Police in Croatia have arrested a 20-year-old man on suspicion of stealing no less than 30 Fiat Uno cars for joy rides during the past three months, reports the AFP news agency. The Fiat Uno hatchback was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and first went in production in Italy in 1983.

The suspect, whose name was not disclosed, was caught in the Karlovac region, 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the capital Zagreb, appropriately was at the wheel of a Uno, said police spokeswoman Aleksandra Ljuba. "Drivers of Fiat Unos can now put their hearts at ease," she told AFP.

The Uno, which also spawned an unloved sedan version, was produced in Italy until 1995 when its production was shifted to Tychy in Poland. European assembly finally ended in 2002, but it is still built in Brazil today where it is the market's best-selling entry-level model. Under questioning, the Croatian suspect acknowledged stealing 30 Unos, mostly in Zagreb, since September, and abandoning them in parking lots or alongside highways once they ran out of petrol.