Chrysler Fiat Deal Confirmed

if Fiat uses this as an opportunity to sell Alfas in the States, and in return provides Chrysler with decent diesel engines so they can provide credible small cars in Europe, they'll both be in a fantastic position.

moving on from that if they can make a decent mid-sized car that they can sell in emerging markets like India and China then they *could* dominate.

but we'll see how it goes, eh ;)?

I hope it works. Mercedes failed, and if the efficient Germans cannot do it, hope the Italian flair works!

Or is it?

Forget what your college roomate told you in 1974, most of the problems arose from US safety and emissions regs, dealer issues in the US, and Russian steel which the company unfortunately obtained in a deal for a factory there. I myself had a 1978 FIAT 131 sedan that was the most enjoyable economy car you could imagine... still on the road 30 years later, too.

And current FIAT CEO Sergio Marchionne is a genius, if you read what The Economist had to say about what's he's done at the company, you'd understand just how well run FIAT is. They, in fact, get good quality out of numerous plants in South America and Asia, so they should be able to do something with Chrysler's- you'd think.

FIAT's current models are nothing to laugh at, even the smallest FIAT 500 gets a 5-Star crash rating and is very similar to the ultra-popular Mini... but cooler to my eyes. I also rented a small, 4 door FIAT Panda in Greece... it got 40-50mpg on gas, and was a very sporty drive for an econobox. FIAT also makes what we would call a midsize, the Croma... which is like a Taurus, and they produce all matter of trucks. They invented the now widespread "single rail" diesel technology, and their smallest cars get 75mpg on diesel... who needs hybrids?

Any portrayal of FIAT as a producer of antiquidated, poor quality little cars is utter nonsense from the uninformed... like USA Today, for one. IMO, they are going to surprise a whole lot of people.