Fiat Divides Maserati from Ferrari to Bolster Alfa Romeo

Fiat once owned Ferrari too, and in actual fact still does despite the Maranello sports car company's autonomy. This is

Joining Alfa Romeo with Maserati creates an economy of scale that could help Fiat's top-tier nameplates become profitable. (Photo: Maserati)

why Fiat asks and Ferrari delivers, despite the "rossa" brand's original plan to market the two makes together, allowing its dealers the opportunity to sell a four-door model and potentially a sport utility vehicle, two vehicle types that would never be produced with a Ferrari prancing horse on the grille.

The shake up happened on Wednesday this week, a move that will resultantly benefit Ferrari in the short term, as Maserati has been bleeding due to poor sales and high investment costs.

On the positive, Maserati isn't about to pull out of North America, and the move will most likely bring Alfa Romeo back to a land that once embraced its stylish Spyder and Velocé

The Alfa Romeo brand hasn't been sold in North America since the early '90s, but its new Brera coupe has enthusiast's hoping it will come back soon. (Photo: Alfa Romeo)

coupes, the former made famous as Dustin Hoffman's sporty ride in the 1967 coming of age film, The Graduate.

The Alfa Romeo brand hasn't been sold in North America since the early '90s, and just when fans were getting their hopes up that it would return by 2007 as Fiat had promised earlier, plans were dashed as the Italian automaker's profits fell to an all-time low and the resultant money woes threw the schedule off track.

"Under this deal, Alfa Romeo and Maserati will establish a close technical and commercial collaboration especially in big international markets," Fiat said in a statement.