Reading MSN this morning. Found this.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/News/MergerOrAllianceForGMAndFord.aspx

that suck's

There's no way; what will the Camaro v. Mustang crowd do!

Its odd to think now that the established american brands need to think very, very seriously about something like this just to stay afloat.

^^Don't worry a merger would almost never happen for many reasons, the most important of which the Ford family would lose control of the company. I could see them entering an alliance where they join forces in order to acquire auto parts more cheaply.

^^ I hope you're right... a merged Ford & GM would just be strange. Although the possibility of an SS Focus is intriguing...

oh hell no!

we don't need more reliability issues!

There is also rumor that Ford is/has considered dumping Range Rover and Jaguar...anyone hear of that?

I agree with Tbones though, dont think a full on merger would ever happen....but you never know

Originally posted by ..:: sleestak ::..
There is also rumor that Ford is/has considered dumping Range Rover and Jaguar...anyone hear of that?


i read about this a few weeks ago. the article i read stated that ford wants desperately to sell off jaguar but needs to package it with land rover to make it attractive to potential investors.

i am a stock broker and trust me ford and gm will never merge. too many legal issues and ford will want nothing to do with gm's horrible finances. i also highly doubt that ford has plans on selling land rover considering that they just bought rover from bmw today.

Originally posted by zx3_earthquake
i also highly doubt that ford has plans on selling land rover considering that they just bought rover from bmw today.

i thought that happened about 8 years ago. am i mistaken??

Just read that article too.

lol, I think Ford needs to ditch Ford NA

Originally posted by ..:: sleestak ::..
There is also rumor that Ford is/has considered dumping Range Rover and Jaguar...anyone hear of that?

don't think that they will be selling of those two brands, i've read it in the paper this weekend.

An alliance maybe, but a merger would be considered sacriledge....

it will never happen, only thing i heard recently about Ford is that it might become a private company, but even that probably wont happen. And ford will not get rid of jaguar and land rover, they provide lots of sales for them, more so over in europe. Plus if i make enough money ill stay in the ford family and get an aston martin or 2006+ Jaguar XKR, b/c sexy sexy sexy, i love fenders, plus in my eyes the new jag is a poor mans aston martin, but its still a great car and can only get better.

It doesn't matter what company does what to who and whatever... if it looks good, drives better and is compact, I'll take it.

i believe ford bought lanD Rover years ago!

please no i hate camaros but if it can help ford then they should do it maybe that will bring back svt

Originally posted by DrkKnight614
it will never happen, only thing i heard recently about Ford is that it might become a private company, but even that probably wont happen. And ford will not get rid of jaguar and land rover, they provide lots of sales for them, more so over in europe. Plus if i make enough money ill stay in the ford family and get an aston martin or 2006+ Jaguar XKR, b/c sexy sexy sexy, i love fenders, plus in my eyes the new jag is a poor mans aston martin, but its still a great car and can only get better.

aston martin is actually up for sale at the moment which is odd because it has actually been successful. jaguar on the other hand, has been losing money for ford due to stagnent products and no real signs of innovation.
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns17383.html

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2006-08-31-jaguar-usat_x.htm

Are you sure they aren't considering joint investment into consolidated sensors and other electronics? That would reduce costs for both makers, and would be a good idea. Imagine how cheap MAF's would be if both Ford and GM used the same part, or alternators, or starters. The list goes on and on.

I'm worried about this new CEO. Consolidating production lines, and reducing the number of products worked for Boeing.. but can you imagine what Ford would be like if they offered one pick up, one little car, one van, and one big car. IMO they would be better off following their competitor's leads and simplifying things. For example: ChryCo builds a lot of junk now, but they reduced the # of steps it takes to get a vehicle from concept to production, that means their junk can sell for less and still make a profit. GM has one bellhousing and one transmission for FWD cars. Ford changes bellhousings like rubbers at homecoming at the Frat house. This is just a waste of time, effort, and money. I like Ford for their focus on engineering- but then even though they spend all that time, some parts end up being faulty so why waste the time when you're going to screw up anyway? Learn from the good things that others do, and avoid the mistakes of others.

Originally posted by whynotthinkwhynot
I'm worried about this new CEO. Consolidating production lines, and reducing the number of products worked for Boeing.. but can you imagine what Ford would be like if they offered one pick up, one little car, one van, and one big car.

this approach seems to be working for nissan at the moment. nissan was on the edge of oblivion until they simplified their lines and more importantly; filled it with quality/competitive products.

Originally posted by bigjordan
aston martin is actually up for sale at the moment which is odd because it has actually been successful. jaguar on the other hand, has been losing money for ford due to stagnent products and no real signs of innovation.
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns17383.html

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2006-08-31-jaguar-usat_x.htm If they sell it, it is because they need an infusion of cash. It's very hard to sell a unit that is not making any money and sell it for a good enough price to make it worthwhile.

I hope they sell Jaguar. Probably won't get enough money to make back any of the investment they've put into Jag in the last 2-4 years. Aston makes sense because its doing decent, so they'd get a good value for it. Merger won't happen with GM, no way. They may share some technology or their plans for ditching the UAW, but other then that there's no way they'll merge. Two oversized, overcapacitied, with tons of retirees is NOT better then one. Gawd that'd be a cluster[:)][:)][:)][:)][:)]. The only thing I don't like about the new CEO is his mantra about making ALL decisions based on profitability. Makes me think SVT won't be coming out with anymore new product in the coming years.

You gotta keep 'em separated!

What I am more worried about is the monopoly that would emerge in a few years. If they become Forolet (or Chevroford) how long until they own virtually everything else? How many companies does Chevy and Ford already own or have a stake in?

On the other hand, the best factory hot rod ever would come out in a few years. Think about what their shared technologies could create. I'm sure it would be a seriously no joke b@d@ss car. Serious.

General Ford Not Happening
The Daily Auto Insider
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
September 2006


General Motors and Ford briefly discussed the concept of an alliance but have dropped the idea and plan no further talks, reported Automotive News, an industry trade publication.

The Detroit automaker's chief financial officers, Frederick "Fritz" Henderson of GM and Don Leclair of Ford, met recently and discussed the idea of collaboration, Automotive News said.

GM and Ford are both trying to turn around their auto operations after massive losses in North America.

Oh well, no Cobrette.