Small, Stylish and Not Sold Here

Behold, another nice car that America may never see: the Alfa Romeo Mito (2008-Present).

Built by Alfa Romeo, which is another brand owned by Fiat, the Mito is a compact car that we need here in America.

Essentially, it falls into the "premium compact" segment that is best represented by the BMW Mini. In other words, it's a small car that doesn't feel cheap. They have leather seats, navigation and all the other toys you could want.

The Mini, best described as "cute," is what founded this market segment in America. It proved that we are willing to pay a lot for style in a small car.

The Mito, is in the same vein. But instead of cute it's "sexy."

Well, maybe not completely sexy. There is something slightly off about the front, the placement of the headlights, really. But the Mito has some very nice curves going on.

Let's face it. That's a nice...behind.

The Mini is a smiling box of a car. Every morning it would greet its owner with its happy little face and then politely ask to for said owner to toss it through a corner at moderate speed. Then, when it gets to Target, the Mini will easily hold all the shopping its owner needs.

The Mito, being Italian, begs to get thrown through a corner at high speed. It would greet its owner every morning by, metaphorically, shoving its hand into said owner's pants. Then it will gladly go about daily life.

The Mito's interior has the same basic idea in mind. Real world functionality mixed with Italian style.

Yes, it's black. But it's that kind of black that looks cool and keeps it from looking like a cheap car.

But then again, the Mito isn't cheap.

After the exchange rate (I converted British Pounds into our Dollars) the Mito almost perfectly stacks up against the Mini in terms of price. Both cars fall into the $20 thousand range.

So Alfa needs to bring this car here. It would sell simply because its an attractive, decently priced, competitor to the Mini. The good news is that Alfa became Chrysler's sister in law after that Italian/American shotgun wedding.

There is a market for premium compact cars in America, the Mini's proven that. Hopefully Fiat will realize it when their 500 comes to America. With any luck, the Mito will be on it's heels.