Jalopnik has gone down the toilet ver. 3.0

My guess is, the main reviews by major publisher are all done and FCA didn't bother updating their press review/demo fleet.
Why? If they are pre-production it's possible software and hardware running it is cobled together and the software needs to be updated in an unortodox time consuming way.
 
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FWIW, PistonHeads tried to suggest this was a production-level car but the internet cleverly looked up the registration plates and found out that the car used in the review was a pre-production test car with SW that is 3 versions old. Shame on PistonHeads for lying about something so stupid. That being said, whoever is responsible for providing this car for review is going to get a foot up their ass from the FCA marketing department.

Which PistonHeads article is meant with this? I fail to find it ...
 
My guess is, the main reviews by major publisher are all done and FCA didn't bother updating their press review/demo fleet.
Why? If they are pre-production it's possible software and hardware running it is cobled together and the software needs to be updated in an unortodox time consuming way.

I don't know, it may be that the SW patch wasn't available at the time of review? or Alfa UK just really dropped the ball here...

Which PistonHeads article is meant with this? I fail to find it ...

It was a video review that was posted on youTube. As of last night there was a comment thread in which PistonHeads claimed the car was not pre-production and then some user said that was incorrect and that the car was a pre-production model used in a number of other magazine reviews. Sadly, it appears PistonHeads has deleted that comment thread, so I've done my own research.

From the PistonHeads comparo:

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src: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKakXkLp8U4

From the HonestJohn.co.uk review:

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src: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKTmXXKIJls

From a review by the Independent:

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src: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...-giulia-quadrifoglio-car-review-a7726476.html

Yeah, production model my ass...
 
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Thanks! appreciate it.
 
So, the line of defense is that the press car is worse than the production model? That certainly would be a novel marketing approach!

So, you got maybe two press cars for the UK market. Maybe even only one. Of course, that'll have gone through a lot less QA than the thousands of cars rolling off the production line...
 
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So, the line of defense is that the press car is worse than the production model? That certainly would be a novel marketing approach!

No, the line of defense is that the car being a press car or pre-production model isn't guaranteed to be fitted with the latest SW revisions. The issue encountered in the PistonHeads article has been well documented and has been fixed in the latest SW releases.
 
No, the line of defense is that the car being a press car or pre-production model isn't guaranteed to be fitted with the latest SW revisions. The issue encountered in the PistonHeads article has been well documented and has been fixed in the latest SW releases.
This is ridiculous. No company with even a bit of brains left would give a worse-than-standard car with a know software issue to reviewers, especially when battling a hard-earned reputation for unreliability.
 
This is ridiculous. No company with even a bit of brains left would give a worse-than-standard car with a know software issue to reviewers, especially when battling a hard-earned reputation for unreliability.

This. If Alfa didn't update that car and gave it to the media as is, they dun goofed.
 
This is ridiculous. No company with even a bit of brains left would give a worse-than-standard car with a know software issue to reviewers, especially when battling a hard-earned reputation for unreliability.

I agree, someone messed up here.
 
So, the line of defense is that the press car is worse than the production model? That certainly would be a novel marketing approach!

If we're talking software only, video game / software pre-release review codes usually have turned off features and run on locked console developer kits. This is not a defence, thats just normal practice in the software part of the world.
 
If we're talking software only, video game / software pre-release review codes usually have turned off features and run on locked console developer kits. This is not a defence, thats just normal practice in the software part of the world.
Yeah, but that's to fight piracy. Carmakers, on the other hand, have a long tradition of delivering hand-selected cars to the press. Ferrari is especially notorious for this, but just having a team of QA specialists spend a day or two to make sure nothing rattles and everthing's just a tad nicer than on the average production vehicle is par for the course with many mainstream brands as well.
 
If we're talking software only, video game / software pre-release review codes usually have turned off features and run on locked console developer kits. This is not a defence, thats just normal practice in the software part of the world.

As Dr_Grip said, its different in the auto industry. There is some leeway before a car goes on sale, or when the press is given sneak-peak access (like this http://www.hotrod.com/articles/what-its-like-to-drive-the-2016-camaro/), but after the car hits dealers, pre-production media units are usually updated to the latest revision, and if they can't be, they're taken out of circulation.
 
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So, the line of defense is that the press car is worse than the production model? That certainly would be a novel marketing approach!

So, you got maybe two press cars for the UK market. Maybe even only one. Of course, that'll have gone through a lot less QA than the thousands of cars rolling off the production line...

Dodge err SRT did the same thing with the Gen V Viper

http://www.motortrend.com/news/2013-motor-trend-best-drivers-car/

"There were other problems, too. One of the hood vents flew off on the freeway and caromed off the windshield. There was a persistent rattle in the right side of the cabin that was never identified. The Performance Apps froze the infotainment system. The paint on the edges of the rocker panels was being burned by the exhaust. Finally, the Viper arrived mounted with standard Pirelli P Zeros on the front and P Zero Corsas on the rear."

From what I can remember when Top Gear tested it here in the States Hammond did not like the pre production seat at all.
 
As Dr_Grip said, its different in the auto industry. There is some leeway before a car goes on sale, or when the press is given sneak-peak access (like this http://www.hotrod.com/articles/what-its-like-to-drive-the-2016-camaro/), but after the car hits dealers, pre-production media units are usually updated to the latest revision, and if they can't be, they're taken out of circulation.

If the upper part of Alfa's software division came from the software developing world, it's possible they brought some bad practices with them. Of course Alfa should kick the pre-production version of the press circulation, but imho the UK branch either doesn't have the budget for new ones, or the PR simply isn't bodered, since the main magazines, TV shows na youtube channels made their own reviews.
 
If the upper part of Alfa's software division came from the software developing world, it's possible they brought some bad practices with them. Of course Alfa should kick the pre-production version of the press circulation, but imho the UK branch either doesn't have the budget for new ones, or the PR simply isn't bodered, since the main magazines, TV shows na youtube channels made their own reviews.

Automotive (embedded) software is developed completely differently from non-embedded software. You can't seamlessly go from one to the other because the coding style, standards, implementation, QA, and validation is a completely different process. Alfa UK messed up by not taking the time to have a technician update the vehicles between press demos.
 
...and in the meantime, Jalopnik's and Car and Driver's test cars broke down. Film at 11.
 
It's the same software problem. It's hard to say something broke down when nothing physically broke.
 
... But does that mean that all cars being tested in the US right now are running "old" software? Kinda hard to believe...
 
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It depends, if Alfa issued a campaign or TSB, then the cars would be upgraded ASAP. If the SW update is only recommended as part of a general service, then no. I wouldn't be surprised if Alfa issues a campaign due to all of this bad press.
 
It depends, if Alfa issued a campaign or TSB, then the cars would be upgraded ASAP. If the SW update is only recommended as part of a general service, then no. I wouldn't be surprised if Alfa issues a campaign due to all of this bad press.

Even if the software update is only "recommended," Alfa would be stupid to not update all the cars in press circulation. Either somethings fishy about all this or its Italians being Italian.
 
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