Five years ago the idea that Fiat might be a potential saviour of one of the Big Three US carmakers would have been highly implausible, to say the least.

In 2004, a year after the death of its legendary chairman Gianni Agnelli, the Italian automotive group was saddled with debt, bleeding about €1bn ($1.6bn) a year in cash, entangled in an unhappy relationship with General Motors, and badly in need of a turnaround.

But in June that year Sergio Marchionne became chief executive and the turnround began.

Mr Marchionne extracted Fiat from the GM alliance, cut costs, streamlined production and reorganised the firm around its core brands, returning it to profitability.

The company has posted profits for the past 15 consecutive quarters, earning Mr Marchionne a reputation as a force within the industry.

Evidence of its success will be clear on the 22 Jan, when Fiat is expected to announce group profits for 2008 of around €3.3bn.

In comparison, Chrysler, the smallest of the Big Three US firms, is worthless and was given a $4bn emergency loan by the US government this month.

Mr Marchionne predicted last month, in an interview with trade magazine Automotive News Europe, that only six mass carmakers would survive the economic downturn.

Yet this week's deal with Chrysler, which will see the Italian group offer technology and distribution to the US company in return for a 35 per cent stake, raises the question of whether it is the right move for Fiat.

The stock market's initial response was cautious – Fiat's shares rose slightly before ending the day down 1.3 per cent.

The stock has been under pressure in recent days after the abrupt departure of a key executive and news that the company might lose its investment-grade rating. This is because of the deteriorating operating environment in which the global car makers now find themselves.

Analysts said the deal raised many questions.

Arndt Ellinghorst, automotive analyst at Credit Suisse, said: “Our initial stance regarding a tie-up is that Fiat has made a material error in its path towards consolidation.”

Harald Hendrikse, an analyst at Bank of America, said that Fiat would have a tough job making a success of Chrysler when Cerberus Capital Management, its private equity owner, and Daimler, the German carmaker that once owned the US automaker, had failed.

Other analysts noted that, rather than consolidating the global auto industry, the Fiat/Chrysler alliance would expand it – at least initially – by creating a new entity.

参考译文：

菲亚特(Fiat)有可能成为美国三大汽车制造商的一个潜在救星，毫不夸张地说，这个想法在5年前仍相当令人难以置信。

2004年，即菲亚特富有传奇色彩的主席詹尼•阿涅利(Gianni Agnelli)去世一年后，这家意大利汽车集团负债累累，每年亏损约10亿欧元（合16亿美元），与通用汽车(General Motors)的关系也陷入不愉快的境地。它迫切需要一个转折。

而在当年6月，塞尔焦•马尔基翁内(Sergio Marchionne)就任首席执行官，转折也到来了。

马尔基翁内使菲亚特撤出了与通用汽车的联盟，削减了成本，优化了生产，围绕其核心品牌重组了公司，终于使菲亚特扭亏为盈。

在过去连续15个季度中，该公司一直处于盈利状态，这为马尔基翁内赢得了业内强人的声誉。

菲亚特获得成功的证据将于1月22日揭晓，届时它将宣布，该集团在2008年取得约33亿欧元的利润。

相比之下，美国汽车业三巨头中规模最小的克莱斯勒(Chrysler)则一无是处，它本月接受了美国政府40亿美元的紧急贷款。

马尔基翁内在上个月接受行业杂志《欧洲汽车新闻》(Automotive News Europe)时预测，仅有6家大型汽车制造商能从经济衰退中幸存。

不过，本周菲亚特与克莱斯勒的交易——菲亚特将向克莱斯勒提供技术和销售渠道，回报是克莱斯勒35%的股权——使人们不禁要问，对菲亚特而言，这是否是一个正确的举措。

股市的最初的反应很谨慎——菲亚特股价在轻微上涨后，当天收盘下跌1.3%。

菲亚特的股价在最近几天一直承受压力。之前，该公司一名重要高管突然离职，还有消息称，菲亚特可能会失去投资级的评级。这是由于全球汽车制造商如今所面临运营环境正在不断恶化。

分析师认为，这笔交易引发了许多问题。

瑞士信贷(Credit Suisse)汽车业分析师阿恩特•埃林霍斯特(Arndt Ellinghorst)表示：“我们对这两家公司结盟的初步看法是，菲亚特在迈向整合的道路上犯了一个重大错误。”

美国银行(Bank of America)分析师哈拉德•亨德里克斯(Harald Hendrikse)表示，对菲亚特来说，让克莱斯勒获得成功是一项艰巨的任务。克莱斯勒股东、私人股本集团赛伯乐资产管理公司(Cerberus Capital Management)与一度拥有克莱斯勒的德国汽车制造商戴姆勒(Daimler)都失败了。

其它分析师提到，菲亚特-克莱斯勒联盟非但不会促进全球汽车业整合，相反，由于这个新实体的创建，该行业的摊子还铺得更大了——至少在最初阶段如此。