Yes, I know. He's really a "star" in Japan for the great job he did for Nissan. I hope he will do the same for Renault now and, maybe, for Ford...Renault is already profitable. They make 4.1 billion (dollars) in profit in 05. Down 5% from 04. One of the European companies; Peugeot SA, FIAT, Renault or BMW might make a very interesting fit for an American company. Providing support for one segment that Detroit has been lacking on in terms of competitive products - cars. Detroit does trucks well. But cars....
Trouble is, ALL of these companies are dwarfed by the size of GM & Ford.
AND, if everybody doesn't know by now, there is no such thing as a "merger of equals". One company MUST dominate and absorb the other. Just ask D-C. Mercedes-Benz was the biggest European company taking the smallest American company and it was very rocky. Only now becoming what I think they envisioned.
My fear is that if GM or Ford took on any European partner, they would just become another Volvo or Saab. I can't speak for Volvos, but any die-hard Saab man will tell you that real Saabs died with GM taking over. Now, they're in real danger of becoming branded images of GM's Euro parts bin. A European Pontiac if you will. The true nature of Saab is dying out.
I confirm. My brother had a Saab 900 in the 80's and it was really an interesting and original car. Saab had his own identity. Now it's over, unfortunately.