@“the same mountainbike” Sadly, that is one of the most succinct, accurate, and damning observations about big business I have yet heard. Basically, forget building a better mousetrap in favor of manipulating market share through acquisitions.
Well stated, Marnet. I never said I LIKED it. I liked the old way better. But it’s business in the modern “global” world. No sense fretting over it.
Not implying you … like … it. 
Agree we cannot change it. 
I know. It was just my way of adding emphasis.
Aw, okay. I tend to be too literal and am often kinda clueless about what, to almost everyone else, is such clarification or, in other cases, subtle humor.
Not a problem. I’d add an emoticon, but, alas, I’m technologically challenged… {
Companies have been buying companies for centuries. Nothing new. As for globalization, I highly recommend the book “1493” to understand the roots of globalization. It started with Columbus, and was in full swing by 1600, with Chinese knock-offs of European garments causing major upheavals in the industry. Fascinating history.
mountainbike
I strongly disagree with you . . . I think we should be “fretting over it”
Like it or not, GM is seen as being iconically american
People living here SHOULD be concerned with the possibility of “losing” GM
With all due respect, it seems that even though you don’t like the idea of the hostile takeover, it doesn’t truly bother you, either
If I’m wrong, please tell me
If you want to add an emoticon, do this . . . hit the shift key. While still holding the shift key, press and release the colon/semicolon key
If you play around a bit, I’m sure you’ll quickly figure out how to “make faces”
^ It is what it is. If I had my druthers, we’d still be an industrial powerhouse like we were when our factories produced the material to win WWII/rebuild afterwards…but, wishing don’t make it so. I think (for strategic reasons) we need to have an industrial base. I don’t necessarily think that we need 3 (really 2) separate auto manufacturers, though. M+A will happen unless you pass specific laws prohibiting it. I feel the laws on the books are sufficient; I might suggest that they (mostly anti-trust) be more vigorously enforced, like they used to be.
FCAU has market cap of 17.5 Bn; GM has 45.7. This seems wishful thinking of a guppy with a taste for whale…
Well complicated issues for sure but I think at some point we are going to need to address the investment trusts and holding companies and the damage they do to actual businesses. A holding company should not be able to hold a controlling interest in a company and sell off portions for profit. Its a complicated issue since these can be white knight saviors also to businesses that otherwise would go belly up. Maybe they should be limited to non voting stock. Of course pension and mutual funds also are in the same boat but maybe their activity should be simply voting with their feet instead of installing board members and running the companies. Maybe time for a look at our corporate structures to allow them to make long term decisions unencumbered by threats from Wall Street.
The other thing is that imports and exports are fine, except I believe that the majority of a country’s products should be produced for the use of that country. They should develop their own internal markets rather than relying on exports. Our standards are not the same as China or Mexico. I’m waiting to see how the free trade agreement benefited us or was it that giant sucking sound that Ross Perot predicted. Explain how my snow blower made in Mexico that used to be made in Minnesota benefits the US? Or wiper blades or cars or washers etc. And since there has not been a huge reduction in prices on any of this stuff, I am left wondering. Of course there has been a great increase in trucks on the road shipping all of this stuff and the long shoreman unloading all of the containers from the ships but I think our politicians sold us down the river and now his wife wants a shot at doing more. Then of course we distract attention from the underlying dysfunction by talking about wealth disparities and health insurance. Fools we are.
:neutral: Hey it works. I’m computer literate.
Hmm,doesnt work on mine,Car companies run on greed too(ask the laid off workers when plants shut down(Delphi had a shop at a Low level prison near here,not so long ago,why?)
Db, if you feel you want to get upset by it, go for it. Me, I’ve had all the heart attacks I want for this lifetime. I try not to fret about things I can’t do anything about anyway. 
Thanks for the emoticon tip.
Most experts in the auto field predict t there will only be 6 or 7 big companies surviving when the dust settles. Fiat-Chrysler will not be one of them. The resources needed to make EPA and other standards compliant will require massive investment to produce the right products.
Toyota, Nissan/Renault, Volkswagen-Audi, Ford, GM, Daimler-Benz and Hyundai-Kia will likely be on the survivor list. As well as a major Chinese company. Honda may want to license technology from others.
Fiat-Chrysler needs to tie up with another firm with very deep pockets.
One solution could be to pool all technology resources and develop the technologies and then have each comp0any apply it in their own way.
I personally hope that Tesla will be one of the future biggies. Ah, but I’m a dreamer…
Of course car companies run on greed!? All businesses run on greed. All people do too if you really are honest with yourself.
We work to earn money to buy stuff for ourselves and our families. That is greed right there. We don’t work for altruistic purposes UNless those personal and family needs are met first. I’ll bet none of us here have even gone to our employers and said, “you pay me too much, here, take some of this back and spread it around.” We may, however offer some of that to charities outside of work for exactly that purpose.
All businesses exist to make money for the people who invested in that business. The people who apply to work there are want to make money to support their family and offer their services in exchange for whatever the business is offering for their skillset.
Right now, mergers and acquisitions is a more cost effective way to grow your business than create new factories. Why? I don’t profess to know all the reasons but some are; some products are not growing sales so there are only existing customers, not new ones to capture, it is too expensive or impossible to meet the regulatory hurdles to build a new plant so buying an existing business is the only option, your company has cash and the quickest way to profit from that is to buy rather than build.
Many of these are driven by the unintended consequences of regulation designed to fix some perceived problem. Adding another regulation just adds to the mess. Business is always smarter than government. Big business will always find a work-around because they can act globally.
People living here SHOULD be concerned with the possibility of "losing" GMWith all due respect, it seems that even though you don’t like the idea of the hostile takeover, it doesn’t truly bother you, either
Were you upset when Budweiser was bought by a German company?
How about french Mustard?
Maybe Citco?
Frigidaire maybe?
How about the Chrysler Building?
Can’t get much more American brand then 7-Eleven?
Ever stay at a Holiday Inn?
Do use Dial Soap?
And back to cars…how about Firestone?
Want to stay American…Don’t drive on certain toll roads in Indiana.
I’m not too happy with it…but not really much you can do about it.
The British have seen this first hand. India’s Tata bought Land Rover, Jaguar and a major British steel company. The Times headlined it as “The Empire Strikes Back”!
BMW owns Rolls Royce and Volkswagen owns Bentley. Nissan is the only remaining mass car manufacturer in Britain. Even the Ford Transit Connect is built in Turkey.
P.S. Anheuser Busch (Budweiser) was bought out by Inter Bev of Belgium, the world’s largest brewer.
I’ll drink to that!
Business today is business as usual. The business managers figure out how to grow in whatever environment they operate. Sometimes it means building new production assets, and sometimes it means buying them. Standard Oil grew to become a monopoly by being the most efficient operation in the segment. They grew faster by making loans to their smaller competitors, then out producing them. In the end Esso took control of everyone’s assets they loaned money to. Ahhhh, the good old days… There are still businesses that build by increasing production capability. Some are here, and many are overseas. Now that we are in a global economy, we will have to compete globally. It certainly is a challenge, and one I hope that the US is up to.
What’s up with the toll roads in Indiana . . . ?