GM To Buy Chrysler?

As if the teaming of Chrysler and Daimler Benz shouldn't have been a warning to automakers that combining companies with disparate visions and corporate structures, we get word that General Motors is considering buying Chrysler.

General Motors Corp. is in talks to buy the Chrysler Group in its entirety, Automotive News reported Friday, citing unnamed sources in Germany and the United States.

The automotive trade publication reported on its Web site that high-level talks were talking place between GM and Chrysler Group parent DaimlerChrysler AG.

The potential deal between the two automakers could go beyond cooperation on joint development of a large sport utility vehicle, the magazine said.

To what end?

GM has enough problems of its own. They suffer from many of the same problems as Chrysler. Too much inventory and too few products that people are willing to buy. GM was able to benefit from a very profitable financing unit, but that turned each vehicle into a loss leader. There is no way to sustain a company under those conditions.

Saving money by joint development of new products could work, but that notion ran into problems with DaimlerChrysler. There's no reason to believe that it will work any better with GM at the helm.

UPDATE:
This article suggests that an alliance is far more likely than a merger. I still give it very little chance of happening.