However at the end of May talks between GM and Fiat broke down when the Fiat CEO claimed that he was unable to get full access to the financials of Opel. That doesn’t seem to have worried GM too much because, waiting in the wings was the Canadian spare parts maker Magna.

Magna … with financial backing from Russia is now set to take control of GM Europe.

Only a few years ago Fiat was on the brink of collapse but in 2004 its fortunes began to change when a new CEO, in the form of Sergio Marchionne, was appointed. In the years since 2004 he’s turned Fiat around to the point where it’s now in dicussions with General Motors to take over the European brands currently controlled by GM.

Industry experts now suggest that Fiat’s financials are so strong there will be no need for it to borrow any money to buy out GMs Opel, Vauxhall and Saab to add to the brands it already controls … brands like Alfa and Ferrari.

And in case you haven’t heard … Fiat already owns a share of Chrysler in the US.

by Stuart Livesey

Fiat launched it’s new compact car – the Bravo – on Tuesday just 18 months after design and development of the vehicle began. While the name has appeared in the Fiat lineup before it was dropped in 2001 when a completely new vehicle replaced it.

But now it’s back to compete with the VW Golf and the first impressions are very positive.

It comes in several models including two with turbo-charged 1.4 litre engines that develop some interesting power figures.

Some experts suggest that Fiat will also need to take market-share from the Opel Astra, Peugeot 307 and the Renault Megane so it will be interesting to see how sales go. It will also be interesting to see whether or not the Fiat Bravo makes it to Australia.

And if you happen to drive one of those monsters and you wonder why you’re not pulling the chicks then maybe I can explain what your problem really is. It’s not that your getting a bit thin on top and a bit thick around the middle … it’s just that you’re not driving a Fiat 500 from the early 1960s.

That’s right, you’re not driving one of these sleek, sexy and charismatic examples of high-tech power

Hi-tech??

Well it does have windows that wind down (the Mini that was out at the same time only had sliding windows).

Photos courtesy of Clarita

Now I realise that you are probably doubting my sanity when I suggest that the Fiat 500 is the world’s sexiest car but it wasn’t me who made that stunning decision.

It was actually recently named as the world’s sexiest car by Britain’s Top Gear magazine because it has everyone from “strapping blokes to fainting flowers of womanhood” looking sexually charged when they sit behind the wheel.

The magazine goes on to say that “The Fiat 500 works irrespective of age, beauty, wealth or position – even a nun in a 500 seems to telegraph a faint tingle of the procreative urge.”

Sadly it’s never going to make me look sexy – at around 1.9 metres tall I would never have fitted into the thing. And as she who must be obeyed suggested, it’s not going to do much for the procreative urge either because it’s just too small (the car – not me )

I always did wonder why none of the cars I ever drove seemed to pull the chicks … now I know (sigh)

So bad did their future look back then that General Motors paid a cool $2 billion to buy their way out of an agreement they had with Fiat dating back to 2000. Perhaps now GM might be wishing that they had a little more faith in Fiat because, after five straight years of financial losses, the company is about to post a substantial operating profit.

Not only is Fiat about to post a profit but financial analysts are suggesting that there are even better times ahead. And those good times are, in part, due to this car:

the Fiat Punto.

If you can cast your mind back to the 1950s you’ll see that there is a certain amount of history in that small car and it’s helping Fiat back onto the road to recovery.

It may be sometime before we see Fiat back in Australia but they will certainly add interest to the local motoring scene if they do return.