Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne says the storied Italian marque — perhaps best known for cars built two generations ago — will make another go at the United States by 2012. We’ve heard this before, most recently a decade ago when Fiat and General Motors struck a deal to bring the brand back in 2003, but Marchionne says Fiat is serious this time.

“I’m a lot more confident now that Alfa Romeo will reconstitute a product offering that is acceptable globally, and more in particular in the United States and Canada,” Marchionne said Friday in Toronto, according to Automotive News. “There is a strong likelihood that the brand will be back here within the next 24 months.”

Alfa is perhaps best known among auto aficionados for the beautiful Giuletta, Spider and GTV coupe of the 1950s and 60s. The company bailed out of the United States in 1995 with a reputation for unreliability. As the Wall Street Journal notes, Alfa has overcome the reliability issue but doesn’t have a whole lot of new models to expand the brand. The Journal quotes industry analysts who say Alfa’s success will rely upon moving away from premium cars in favor of vehicles the masses can afford.

Marchionne wants to do that by tapping into Chrysler’s platforms. One idea is a rear-wheel drive sedan based upon the Chrysler 300C to replace the Alfa Romeo 166 that was produced until 2007. Marchionne also wants to use the Chrysler and Fiat parts bins to build a compact front-wheel drive replacement for the Alfa 159 (pictured). No word on whether we’ll get the slightly retro Mito or top-shelf 8C, but unfortunately there’s no plan to bring the hot Giuletta hatchback to North America, according to Automotive News.