There's a Little Mouse in our future

When I hitchhiked through Italy in the spring of 1955, I often caught rides in the Fiat 500, aka Topolino, the Italian name for Micky Mouse. Little did I imagine that the Little Mouse would one day supplant the luxurious American Chrysler! Its most recent incarnation is shown above, along with Sergio Marchionne, who may well emerge from our current automotive meltdown as the CEO of Chrysler.

I don't think the 500 was ever sold in the US, but its big brother the 600 was, and it was such a disaster that we sniggered that FIAT stood for Fix It Again, Tony! Now the president of the United States is saying much the same about Chrysler: "Fix it again, Sergio!"

Blue skies! -- Dan Ford