[Ptrope]

Here's a thought for you:

Fiat.

It's all over the news tonight, that Fiat may be taking a stake in Chrysler, which will enable them to penetrate the U.S. market, while providing Chrysler with access to world-class small-car technology. Could Fiat buy the PT Cruiser assets? Maybe they wouldn't be building Cruisers - although one has to seriously question the wisdom of Chrysler killing its one compact at a time when everyone is concerned with what is going to happen with the price of gas.

This close to their announcement of the PT's cancelation, I wonder if someone might reconsider it, without the threat of bankruptcy quite so looming. Chrysler could do worse than canceling or postponing the demise of the PT, and instead create the next generation, using the assets of Fiat to build a more efficient car that can still be unique amongst its competition. And Fiat certainly has plenty of 'retro' in their DNA - this tie-up could, at the very least, hasten the debut of the Fiat 500, a car every bit as cool as the Mini (and probably a good place to start finally developing the Dodge Hornet sub-compact).