And Then There Were Two

The talks have been going on in secret for a month and the deal is well advanced. General Motors will swallow Chrysler and Cerebrus, the private equity firm that owns Chrysler, will walk away with the financial arms of the two businesses, GMAC and Chrysler Financial Services. But auto industry experts say the merger doesn’t address GM’s immediate problem: it’s bleeding $1 billion a month. "GM is in trouble having eight brands and too many dealers, why would they want three more brands and 3,000 more dealers?" asked Maryann Keller, of Maryann Keller & Associates in Stamford , Conn. Merging is sure to mean ending brands and shedding jobs. Ford, meanwhile, is trying to offload its Mazda business. How soon before Henry Ford’s black car adage is changed to: You can have any car, as long as it’s a Ford?