This assignment came in and the results here came out the same day President Obama was inaugurated as the 44th. It was quite amusing to read assignment details and later hear many of the same buzzwords (consumer confidence, good news, reality, etc.) in Obama’s inauguration speech, so I guess Obama did the right thing and took the editor’s phone call over the holiday weekend.

Another beer later and I’ll be positive for the remainder of the day. I promise.

And this all followed the word that Chrysler and Fiat signed a nonbinding agreement, in which Fiat gets a third of Chrysler for no money. Their plan is a “strategic alliance” that would provide Fiat an initial 35-percent stake in Chrysler, without Fiat investing any cash. And why should they, the U.S. government has our tax dollars as cash to invest.

Oops. Sorry. Think positive.

Okay, there’s some merit to this idea. It ain’t perfect but Cummins doesn’t build car companies? In terms of product, Fiat is to Italy what GM is to the U.S., what VW is to Germany, what Renault or Peugeot is to France, and what Toyota is to Japan. Fiat SpA is Italy’s largest manufacturer and builds a variety of everyday cars suitable for most people, plus commercial vehicles, and like some of those named above, has an interest in or association with more premium brands like Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari.

Fiat Auto and GM have had a relationship but it’s been rather stormy and GM doesn’t have a controlling interest; GM paid $2 billion to escape a put-option that might have left GM with Fiat as well, though Fiat has done better than GM recently. At this moment there’s been no comment from GM about any potential alliance between Chrysler and Fiat. And this latest alliance may allow Daimler to unload their remaining 19.9% of Chrysler direct to Fiat. So if Fiat gets a 35% stake from Chrysler and buys 20% from Daimler . . . .

So what could become of Chrysler and Fiat working together? First and most obviously it makes each company greater and economies of scale on “globalization” often favor bigger companies.

It might get Chrysler out from under Cerberus “dumb-ass management” although pessimists might not view Fiat management any more highly. And a dark Chrysler 300SRT-8 would make a great ride for La Cosa Nostra.

It would give Chrysler in-roads to a broader European market, something they’ve been desperate to do for some time—few going concerns make cars for one country outside China and Russia.

Likewise it would give Fiat a leg up in restarting North American sales and distribution; Ferrari and Maserati are already here, Alfa Romeo is working on it (the C8 and Spider should be first), and Fiat certainly has some cars that would sell here, including the new 500 that is a legitimate competitor to the BMW MINI for something small, economical, fun, and a measure of retro style.

Both companies would share vehicle platforms and technology, most of which is completely transparent to the owner anyway. You can’t tell a Volvo S40 driver they are driving a Mazda 3 or Ford Focus but the platforms are related and things like this example happen all over the auto world. Bits like electronic architectures, air conditioners, and seats can be engineered once for similar-size cars and upholstered to match the brand and price later.

Fiat has small cars covered, including respectable 1.3 and 1.9-liter turbodiesels (if the E85 lobby hasn’t bought all of Congress yet) and a host of good gas engines of less than 3 liters. Beyond the 500 some Fiats tend to look rather generic but Alfa Romeo is widely regarded for styling and I can’t be alone in thinking the Sebring, Avenger and Caliber missed the target in that respect. And Fiat has a lot of small commercial vehicles including vans that would compete with the likes of the (Mercedes-Benz sourced) Sprinter, Ford’s coming-to-the-U.S. Transit, and every Renault and Nissan that Nissan can adapt to the U.S. market.

Chrysler doesn’t have a lot of mainstream product that Fiat can use. It might be fun to pit a Viper against a Lamborghini Gallardo police car (they do have them), but otherwise the product exported would likely be Jeep, minivan and electric sports cars when/if they make production.

I think this idea has some promise. First it has to get past the usual army of accountants, the U.S Treasury since they’ll be giving Chrysler finance arm $1.5B to generate showroom traffic. Second, as a nonbinding agreement it means nothing has been set in ink this inauguration day. Third, it is qualified as an initial stake in Chrysler, which means it may get bigger, and if it got big enough for Cerberus to bail Chrysler’s future looks even better.

And let’s not forget that any good news regarding Chrysler may get more buyers into U.S. showrooms as they realize the company is not going away right after they buy a car or truck.