is Alfa is struggling in Europe. So if it it's having trouble there—in the mother continent—why should we expect success here?

AutoObserver raises just that question, and many other questions as well.

Alfa Romeo: A Legend Returns, But Do We Care?

Alfa Romeo updates their Brera coupe and Spider with relatively minor upgrades to the exterior, wheels and such. However more effort put on inside, as it receives a new dash and seats that are more ergonomic.

Power is delivered via a 185-horsepower 2.2-liter or a 260-hp 3.2-liter, both with direct injection and a automatic six-speed gearbox. The larger engine has an available Q-Tronic automatic transmission, while the 2.2-liter can be fitted with automatic Selespeed. A 20-valve 2.4-liter turbodiesel Multijet is available, making 200 or 210 hp, depending on transmission choice.

Here's Inside Line's take: New 2008 Alfa Romeo Brera and Spider

For my money, this is the coolest car at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. It's a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Spyder Touring and I found it in the Louis Vuitton Classic Concours booth. According to the signage, the car is the 2007-2008 LVCC winner and it won best of show at the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance in the Detroit area.

Bodied by Carlo Bianchi Anderloni from a design by Vittorio Jano, the Alfa is now owned by Ray Scherr of Westlake Village, California. -- Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief

Microsoft Auto showed up at CES with a tent full of cars including this sweet looking Alfa Spider. Microsoft Auto is the software responsible for Ford's Sync system. Right now, Ford has the exclusive use of that product in the US. It won't always be that way - other automakers will surely want in when Ford's exclusive agreement expires. Alfa already has such a system, only their system is branded Blue and Me. Alfa Romeos, like this Spider use the Microsoft platform to power a navigation system in addition to Bluetooth and other features.

With the Microsoft system, the navigation info does not live on a hard drive or DVD, instead it lives "in the cloud" as they're fond of saying. The car will simply communicate with a server or series of servers to provide you with destination information. Updates would be automatic.

Microsoft Auto's current platform has another use too - emissions monitoring. FIAT calls it Eco Drive. Soon many FIATs, like this 500, will have  software that allows the owner to check on the car's impact on the environment - driving habits and maintenance play a part.  The information can be loaded onto a memory stick then checked on your PC. Can you imagine how popular this kind of thing would be with the Prius set here in America?

Also, I wanted an excuse to post pictures of cool looking cars we can't get in the US - Brian Moody, Road Test Editor.

Tokyo's Shinjuku district is not especially convenient for getting to the Makuhari Messe for the auto show, but it's still a good place to stay -- plenty of fine hotels, lots of neon lights, a varied selection of nightlife, and an Alfa Romeo dealership built under a Denny's. The last time I visited it was BMW of Tokyo, which was even funnier.

The menu at the Denny's is about half American favorites and half Japanese cuisine, meaning you can order a Grand Slam with a starter course of miso soup. --Erin Riches, Senior Content Editor

Alfa Romeo is coming back to the U.S. in 2009 with the 450-hp Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.

It goes for a mere $226,000 and it sure is pretty.



Read the Alfa 8C First Drive on Inside Line.

More photos after the jump...

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Italian automaker Fiat and Chinese automaker Chery are going to do some business together. Fiat will get engines from Chery, and Fiat will build cars in China.

Full story here at Motor Authority.

Long rumored and now official: Alfa Romeo is returning to the American market after a long (too long!) absence. This was announced at a preview of the 2008 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione at the Concours d'Elegance, which held at Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester Hills, MI. There will be 50 U.S.-based dealers, most if not all will current Maserati dealers.

Full story here at Jalopnik.

Here's Inside Line's take: Alfa 8C Competizione at Meadow Brook Concours — and Going on Sale in America

Remember the Spider of the 1960s. You know, the one Dustin Hoffman drove in The Graduate.

Well, there's new Alfa Romeo Spider Coming to America for 2010 and hoping to capture the hearts of a new generation.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to the return of the Alfa Romeo Spider? It looks pretty sweet in red.

Read the First Drive of the current European version on Inside Line.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Rumors of Alfa Romeo's return to the U.S. have been circulating for years now, and although various executives keep saying it's going to happen we're not holding our breath. One of the biggest reasons why we hope it happens is the 8C Competizione coupe. First shown as a concept several years ago, our latest spy shots prove this beautiful two-door is headed for production soon. Most of the concept's original shape appears intact including the uniquely Alfa nose. The car will ride on a modified version of the chassis used for its corporate cousin, the Maserati GranTurismo. In fact, this prototype appears to be riding on a set of Maserati wheels. Its engine is also likely to come from Maserati in the form of a retuned version of the GranTurismo's 4.2-liter V8. The real question is whether or not Alfa Romeo will ship this car to the U.S., and this test mule does little to let us know which way the Italian manufacturer is leaning.