Quote Of The Day: Your Tax Dollars At Work Edition
Published: December 29th, 2009
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We’ve always said the Fiat-Chrysler alliance was positive. The headquarters of an increasingly global company are here. But I wouldn’t like to see new auto products being developed in the United States and not here in our own research-and-development facilities.
Andrea Bairati, commissioner for innovation for Italy’s Piedmont region in a WSJ piece on Fiat’s annual meeting in Turin. Maybe if Piedmont had kicked a few billion in on the Chrysler-Fiat alliance, Mr Bairati wouldn’t feel quite so slighted.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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And I hope Fiat doesn't forget to go on developing their research facilities here in my home town either. Over the last 20 years or so they have invested so much that, reportedly, the Brazilian Fiat is now able to develop a car all on its own. So much so that Fiat is supporting some local universities in having graduate and post-graduate courses focused on automotive engineering since they consider they don't have enough qualified people entering into these new positions. So by helping the schools they're helping themselves. And consequently my home town, state and country. So Mr Nierdemeyer, it'll take a while, and pray that everything goes well. If it does, you'll get your money back some day in direct investments (not to mention salaries and the consumption and taxes that these generate that might have just gone puf). BTW, that's how big internatinal auto conglomerates work. Ford Brazil was the prime candidate to make the new Fiesta. Then the US market showed interest in it. Ford Brazil wasn't able to convince Ford USA that they had a better business case than Ford Mexico. Tough luck, lost that one. Maybe they'll win the next one.