Wagoner: Chrysler deal not likely to start rush to private ownership in auto industry

[1931Chevy]

http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs...84/1148/AUTO01
General Motors Corp. CEO Rick Wagoner said other auto companies aren't likely to go the way of the Chrysler Group and come under the ownership of private equity firms.

While he expects further consolidation in the auto industry, he does not believe DaimlerChrysler AG's decision to sell Chrysler to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management is the beginning of a trend.

"I don't see a made rush to privatize in the auto sector," Wagoner told reporters after a speech before Inforum, a women's business group formerly known as the Women's Economic Club.

Germany's DaimlerChrysler announced Monday that it was selling Chrysler to Cerberus in a $7.4 billion deal that will make Chrysler a truly American car company again.

Wagoner used his speech to take a shot at proponents of federal legislation that would force automakers to significantly boost the average fuel economy of their vehicle fleets.