Fiat Begins Talks With GM While Courting Chrysler

Fiat is bound and determined to join the big boys of the auto world, and it's using ailing US companies to gain a foothold. The Italian automaker has begun surprise talks with General Motors to buy a stake in GM's Opel division and expand its presence in Europe and Latin America, the Wall Street Journal reports. Fiat is simultaneously trying to buy a 20% stake in Chrysler, now teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

"We're open to dialogue, and we have dialogue with a number of auto companies around the world," said Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat. The company hopes to triple its production to about 6 million cars per year. If Fiat added both Chrysler and Opel to its lineup, it would rank behind only Toyota and GM among world automakers, the New York Times notes. (More Fiat stories.)