Italy makes Alfa Romeo change the name of the new Milano

Check this out: Alfa Romeo just launched this dinky new crossover last week. And they decided to give it the throwback/heritage nameplate Milano. But to cut production costs, this new Alfa Romeo is made in Poland, not Italy. And this is where it gets amusing… and where America could stand to take notes.

Turns out – Italy actually has a law against ‘Italian sounding’ products that are passed-off as genuinely Italian but made elsewhere. And Italy chose to step-in & enforce that law here. As an Italian brand, you shall not capitalize on Italian culture if you’re gonna turn your back on that very culture & outsource the product.

“Despite Alfa Romeo believing that the name meets all legal requirements, and that there are issues much more important than the name of a new car, Alfa Romeo has decided to change it from Milano to Junior in the spirit of promoting mutual understanding.” -Alfa Romeo

So rather than get caught-up in bad press, Alfa Romeo decided to pull a last-minute audible & change the name to Junior. Junior is also a heritage name for Alfa, but it’s lamer-sounding and thus more appropriate for this crossover anyway. I wonder what these guys have to say about Olive Garden. Can’t knock the breadsticks. Actually, Breadstick would’ve been a good name for this car.