Fiat quietly ended its effort to market cars in the United States a quarter-century ago when the last of its vehicles to carry the Fiat nameplate, the 1983 Brava sedan, drove off a dealer lot. They had stylish exteriors and responsive handling, but Fiats were notoriously unreliable. This time around, the Italian automaker is hoping to make a more favorable and lasting impression on American consumers, with much-improved, fuel-efficient cars that could roll off the assembly lines of its new partner, Chrysler, in as little as 18 months, The New York Times reported.

Chrysler LLC is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the United States by the end of the week and the Canadian and Ontario governments will jump in to help backstop the company with financing that will enable it to keep making and selling cars while it restructures, sources said. The bankruptcy filing is expected even though a deal by Fiat SpA to create a strategic alliance with the No.

Nortel Networks Corp. needs its protection from bankruptcy extended to July 30, says the court-appointed monitor in the telecom equipment maker's Canadian insolvency proceedings. The current extension of Nortel's stay under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ends May 1, and Nortel is seeking a further 90-day period of shelter from creditors, The Canadian Press reported.

The Canadian unit of Chrysler may not need to seek bankruptcy protection, even if the company does so in the United States, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Saturday. Flaherty said the automaker's cost-cutting agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers union, announced late Friday, represented a "fundamental change" in the company's efforts to qualify for emergency government loans, Reuters reported. The company must also clinch a partnership with Fiat SpA. "The legal situation may be different in Canada than in the United States.

AbitibiBowater Inc. tried a creative debt-restructuring process out of court, but in the end filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act in Canada, the Financial Post reported. "This was not the path that was preferred," said company spokesman Seth Kursman, "but we had exhausted all other options." He said the company's liquidity positions were severely constrained by more than $6 billion of debt. AbitibiBowater tried to keep the company out of the bankruptcy courts.

Fiat's chief executive has returned to the United States for talks as pressure builds to seal a partnership deal with Chrysler before the end of the month, sources at the Italian car maker said on Monday. Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne is going to Detroit and Washington, where the government has given Fiat and Chrysler an April 30 deadline to get the U.S. car maker's unions and bondholders to agree the deal, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Ottawa is refusing to rescue AbitibiBowater Inc. with loan guarantees--putting thousands of jobs in communities across Canada at risk after the forest products giant filed for bankruptcy protection, the Globe and Mail reported. AbitibiBowater, one of the country's oldest companies and the world's biggest producer of newsprint, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States Thursday, citing a debt burden of more than $6 billion (U.S.), and plans to file for similar protection in Montreal today, under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

The key players who will determine whether Chrysler LLC has a future in Canada are digging in their heels, increasing the danger that a rescue effort could collapse, the Globe and Mail reported. The campaign to convince the Canadian Auto Workers to offer more concessions to Chrysler Canada Inc. is growing increasingly public, with would-be Chrysler saviour Fiat SpA jumping into the fray this week, followed by Industry Minister Tony Clement, and yesterday, Chrysler Canada president Reid Bigland.

Fiat SpA's chief executive, facing a two-week deadline to work out a partnership with Chrysler LLC, warned the troubled U.S. carmaker's unions he would ditch the idea unless they agreed to cut labor costs, Reuters reported. In a clear message to U.S. and Canadian unions, Sergio Marchionne told Wednesday's Globe and Mail newspaper a deal on the partnership had only a 50-50 chance of succeeding because of lack of progress in talks with union leaders. "Absolutely we are prepared to walk.

Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne is again in the United States for talks with potential partner Chrysler, a source close to the company said on Thursday. He may have a meeting with Chrysler executives in New York, where an auto show is currently underway, Reuters reported. Fiat and Chrysler are trying to finalize a partnership by the end of April which would help the U.S. car maker avoid bankruptcy. On Wednesday, Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press said his company was working around the clock to complete the deal.