Upinottawa Member Username: Upinottawa
Post Number: 471 Registered: 09-2005 Posted From: 198.103.184.76
| Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 10:11 am: | |
Maybe the Detroit automakers should get on with it: GM merge with Toyota and Ford merge with Honda? Ford open to alliances The Associated Press Published: Friday, August 25, 2006 DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) is examining whether alliances with other companies may be beneficial and is willing to consider all options, chairman and CEO Bill Ford said in an interview. Speaking to Business Week magazine, Bill Ford said no automaker has approached Ford yet, but the company is looking at collaborations that might make sense. "There are a lot of players out there gaming these things out, and we are, too. If we find someone with common interest, and it's good for all of us, we would look at that," Ford said in an interview posted on the magazine's website. The Wall Street Journal reported in its opinion section Wednesday that Bill Ford has approached Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of Nissan Motor Co. of Japan and Renault SA of France, about joining their global alliance, should a deal between General Motors Corp. and Nissan-Renault not work out. A Ford spokesman said the automaker wouldn't comment on such speculation. Ford, caught off guard in a market shift from trucks and sport utility vehicles to cars and crossover vehicles, lost $1.4 billion US in the first half of this year and has cut production as inventories have swelled. The automaker plans to accelerate its "Way Forward" turnaround plan with announcements expected next month. Bill Ford also said in the Business Week interview that the company is looking at "radical changes" when it comes to its many brands, but he declined to give details. Analysts have speculated that Ford would sell its Jaguar and Land Rover brands, and that it should phase out the struggling Lincoln-Mercury nameplate. © The Windsor Star 2006 |