After failing to reach a deal with General Motors Corp. for an alliance, Japan's Nissan Motor Co. is reportedly interested in buying shuttered plants and assets from Ford Motor Co. and GM. The Japanese car maker's five North American facilities are already at 90% capacity prompting the company to move minivan production back to Japan in 2008. The U.S. market is an important one for Nissan because it provides the automaker with 50% of its profits. More U.S. facilities could mean bigger profits as the company would spend less shipping cars from Asia. With Ford slated to close 16 plants including a facility that built minivans, and GM shuttering another 12, Nissan will have a wide selection to choose from. Odds are good that any facility near its Tennessee base of operations will make it high on Nissan's list of targets. Last month, Nissan and Renault ended talks with GM about a global alliance. Talks broke down over GM's demand for a cash payment for its participation in the alliance. In addition, it was widely believed that GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Nissan and Renault chief Carlos Ghosn had completely different expectations concerning the alliance. —Matthew Wurtzel
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