The Alfa Romeo Giulia has received a lot of praise since it was introduced nearly two years ago but the model has also been plagued by problems.

Since the company is looking to take on established players such as BMW and Mercedes, these reports are damaging the company’s reputation just as the automaker is trying to find its footing in North America.

Things came to a head earlier this week when Road & Track took a spin in the Giulia Quadrifoglio. While this normally won’t be a problem, the magazine’s test car was an unmitigated disaster as the model struggled to complete a single lap on the Gingerman Raceway without issues.

Automakers keep a close eye on what the press has to say and magazine’s description of the event as “embarrassing, disappointing, unnecessary, and dumb” certainly caught their attention. Shortly thereafter, the magazine was put in touch with Reid Bigland who is the head of Alfa Romeo and Maserati.

Bigland apologized for the issues and stated the car was shipped straight from the factory and bypassed the normal dealer inspection process which caused it to miss several software updates. The executive went on to admit Alfa Romeo has “experienced some challenges” with the car’s software.

If Bigland is to be believed, the Giulia’s software is essentially an evil poltergeist that is responsible for everything from sunroofs that refuse to close to check engine lights that never seem to go away. Most of the software issues appear to be fixed but not exactly reassuring when the problems keep happening.

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