General Ford– GM, Blue Oval Discussing SuperMerger?

If GM and Ford make an alliance it would be genius.
Think about this:
Toyota which actually has 4 brands "Toyota" "Lexus" Scion" and "Daihatsu" (Last too brands are too small) sells more cars per year than Ford and soon will sell even more than GM. Ford has 6 brands and GM + GM-Daewoo have 11 brands. That's why if American whales want to keep leadership the only one rightway is to make an alliance, so they could hope that will stay on the top.

If that happens, Toyota will align with Hyundia and Nissan and all hell will break loose. I don't care who aligns with who. As long as better, cheaper products are made..

don't forget Hino and Daihatsu

I may be in the minority, but I just love what is happening in auto industry... Ford and GM have been sitting back like Fat Cats for years thinking they are the best and now look what is happening. I work for Ford and when I will be first in line for my 120,000 pay out when I am let go. Kiss my ASS FORD and thanks for 20 years of BS !!!

bubbahotep,
why would any korean company hook up with a japanese company?

why not ?? (smile) You'll see even more wierd scenerios when its all said and done... Once I get my buy out (7 months) , I'm getting a horse...

I think it makes all the sence in the world....

i think if they did align you would have a lot of pissed off people and a wharehouse full of calvin pissing on chevy/ford logos that cant sell. and im not sure on toyota's best selling vehicle but i bet it wont stand up to almost a mil f150s ford sells every year. when ford drops mercury and revamps after job cuts they will be ahead toyota again. the margin at which toyota is improving over ford is just too small. and its mostly because ford is getting worse as opposed to toyota getting better. when ford hits rock bottom (like now) and makes a turn they will be back up there, i promise.

If this is true, wow. Two POS American brands put together to make the ultimate POS. But if things go well, the Americans may finally be up to par with the Japanese, and Koreans.

IMO however, the Germans and Italians are unbeatable.

If American companies made better cars, they wouldnt be in the trouble they are in now. Look at Chrysler. They started making better cars ( Ex. 300c/Charger ) and using better quality materials. Now Chrysler is the only American auto company doing alright.

actually chrysler is in the shitter too. i know i sell their cars. the only thing holding them afloat is MB. chryslers american sales is just dragging down MB. at least thats what the profit reports are saying. It will get better when people realize that the cars are having a big infulence in quality from MB

This is what Ford should do:

Kill Mercury.

Merge the Ford and Lincoln brands into one channel. With Lincoln being the luxury brand. Revive Lincoln with RWD and V8 like GM did with Cadillac.

Merge the Mazda, Volvo and Land Rover brands into one Channel. Make Mazda the non-luxury variant of Volvo and Land Rover.

This is what GM should do:

Drop GMC and Buick.

Keep Chevy and Cadillac as the main brands.
Make Pontiac the sporty division with RWD cars only.
Make Hummer the truck division.
Make Saturn rebadged Opels only.


Here's the kicker:
GM puts forward SAAB, Ford puts forward Jaguar and Aston Martin. They merge the three luxury marques into one company and sell it to some worthy billionaire.

I think that will be a good idea.

Can the U.S. Government limit a foreign brand like Toyota of how many models they can sell under the same company? I am sure the Asian must have something like that.
I know it's not American like, but we have to protec our country and our history.

I don't want any one to go crazy it's just a question. I understand the American cars need to be better, but we need to remember those that are loosing their jobs.
And we are going to be the one paying for these employees' early retirement retirement on the long run.

Doesn't anyone else see whats going on here!?
Both of these companies have been put into thier current positions by our own government. Between taxes and lawsuits that have come from and been brought on by our own government, it has eaten away at everything these great companies have. It's like the new lawsuit being brought upon General Motors, Ford Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. It literally wants these six companies to pay billions of their own dollars to the USA for compensation of the damages of the greenhouse gasses produced from their vehicles. I don't know if you have ever researched the damages done to our ozone by car emissions, but I have. What most of the media claims is blown so far out of proportion it makes me sick, they claim that emissions are to blame for global warming. THERE NOT, it's a natural phase of warming and cooling, in fact the worlds average temperature met its peak two years ago and has declined since. This is complete BULL.... that two great companies like the two at hand are even considering this in the same land that made Henry Ford's dream come true. And the domestic automakers (Ford and GM primarly) have it hardest because they are here and can be attackedd more easily. So in order for these two companies to stay afloat they either pay up or pay out the rear for attorneys. Either way, they aren't spending the money on research and developement to improve their vehicles like they should be and want to. Also causing them to lose money. Now dont be fooled because my username is ford4life, I will fight just as hard for GM as I will for Ford because its the principle that counts and I try to be a fair person. Ford has always been my preference and always will be, and to have them merge with their biggest rival would be devastating to millions of car lovers. But just because I prefer Ford doesn't mean that I wish anything bad to GM. Bottom line is, I personally feel that our government is gaining to much power and we the people need to draw the line here!

Ford can’t keep gaining $12,000 rebates on their cars like the current incentive on the LS. If they don’t offer the rebate they loose, if they do offer the rebate they loose. It Lose / Lose for Ford if they don’t get good products to market real fast. These huge incentives on these cars won’t last forever; sooner or later Ford will just pull the unprofitable cars from the line, like the Ford Freestar minivan which is now history. The next generation Aviator is already a joke as it has All-Wheel Drive and get this, a V6. Will that engine have the Horsepower to turn 4-wheels? Doubtful. Just another Freestar mistake, the vehicle will loose half its value within the first month.

Lincoln should build a Performance/Luxury sedan like BMW and Mercedes, and sell it for half the price, which shouldn’t bee too hard, because when you opt for a V8 in a Mercedes, the price of the engine is $10k more. Big engines are plentiful and cheap here in America.

Also, Lincoln should offer Diesel options in their larger sedans, keep RWD, but use more center consoles, and Autosticks. Bigger brakes, better suspension, Keep the Wood grain. Look at the Town Car Designer, the dash looks good enough to be on a Maybach.

Ford, like GM has too many models. Ford has too many SUV models. Ford should build trucks only, Mercury should build cars only, and Lincoln should be a mix of a few World Class models, 1 truck, 1 Cr Like Suv, the rest, Performance Luxury Sedans that go after the fine euros at an affordable price.

Mercurys look better than the Fords, so keep Mercury, and sell them at the price of a Ford, there’s a Bold Move.

audirevolution, you mentioned the success of the Chrysler 300, this is not a great car, looks great, but quality is lacking everywhere on that vehicle.

I don't see that Ford has anything that GM needs. GM will make a terrific comeback on its own and has virtually caught up with technology and features offered on imported cars. So many desirable features of luxury cars have trickled down to lesser cars that cars are virtually a commodity now. If Ford goes belly up, GM can simply buy its assets at a bancruptcy sale. I would not be surprised if some international consortium that includes Chinese auto makers makes a bid for control of Ford just to gain a big foothold in the U.S. market and to acquire an established dealer network.

This is just stupid!

Just wait GM has cars coming in the pipe line that will help it turn around. Ford can sell off its losers (Jag.Land Rover Astin Martin), but not sure they can do the right thing. I hope they can. GM doesn't need Ford and Ford doesn't need GM. But what I really think is they are both doing this to bring attention to themselfs to make people think. smoke and mirrors I think thats all it is.

Korean cars had their tie-ups with Japanese and German and American car companies in the 70 and 80s to get technology in building cars. Look where they are now. They're slowly eating away at their former mentor's market share. The alliances were/are; Hyundai-Mitsubishi, Kia-Mazda/Ford, Ssangyong-Mercedes Benz, Daewoo-GM/Opel.