Things could have gone very differently for Fiat in the 1980s. The 1970s were a tough time for many car makers, but the Turin giant’s unique experience had been one of economic crisis, plus industrial unrest mixed with violence and domestic terrorism.
The global oil crisis of 1973 made it clear that Italian industry had to get radically more efficient to survive. It had prospered following World War Two thanks to plentiful labour, cheap because of relatively low living costs. But Italy was rapidly becoming more modern, and more expensive. Although backed by a culture of engineering brilliance, its manufacturing sector was sinking under rising wage bills. It was also losing sales thanks to corruption, cost-cutting on materials and low motivation in a discontented workforce. The 1970s was an era when, as I once wrote of Ferrari, Italian
