What Were They Thinking? When Alfa Romeo Rebadged a Nissan to Create the Arna

When the Nissan Versa was launched in Australia as the Tiida, many automotive watchers were excited by the prospect of blending Renault’s European flair with Nissan’s Japanese reliability. “Here,” they said, “Is a car that’ll please everyone.” What they got was a narrow-bodied subcompact with so-so styling, a plasticy dashboard, a shocking lack of equipment and an overinflated price tag. Not to