An associate of one of our spy photographers stumbled upon a camouflaged Alfa Romeo Giulietta hatchback at a gas station in Detroit on Wednesday morning.

The Italian compact model was covered in what looks like a matte black vinyl wrap with all Alfa Romeo logos hidden. Now, before you jump to the wrong conclusions, let us tell you that this isn't the first time we've seen the Giulietta in the States.

In fact, back in 2010, a whole truckload of Giuliettas was snagged on a Michigan freeway heading towards the Chrysler Group's headquarters in Auburn Hills. For all we know, this may be one of the leftovers.

Alfa Romeo's British arm set out to find whether a car could play ice hockey for its latest promo video on the Giulietta compact hatch.

The answer to the question is yes if you're an automaker and don't have a problem renting out an ice skating ring for hours on end and more importantly, if you don't mind the occasional mishap, because as one YouTube commentator pointed out, we find it hard to believe that the Giulietta didn't crash into the wall at around 1 minute and 17 seconds into the video…

Jump past the break to watch the clip.

The Chrysler Group has resurrected the Dart nameplate from the 1960s for its new Dodge compact sedan model that will receive its world premiere at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in the second week of January.

The new Dart is the first Chrysler Group vehicle to be based upon a Fiat architecture as it makes use of a modified version of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta hatchback's platform named Compact U.S. Wide (CUSW), which has been lengthened and widened to improve interior space.

The Detroit automaker says that 68 percent of the Dart's body is composed of high-strength steel, resulting in a "very strong and rigid structure".

Powering the 2013 Dodge Dart will be three four-cylinder gasoline powerplants including a new Tigershark 2.0-liter unit, a 1.4-liter MultiAir Intercooled Turbo engine that will most likely be shared with the Fiat Abarth 500 in the U.S., and a new Tigershark 2.4-liter MultiAir engine.

Collaborations between two companies that belong in the same group is a common practice. However, platform or parts sharing, or even badge engineering, is not the only form of a partnership.

In 2008, Ferrari chose a limited edition of the Fiat 500 as a courtesy car for its customers. Now, two more brands of the Fiat group have emulated the Ferrari-Fiat move. Maserati has chosen Alfa Romeo's C-segment hatchback, the Giulietta, as a courtesy car for its clients in Europe.

While the company is keeping most of its cards close to its chest, Reid Biglund, head of the Dodge brand told the Detroit News we'll find out more in the coming weeks including the car's name which he says won't be Hornet as some media outlets suggested. "Hornet will not be the name," said Biglund.

Out of all the mainstream brands included in the Fiat Group and Chrysler LLC portfolio, Alfa Romeo has the most potential to achieve a global reach and bring in some much needed cash and sales. The Italian company's boss Sergio Marchionne is well aware of this and that's one of the reasons he doesn't want to sell Alfa Romeo to Volkswagen, despite Ferdinand Piechs' persistent efforts.

However, one of the most pressing problems with Alfa Romeo is the constant delays, be that for the successors to models like the 159 series or the company's long-awaited return to the U.S. market.

Suffice it to say, there's no way of being sure that the Fiat Group has managed to sort out the time schedule-related problems when it comes to Alfa Romeo. Nevertheless, at a recent event for investors, the Fiat Group introduced an updated plan for the Milanese brand, which it hopes will revitalize Alfa Romeo through the presentation of new models.

American fans of the Alfa Romeo brand are not the only ones to be upset by the Fiat-Chrysler alliance's most recent decision to delay the scheduled return of the Italian automaker to the States. So are the company’s newly launched Fiat dealerships that were expecting the brand to launch in late 2012.

While Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne never put it in ink, the company had told its 130 Fiat dealers in the USA that they would likely get Alfa Romeo cars as part of their franchise.

The Fiat-Chrysler alliance appointed a total of 130 Fiat dealers across the States, most of which already had a Chrysler store. The company gave dealers the permission to incorporate temporary showrooms in their existing Chrysler facilities, but required them to build separate and permanent stores by the end of 2012.

The…freshly painted version of the 4C sports coupe concept will be joined at Alfa Romeo's Frankfurt Motor Show stand by the updated variants of the Giulietta and Mito hatchbacks.

The Giulietta gains Alfa Romeo's new double-clutch TCT transmission that will be offered on the 1.4-liter turbocharged MultiAir gasoline engine and the 2.0-liter turbodiesel, both of which have a maximum output of 170HP.

Novitec is a German tuning company known for wheedling more ponies from anything that rolls on four wheels and is produced in Italy. This time, the tuner has set its eyes on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta hatchback with the release of a comprehensive styling and performance package.

On the outside, Novitec's goods include a subtle but attractive ground effects kit (perhaps with the exception of the somewhat over-the-top rear diffuser, which in our opinion, would have probably looked better in a matte black finish).