For many of us, the car is a means of transport and a pleasure when traveling. For security forces, cars They are essential tools In your day to day. Sometimes, also a nightmare, as is the case with the Alfa Romeo Tonale owned by the Carabinieri -the Italian counterpart of the Civil Guard-.
And a scandal so large has been mounted that Alfa Romeo threatens to denounce the Carabinieri if they continue to stain their image.
Historical relationship. If you have ever been in Italy, you have surely seen that the Alfa Romeo are the cars of the security forces. It has also been seen in films. This relationship It comes from afarof the 50s, to be exact. The security forces needed fast cars and the Alfa Romeo were the chosen ones. Alfa Romeo 1900 became the vehicle of both the police and the Carabinieri.
They were fast, agile and easy to drive, which made them ideal cars for that police work. Over the years, fleets have been renewed with new models, some high performance. But in 2023 it was the turn that a SUV occupied the police garages next to the imposing Giulia Quadrifoglio.
The Giulia Quadrifoglio
The tonale. To the Alfa Romeo Tonale Things are not going well. This SUV did not start well in the market due to Poor sales. It is a car designed to enjoy driving quietly, without being nervous and enjoying a powerful infotainment system. And these concepts are not aligned with police requirements.
In June 2023, however, 400 Alfa Romeo Tonale in its hybrid version of 163 hp with 1.5 engine and automatic change were delivered to the Carabinieri. They had been modified with lights, siren, partial armor, police radio and detainee cell, but the motorization is not the most powerful that can be chosen in that family.
THE JALEO. They were definitely not happy. This May, the union union that represents part of the Carabinieri has presented a formal complaint Before the prosecutor of the repubblica of Rome alleging that the Tonale is inappropriate for the police service. Your arguments? It is a car with stability problems and road behavior, especially in emergency situations such as high -speed persecutions, does not grab well and the step is not safe on unstable roads.
This puts both the safety of the agents and the effectiveness of the missions, but the complaints do not stay there. UNARMA continues to argue cannot “accept that colleagues work in potentially dangerous conditions” and that “it is the duty of the administration to guarantee safe, reliable and fully appropriate vehicles to the operational demands.”
And the alpha Romeo Tonale
And Stellantis response. Imagine being the brand behind the creation of a car that came to relive a not very prolific segment that runs from Bruces with a security body that will squeeze the car saying that it is unstable and not sure. Well what the brand has done is … counterattack. In a releaseAlfa Romeo responded with the following official note:
“Our vehicles comply with the strictest safety standards and are subject to rigorous evaluation tests. Alfa Romeo remains completely available to the authorities for any clarification and reserves the right to defend their image and reputation before the competent bodies.”
In the rest of the note they limit themselves to reviewing that historical relationship between the brand and the Carabinieri. In the end, it is a morrocotudo mess that stains a 75 -year relationship that has contributed to that good image of the Alfa Romeo in their native country. But something important here is that, from the brand’s porpholio, the tonale is cheaper than the Stelvio, another SUV, and much more than the giulia (both the standard and the quadrifoglio preferred by the Carabinieri).
We will see what happens, since the National Secretary of Unarma ends the statement stating that they will not stop “until everything that happened is clarified.”
Images | PetrachpStellantis
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