Breaking: GM and CHRYSLER Hold Preliminary Merger Talks

[DMC]

All you people complaining about Wagoner...wait until you get GM under Nardelli.

It's enough to turn me into a Ford guy for good.

[squat]

Originally Posted by arcticF7

I can see merging Jeep and Hummer - Keep only the H2 and kill the Commander (which is already being killed).

Dodge trucks are a tough call - I know a lot of devoted Dodge fans....... I could see axeing all the Dodge cars, but keeping the trucks.

Chrysler and dodge mid and small cars are crap - you could axe them all and nobody would shed a tear. So what to do with the Chrysler brand? Kill Buick and keep Chrysler?

You can't axe the LX cars. Dodge has the Challenger and the Charger. Both of which are selling well. The charger is getting a redesign in 2010 that should make it appeal even more to the muscle car guys while retaining 4 doors. The charger is also sold in huge numbers to police departments.

Plus the Ram is now way better than the GM 1500s and the HD Ram is released next fall, and will probably be better than GM HD trucks. I could see adding the allison to the cummins to make the best combination for trucks.

[mikesright]

Originally Posted by DMC

All you people complaining about Wagoner...wait until you get GM under Nardelli.

It's enough to turn me into a Ford guy for good.

Nardelli would be the first person to go in a merger.

[Buickman]

Originally Posted by mikesright

Nardelli would be the first person to go in a merger.

darn

[prototype66]

Originally Posted by triadecho

I know! I know!
Let's get Ford to join in and we can call them American Motors?

You read my mind! LOL
I would love to get a Zeta Javalin!!!!!!

[ph39]

I'd hate to see it happen because the job losses would be huge -

But there would be some advantages -

it costs about $1 - $2 BILLION to design / develop / and tooling the new Trucks. GM spent $1-2 B, Chrysler spent $1-2B. Next version would only cost the combined companies much less than that amount.

1 family of trucks
1 family of 4 cycl engines
1 family of 6 cycl engines
1 family of 8 cycl engines
1 family of deisels
1 family of transmissions
etc.

The combined companies could get buy with about 25% less employees, testing, plants, etc.

BUT - it would take years until the savings kicked in

The one thing that might make this happen - is the worst thing for GM would be for someone with money and products to buy Chrysler. The last thing GM needs is for Chrysler to be a bigger competitor

[Astra RL]

This may not be the best plan but it could benefit both in the long run rather then competing against each other they could work together. Lee Iacocca had a plan in the early eighties to merge Chrysler and Ford, that didn't go through because he had just been forced out of Ford.
Jeep and Hummer merge
Compass, H3 dropped
H2 redesigned in Range Rover style, Liberty is upgraded
H3T kept

Chevrolet
Adds Beat and Trax and a Venture minivan based on AJs Relay
Drops Commercial line
Keeps rest

Dodge
Drops Charger, Viper, Nitro, Durango and Chassis Cabs, Grand Caravan
Adds Hornet, Rebel(compact sedan),
Keeps De-uglifid Caliber, Avenger, Journey, and as a halo the Challenger is kept with a new interior. Ram and Dakota kept

Pontiac
Drops G6 G5 G3 Vibe and Torrent
Adds Alpha Grand Am and Grand Prix
Keeps Solstice but on alpha and renamed VF Zeta Bonneville

Saturn
Drops Outlook and Ep based Aura
Adds LWB Delta II sedan as Aura, Corsa, Zafira, Meriva, Agila, and A.J.'s Relay and a Alpha based Sky
Keeps Astra, Vue

Chrysler
Takes a position similar to its position in the early 90s
Drops Aspen, Sebring
Adds Insignia based "Windsor" and a redesigned 300, The Town & Country is related to the Relay, but very luxurious.
Keeps the PT Cruiser as HHR becomes the orlando

Buick
Moves up to Lexus levels
Delta II Regal Epsilon II Invicta Zeta Park Avenue
Keeps upgraded Enclave
Adds a Riveria

Cadillac
Adds ATS, BTS, Zeta DTS and 4 door coupe STS real XLR
Keeps CTS range
Gains access to MB V12 and V8s
places Escalade on Zeta SRX back to rwd along with a BRX

Saab
everything becomes more saablike
GMC
Commercial

This adds brands but if they are paired right it could work as an advantage.
Chevrolet paired with Jeep and GMC
Dodge/Pontiac and Saturn/Chrysler are like single brands split into two and could be sold at one dealership with all 4.
Buick/Cadillac/Saab could all be sold at a premium dealer network

10 brands but only 3 sales channels rather than 8 channels as exist now.

[BrickTamland]

I see a merger as a giant clusterfudge of internal fighting on what gets canned and what gets killed. Of course, GM will hold the upper hand in what gets saved and what does not. They have the stronger lineup. The internal fighting will inevitably result in some massive mess of where the design dollars go. There will be internal competition - there is no way one of the fullsize pickups will be cancelled - but the fighting over what compact to make, for example, will be ugly. GM will make a better one, but Chrysler will be fighting to keep an identity. Chrysler will not just want to sell GM its name and the Ram, LX's, and minivans. That's a piddling amount of product to have survive compared to all the vehicles they do make.

[chevypowa670]

Originally Posted by squat

You can't axe the LX cars. Dodge has the Challenger and the Charger. Both of which are selling well. The charger is getting a redesign in 2010 that should make it appeal even more to the muscle car guys while retaining 4 doors. The charger is also sold in huge numbers to police departments.

Plus the Ram is now way better than the GM 1500s and the HD Ram is released next fall, and will probably be better than GM HD trucks. I could see adding the allison to the cummins to make the best combination for trucks.

how is the new ram way better? Sure the Hemi is more powerful but it still has nothing to the 6.2 vortec. The GM 1500's still get better gas mileage and IMO the GM interior's are still better. Plus I would be for the idea of adding the cummins with the Allison if dodge wasn't using that 6.7Cummins. That engine so far has proved to be quit unreliable.

[prototype66]

Autobots.....Transform!

[Caleb02]

we saw how well this type of merger has worked before with nash and studabaker... Well I dont see gm buying them, since they have over laping products. I see chrysler selling to a chinesse partner like Cherry or Great Wall. Also gm has been critized for having to many divisions, so would they just kill all the chrysler divisions? or would they also kill one or more gm divisions as well? I think gm might buy jeep after gm sells hummer. Jeep is a better poster child then hummer....

[Caleb02]

Originally Posted by prototype66

Autobots.....Transform!

love that logo, but were is the gm badge in there?

oh never mind i see the gm badge merged into the amc badge...

Lets have all autos be sold at walmart!

[Caleb02]

Originally Posted by BrickTamland

I see a merger as a giant clusterfudge of internal fighting on what gets canned and what gets killed. Of course, GM will hold the upper hand in what gets saved and what does not. They have the stronger lineup. The internal fighting will inevitably result in some massive mess of where the design dollars go. There will be internal competition - there is no way one of the fullsize pickups will be cancelled - but the fighting over what compact to make, for example, will be ugly. GM will make a better one, but Chrysler will be fighting to keep an identity. Chrysler will not just want to sell GM its name and the Ram, LX's, and minivans. That's a piddling amount of product to have survive compared to all the vehicles they do make.

i could possibly see the 300/charger/challenger being used in some form at GM. The Challenger replacement/update about 2010 could be the next Chevy impala. The Charger could be a Pontiac Transam. The 300 could be the next DTS/CTS for Caddy, The Durango/Aspin could replace the Esclade and TrailBlazer...

[Fast1996Impala]

If GM buys and kills Dodge and Chrysler, they will make the MOPAR fans upset and lose those customers for good. But Chrysler would sink GM if they bought it. But if GM doesn't buy it Celibrus will find someone worse (Nissan, Tata, Chery....I'm scared)

Our government isn't capible of making good decisions because its an electon year, but while their bailling out everyone why don't they buy Chrysler and place someone else in charge. I wonder if Lee Iacocca would come out of retirment and give some of these idiots a dose of common sense.

[Texan-CST/10]

Originally Posted by Ming

Having both GMC and Dodge truck divisions on top of Chevy trucks would make little sense, for instance.

Brand loyalty, you don't even understand how seriously one would take it if the Ram was powered by the Duramax.

If you want to piss off a huge segment of owners, go swap parts around on trucks. And watch sales drop (more)