If "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose," Chrysler's free.

Go back to January when Italy's Fiat took an initial 35 per cent stake in Chrysler. Took means just that, as in, free, gratis, no charge. Chrysler gave away more than a third of the company just to get access, some day, to Fiat's fuel-efficient small cars. Go for it Chrysler -- what's to lose?

Last week, when it was Chrysler's turn to go up to Ottawa and beg for bailout money, President and Vice-Chairman Tom LaSorda's message to the politicians was that the company wants US$2.3 billion from the feds, plus a break on taxes - otherwise we're out of here. Without the dough LaSorda said Chrysler is willing to shut the factories and leave 10,000 Canadian workers behind.

General Motors tried to make nice to the politicians, but not Chrysler. While LaSorda was at it he also told the union (CAW) that the cuts they'd given GM weren't nearly enough for Chrysler. Go for it Tom -- what's to lose?

Chrysler's playing the game like the underdog and putting all the pressure on the other guys. It's like when the Leafs always win a few games after they're long out of the playoff race. But guess what? Chrysler, in Canada at least, is in the playoffs. In fact in February they led the Canadian league in sales. Nobody could believe it. With an aging lineup of big cars, SUVs and trucks, Chrysler outsold General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Honda -- everybody. Now that's one month, and a bad one at that, but by getting extremely aggressive on price and selling them like there's no tomorrow, the lovable loser came first. Go for it Chrysler -- if you don't win today, there is no tomorrow.

Chrysler's 80 per cent owned by Cerberus Capital Management, one of the largest private equity investment firms in the United States. The firm is based in New York City and is run by financier Steve Feinberg who must by now have come to terms with kissing his Chrysler money good-bye. Since he bought it, Chrysler has dumped four vehicle lines and cut employment 36 per cent down to the 1934 level.

Being at death's door is, of course, nothing new for Chrysler. In 1983 only a U.S. government bail-out saved them. Lee Iacocca, who was running the company at the time and scrambling for his life, reared back and threw a desperation touchdown pass. He bet the money on a fuel-efficient family vehicle called the mini-van. Chrysler was saved.

Can Fiat be the saviour this time? Chrysler's in a much bigger hole than it was in 1983 and Fiat doesn't have nearly enough money to dig them out. And while there's no Lee Iacocca around this time, there is some pretty good Canadian talent at Chrysler and Fiat that would love to pull off an Iacocca-like, come- from-behind victory.

The CEO of the Fiat Group is Sergio Marchionne, who has dual Canadian and Italian citizenship. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto, University of Windsor and Osgoode Hall. Tom LaSorda, who told the politicians and the union to get stuffed, grew up almost in sight of Chrysler's Windsor Assembly Plant. His father was an autoworker and head of the union.

LaSorda has a BComm and MBA from the University of Windsor. The Vice President of Design at Chrysler is Ralph Gilles from Montreal. He and his team designed the best looking concept car at this year's Detroit Auto Show -- the Chrysler 200C. Chrysler will need a lot more money if any of Ralph's great, new stuff is ever to get built. And the president of Chrysler Canada, the man who led that amazing sales success in February, is Reid Bigland from Kelowna, B.C. Reid's a muscle-bound fitness fanatic who hates to lose.

Are the Canadians on the bench enough to pull Chrysler through this crisis? Maybe Don Cherry would think so and I hope they do, but the odds are way, way against it. The Leafs sometimes play like they've got nothing left to lose and that hasn't won them a Cup in 41 years. But Chrysler will try anything at this point -- because they have to -- and that's good enough for me and Bobby McGee.