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[fpb]

Half of Italy is stunned; the other half is cracking jokes or laughing at them. So Fiat, which has been at least four times in living memory close to bankruptcy, is now supposed to rescue Chrysler? A job, mind you, at which the Germans of Daimler failed. Well, well, we shall see what we shall see.

Comments

[affablestranger.livejournal.com]

I'm not up on automobile makers, but I wondered, "Why Fiat?"

I am of the heartless opinion that a healthy dose of structured bankruptcy is just the shot in the arm a lot of these bailout recipients need.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

It does seem that they had been in negotiations for months before the crunch came. From Fiat's point of view, the great big carrot is entrance to the North American market - something after which Fiat has hankered uselessly for decades. However, the Daimler precedent promises nothing good.

[affablestranger.livejournal.com]

Legacy American automakers (Ford, GM, and Chrysler) have been on shaky enough legs for years. I lean to the inclination that their time as 'going business concerns' was likely over some time ago. It was simply their distinct 'Americanness' and the national nostalgia that goes along with it that made anyone even remotely want to keep them going. And, oh yeah, the UAW.