“Hoosier Red / August 5th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Would a drunken man have a better chance of making it across a busy highway if tied to two other drunken men?”

“enderw88 / August 5th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Hey, they could rename the merged company “American Motors”!!!”

three in a row. right on the mark. truly, more wit and wisdom than any other website i read. seriously. that’s why i love this site and why i keep coming back for more.

British Leyland

We talk a lot about the 2.8 learning from their history. Well, don’t forget the rest of the world’s history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Leyland

Could you imagine the Cobalt badge engineered into a Ford, Mercury, Dodge, and Jeep? How about a Saturn version of the Fusion? And that Sebring/Avenger would look GREAT with a Pontiac split grill…

Bankruptcy will “right-size” each of them to an appropriate size vis-a-vis their market share. In the case of Chrysler, that size may be zero.

If everyone at GM, Ford and Chrysler put their egos to one side and concentrated on their strengths, this conglomerate could be Japan’s (and everywhere else’s) biggest nightmare.

Your first line is negated by your second. The egos have been the problem.

dpeppers :
Ford is all of a sudden brilliant? Mortgaged to the hilt? Mullaly is going to save them?
Time will tell, but until the “domestic” consumer starts to purchase automobiles (foreign or domestic). It will be a race to the bottom for all manufacturers.

Considering the current ‘liquidity problems’ and the current credit woes, Ford securing as much cash as possible when it was available was a Good Thing.

Though, if merged, it would a lot easier for Tata to buy them in a couple of years.

If Chrysler were the dominant partner (not bloody likely) it would be American Motors. Or maybe call it Rambler American. Bring back an old small car for a new day: the Nash Metropolitan.

First, the obvious issue of domestic labor costs, particularly benefits. The foreign transplants (those producing vehicles in the U.S.) aren’t saddled with the legacy costs of pensions and so forth, which would remain even after a merger. While GM and Ford have some ability to shift production outside of the U.S., this isn’t particularly good for the economy, nor their image; however, this isn’t a viable alternative right at present due to the weak dollar and a lack of production capacity.

Second, as is frequently mentioned there are entirely too many dealers, and unfortunately the competitive nature has led to an environment where customer service is often appalling. Add to this the fact that the product lines are basically duplicated at many locations, and you have confused salespeople trying to sell dozens of models that are barely distinguishable from one another. Add to that the fact that the majority of up-and-coming buyers are accustomed to buying semi-customized products off of the Internet (think laptops and other electronic gear) and you’ve got a perfect storm for driving customers away.

No, the whole system needs to be re-thought from the top to bottom, if the current dealer lobby ad the UAW would allow it to ever happen. Start by finding a way to allow the customer to choose a vehicle (or “build” one) online, and arrange delivery to a local dealer, who would serve more as a prep and service point. Banish rebates; if there’s trouble moving inventory, adjust the prices on the website to spur demand. As for the UAW, well, that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms.

First merger of any of the three is absurd (dealer problem just the first of many).

Ford is all of a sudden brilliant? Mortgaged to the hilt? Mullaly is going to save them?
Time will tell, but until the “domestic” consumer starts to purchase automobiles (foreign or domestic). It will be a race to the bottom for all manufacturers.

I’m both a Toyota dealer and a full line GM dealer. The “domestic” consumer had better learn to purchase items that built with “domestic” labor.

Ford has a chance.
The others simply haven’t woke up to the fact they are dead.

A merger would only create a “mutually assured destruction” scenario.

Bunter

If a merger made no sense when they were healthy, why would it make sense when they are terminally ill? Because misery loves company?

It makes sense not to compete against each other (Fusion vs Malibu – Focus vs Cobalt) I think maybe just GM and Ford should merge. I don’t see what Chrysler brings to the party – ok, Jeep, but GMORD is capable of making 4wd vehicles.

It might even force a change in coroprate culutre.

I think it makes sense on paper – except the aforementioned dealer problems. Could it really be made to work?

If everyone at GM, Ford and Chrysler put their egos to one side and concentrated on their strengths, this conglomerate could be Japan’s (and everywhere else’s) biggest nightmare.

Firstly, Chrysler has Jeep. A brand which is strongly defined in the SUV market. Now I know it’s a dying segement, but petrol is coming down, slightly and I think there is still some cache left in that market.

Ford has the best reliablity and quality ranking out of the Detroiters, plus, their Euro cars and Alan Mullaly. Also, they have quite a lot of respect across other carmakers which could be useful in creating partnerships.

GM’s trucks (i.e Silverado) are good technologically, but branding-wise, are in a bit of a mess. Which is where Jeep’s (or Ford’s F-150) brand could help. Plus, their luxury marque of Cadillac is the most defined and renowned (at least in NA) with the brilliant Cadillac CTS as flagship.

If you took the cost cutting ability of Robert Nardelli as CFO, Bob Lutz as “car guy” (he does know cars better than most Detroit based execs) and kept Alan Mullaly as CEO to rein those in when needed, then their top management would be quite formidable.

The trouble is (as I stated) earlier, it would rely on everyone working together, an ability which passed Detroit by a long time ago (Alan Mullaly is still having trouble getting HIS management to work together). Otherwise, I think there is definitely some benefit to this idea…..

And the Ford family doesn’t want GM. They are in control. And Ford is ahead. They will be the last domestic standing. Why would they want to tie themselves to GM?