Italy’s Fiat enthusiasts on Sunday held a ”National Day of Fiat pride” to show their support for the crisis hit automaker by exhibiting some of the models which made the Turin-based company famous.
Fiat collectors turned out in piazzas in Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence, Palermo and other major cities to show off models of various vintage turned out by the company in its 103-year history, with one message — keep it Italian.
”Be it beautiful or ugly, it’s important to give a signal: Fiat must remain in Italy with its factories and its workers,” said Giovanni Oggero, president of the Registro Fiat Italiano collectors’ club.
Fiat, dragged into financial crisis by its struggling automotive unit, is in the midst of a deep restructuring that aims to slash debt and improve profitability, namely by selling assets and laying off workers.
The Italian government has said it wants Fiat Auto, an icon of Italian industrial pride and the country’s biggest private sector employer, to remain in Italian hands. There are strong rumours that Fiat wants to sell its car-making unit to US giant General Motors.
Sunday’s events were aimed at awakening public pride in the marque and to demonstrate collectors’ support, said Oggero, adding that the group plans another event in May.
”Our passion for cars is always also a recognition for the designers and workers who for a century, with the cars they produced, represented the pride of Italian work to the world.”
”The Fiat crisis has deeply affected all collectors of Fiat cars. There are no distinctions among the enthusiasts whether he has a Balilla or a 128,” said Oggero.
”What counts is jealous ownership of a piece of our country’s history.”
The upmarket Balilla was built in various forms between 1932-1953 while the popular 128 was a common sight on roads between 1969 and 1985. – Sapa-AFP