Actually - Fiat has made some really great engines over the years. I've thoroughly enjoyed wringing out every horsepower from some of their smallest engines. They were building dual overhead cam engines that were efficient and full of technology long before American car companies who have hung onto pushrod valvetrains for decades longer than everyone else.
Fiat and it's subsidiaries are constantly found near the bottom of the rankings for reliability by Consumer Reports, and JD Power, while Mazda is normally in the middle to upper middle of the pack. If they are the same car in every other way I would much rather have the one with a Mazda engine than a Fiat engine, that is all I was getting at.
American cars are also normally ranked near the bottom, so no argument there. ;)
The Fiat cars as a whole may have problems but the Fiat engines I had the most experiences with were quite alot of fun and good. The cars themselves (1990s and 1980s) were very simple and light construction so things broke from time to time. They were easy and inexpensive to repair when this happened though. Not difficult at all to work on. And second gear always grinded a little once it had some miles on it if the driver didn't finesse the transmission and clutch a little.
Yugos (a Fiat licensed copy of a Fiat 126) were universally ridiculed here in the USA because Americans thought they ought to be able to buy a car that cost $4500 new that would survive twenty years of neglect - seriously - cheap cars often attract cheap owners. Cheap owners do not worry over the maintenance schedule, the best lubricants or quality repairs. They use whatever cheap temporary materials they have on hand and bitch about the car when the next thing breaks. Duct tape and bailing wire do not make quality repairs.
Yugos had alot of potential as long term local cars - not long distance family haulers. Cheap to buy, cheap to repair, simple to repair. Requires an owner with expectations in line with the cost of the vehicle. An owner who knows how to replace a starter or window regulator is a bonus.
I marvel at the number of cars Americans sent to the crusher due to an inability to make repairs themselves and thus repairs made economically. I've owned upwards of 40 cars over the years. Many of them purchased for little and then I made the necessary repairs cheap and drove it for a year or several. Sold it and recouped most or all of my expenses and thus drove for free or nearly so.
I look at Mercs, BMWs, and other "luxury" brands and know I could make one last but I'm not sure the cost of even used parts would be affordable. Swapping parts out shouldn't be that much more difficult than any other modern car.