The rust problem came from the deal between Fiat and the Russians who paid for the Fiat 124 production line with sub-standard Russian steel that contained a high percentage of scrap. That was in about 1970. Since that poor quality steel got used up, Italian cars have been no better and no worse than anything else. The worst ruster in recent years was the Mercedes-Benz W210 E-Class, but that was mainly due to poor paint preparation.