[IDnN04427571]OPEL TAKES CENTERSTAGE Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne wants the Italianautomaker to be merge with Opel then spin off and list

[IDnN04427571]OPEL TAKES CENTERSTAGE Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne wants the Italianautomaker to be merge with Opel, then spin off and list themerged entity. Combining with Chrysler as well as Opel, which makes up 80percent of GM Europe's annual sales of $34.4 billion, fitsMarchionne's strategy of bulking up Fiat to survive the crisisengulfing the auto industry. "Industrial logic-wise, Opel makes a lot more sense thanChrysler. The big hurdle we can see is social cost," NomuraInternational analyst Michael Tyndall said. "It's all very well to say they compete broadly in the samemarkets with similar platforms and there may be economies ofscale.

But the broad translation of economies of scale is fewerjobs and I'm not sure if the Italian or German governments havethe appetite for the job losses a merger would entail." The biggest opposition to a deal is likely to come fromGerman and Italian unions. Opel employs around 25,000 people at its factories inGermany. [ID:nL4537811] Germany's finance minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg,said Fiat's plan was "interesting," but needed a closer lookfollowing talks with Marchionne. Guttenberg said Fiat wasseeking Europe-wide state guarantees as part of the GM Europedeal. [ID:nL4553433] In fresh reminders of the dire state of the global autoindustry, French new passenger car sales fell 7 percent inApril [ID:nL4623432] and Belgium reported a 22.8 percent drop.[ID:nBRE001579] Spanish automaker association Anfac said car sales in thecountry fell 45.6 percent in April, declining faster year-on-year than in March, which saw a 38.7 percent drop.[ID:nMDT006337] (Reporting by Emily Chasan, David Bailey, Gernot Heller, IanSimpson, Erik Kirschbaum, Tyler Sitte, Avril Ormsby, AndrewHay, Soyoung Kim, Jason Webb and Angelika Gruber; Writing byJohn Crawley in Washington; Editing by Andre Grenon, BernardOrr) Stocks Global Markets Funds News ETFs News Private Capital Italy. (Corrects reference to Allen-Farrow relationship in firstparagraph) Stocks  |  Global Markets NEW YORK, May 4 (Reuters) - Lawyers for film director WoodyAllen asked a court on Monday to prevent American Apparel fromcalling his wife Soon-Yi Previn and his ex-girlfriend MiaFarrow as witnesses in an upcoming trial Allen sued the U.S.

clothing company for trademarkinfringement more than a year ago seeking more than $10 millionafter his image was used on billboards in New York and LosAngeles without his consent. In court papers filed Monday, Allen's lawyers said apossiblewitness list provided by American Apparel Inc. (APP.A) includedAllen, Farrow, Previn, his sister Letty Aronson and Hustlermagazine founder Larry Flynt. The motion filed in Manhattan federal court asks for acourtorder preventing American Apparel from calling witnesses andintroducing evidence "concerning Mr. Allen's personal andfamilylife." The lawyers said any plan to put Farrow on the stand was"partof a brutish attempt to smear and intimidate Mr. Allen." The possibility of calling such witnesses to the stand "alldemonstrate the unmistakable intent to transform this trialinto a spectacle," the court papers said The trial is set tobegin May 18.

American Apparel has argued that Allen overestimates thevalueof his image after various sex scandals. In 1992, Allen'sthen-girlfriend Farrow discovered he was having an affair withtheir 22-year-old eldest adopted daughter, Soon-Yi AllenmarriedSoon-Yi Previn in 1997. A lawyer for the clothing company did not immediatelyreturn calls for comment. In the advertisements, which also appeared on Web sites,Allenis dressed as a Hasidic Jew with a beard and black hat. Allen's lawyers compared his case to that of Cary Grantsuing Esquire magazine for publishing a photo in which Grant'shead was superimposed on a child's torso "Like Mr.