Very interesting….

Never gonna happen

this would be awesome

I think I’m having a bad dream. No, it’s a nightmare. AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Somebody wake me up!!!

What would be the impact from a monopoly perspective and from a labor perspective? Would the FTC allow such an occurrance? If you want to talk about a way to break the union, put these two together and then completely spin off their manufacturing capacity whereby one company, “GM/FORD” is a designer/marketer and another company “LABOR” is a series of plants that would have to competitively bid on the production of each product line by cycle (3-5 yrs between redesigns/refreshes) and then they’d go to bid again? Competition would be fierce but with flexible manufacturing, it likely could be done…

I do, however, see this as yet another chess move to further intimidate the UAW into major concessions for the next round of negotiations much beyond any of the “buyout allowances” from this interim financial trouble renegotiations.

2007 could be a bloodletting if this and talks of continued Mexican/International mfg expansion go forward.

It’s a “general mistake”…

Ford vs Chevy? Ha! I love to see how this would effect brand loyalty!

Well, they have cooperated before by jointly developing that 6-speed automatic transmission. It’s not totally impossible to see something like this happen.

davidg1977, The FTC has been most sympathetic to corporate mergers of late. This merger would be allowed because it would be intended to save not just an American company, but an American industry.

Whatever would the Nascar fans do? ha!

Henry Ford just rolled over in his grave. Yet again.

The FTC has been favorable of mergers when competition hasnt been sacrificed (see BLS/ATT merging b/c they don’t have customer overlap).

I also think you’d see huge lobby dollars spent by the UAW to keep this from happening.

Akin to the airlines, I don’t think that something like this could occur with two non-bankrupt companies. If a Chapter 11 happens for either, then that could change the outcome (See USAir/AmericaWest versus USAir/American Airlines).

So what would they call the new company if it did happen?

General Ford
General Ford Motors.
Forge Motors.

I like the last.

david1977, This merger would mean that at least some of Ford’s UAW workers would keep their jobs. If it is proposed and disallowed, the result would almost certainly mean that most of Ford’s UAW workers would lose their jobs. Also consider the fact that GM and the UAW actually have a pretty good relationship. It is not in the UAW’s interest to try to stop this.

To the contrary, it is very much in the UAW’s interest to ensure profitable American-owned auto manufacturers. The alternative is offshore ownership which is not particularly sympathetic to the veteran autoworker to which the UAW owes its existence.

it’s the end of the UAW as we know it, if it happens.

but even in this corporate giveaway environment we’ve been living in for the past 20 years, i don’t see this one happening. i see a Fiat-Ford merger before GM-Ford.

shudder.

Ford is smaller and will be able to make changes easier helping them get back on track. GM is a much bigger machine with a lot bigger obstacles to battle. Combining would be like two people grabbing each other before they jump out of the window. Neither is help to the other.

As for the UAW…who gives a rats ass? It is the antiquated system of unions that drag down companies in financial trouble. They aren’t ruling the company…and without consessions on their part then every last one of them will be out of work when the companies shut their doors and there will be no legal or contractual recourse.

Please don’t think I pine for the UAW. I’m a hugely outspoken critic of those that think the company serves them and doesn’t want to work in a “at will” environment.

Look at the fringed wage scales of US-based Honda & Toyota plants versus that of Ford / GM. I’d be willing to say that that delta, likely 50-75% premium fully fringed, would get these guys in the black or damn close to it.

I can’t see a new GM/Ford plant anytime soon in the USA other than in a southern state which has shown proclivity for tax incentives and an allergy for unions.

I think they should just let the UAW run the show and show us all how great the UAW can design and build cars.
.
Those union leaders always say they know whats best for business!

Yeah right, who writes this ****?

Good God, Jim in LA, Fiat?

Shudder indeed!

I don’t see this EVER actually happening. It’s too out there, these are two HUGE competitors, they would never merge. Impossible. Mercedes Benz and BMW wouldn’t ever merge and Ferrari and Lamborghini would never merge just like Ford and GM would never merge

Toy Yoda got to the snarky comment before I could make it. I don’t know if regulations in the US would allow this to occur much less logistics, but since I don’t have loyalty to either company I’m considering what it would be like to shove a z06 engine inside a mazdaspeed6…. or maybe even a AWD Ford Fusion… ahh I’m just talking out my ass. This would be the most complicated merger ever. It’s like merging Coke and Pepsi.

LamborghiniZ- in the 60’s BMW was almost bought out by Mercedes, but Mr. Quandt help lead a stockholder something -or-other to prevent it. BMW would be long gone by now if that had not happened.

Did you ever think that Ferrari would merge with Maserati?

They are huge competitors, but one of them is about to lose.

gm wouldent have brought this up a merger would meen more pain for them and a easy way out for ford!! i belaeve this is just to getstocks higher honistly i do..
gm should buyout ford compleatly and then they would be a massive motor company.. wed beat the japs once again!!

“Which ‘Forge’ automobile do you want?”
“I’ll take the cream colored one that has no soul.”
“Yeah….which one?” “the one that’s more off-white.”

-Renton- not sure how serious your ? was- Maserati was owned by Ferrari and was brought back under Fiat last year, so it seems unlikely Maserati would go back and merge with Ferrari anytime soon…Maserati needs to just grow up already!
Say good bye to your freedom of choice if you haven’t already. Do you want to be able to choose, or have some CEOs indirectly making decisions for you in your everyday life? Sorry, they already own you. so by the time I would have grandkids, I’ll kill myself, and you all will be wearing the same unisex whitey-tighties, eating the same **** everyday, buying the same crap from the same store and popping the same prescription meds. have a nice life! Eat the blue pill, or was it red? Oh noooo!
I had this dream once, where Toyota and Ferrari didn’t merge, they just benchmarked. It was awesome for either side of the consumer spectrum. Then I woke up in an uglyass car labeled froge.

Maserati and Ferrari are still both part of the Fiat group.

Hard to imagine that Bill Ford would be willing to give up control of the family business, he in particular seems very attached to it.

the more i think about it the more i like the idea of Fiat buying Ford. Ford N. America would fit right into Fiat’s Case / New Holland line of farm and construction machinery. They could market Lincoln Towncars as pig haulers

Oh yeah, and you’ll be the first one to be hauled away, Hal.

I like how hal’s thinking…

honestly, GM/Ford is not a good idea. I really want Renault/Nissan to push a little further with gm and make it final…

I

Shezus that would kill the whole Holden vs Ford thing down here in Australia… Thats bad news!