Of all the absurd rumors driving around the industry, few
seem as unlikely as Ford and General Motors merging to create a
singular domestic behemoth that would make a Hummer look small. But
according to a BusinessWeek source, the idea was recently floated by GM
executives during a meeting but then promptly shot down moments later.
Certainly, there are major complexities to such a massive undertaking,
notably excess production capacity and a dozen overlapping brands with
equally overlapping dealer networks, but the biggest hurtle might
actually be the Ford family, which may be unwilling to cede control of
their empire. Of course, there would be savings to be had to balance
some of the negatives.
Interestingly, the notion of a GM-Ford combination isn't entirely new. It last made the rounds
in 2006, when Ford tapped Alan Mullaly as CEO. The thinking at the time
was that Mullaly's involvement with the $13 billion merger of Boeing
Co. with McDonnell Douglas Corp. in 1997 would serve him well at a combined
Ford-GM. Sure, airplanes are not consumer products, but there are some
parallels to be made. The most obvious is the overlapping products,
which as a senior VP, Mullaly oversaw at post-merger Boeing, but it also
would offer GM and Ford examples of how to work with labor on the
closure of overlapping plants and facilities.
Nonetheless, today's rumor is as likely as the one floated two years earlier. -- Matthew Wurtzel
Another day, another automotive merger rumor, and the
latest happens to be the most ambitious proposition of them all, a
combination of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., 
