By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ and DAVID JOLLY
Published: April 23, 2009
TURIN, Italy — Aiming to benefit from Detroit's problems and vault itself into the top tier of the car industry, the Italian automaker Fiat is eyeing a major stake in General Motors' Opel division in Europe, even as it simultaneously nears a deal to save Chrysler.
Fiat's chief executive, Sergio Marchionne, already in Washington for talks on the Chrysler deal, has raised the possibility of also acquiring Opel in talks with United States officials, a top government negotiator said Thursday.
