To Merge or Not to Merge: Fiat Chrysler Automotive and General MotorsThroughout the automobile era, there was no considerable change or upheaval in the hierarchy of the automobile industry. There is a stable and reliable set of companies from a number of countries that have remained present since their inception. Only a handful of small manufacturers have succeeded one another during more than a century of the automobile industry. On the other hand, in the past two decades, a U.S. automaker has merged with foreign companies twice, once unsuccessfully. That company is Chrysler, which encompasses the Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, SRT (a performance division for other brands), and Jeep brands. The first partnership, with Germany's Daimler-Benz, lasted about a decade and proved unsuccessful in the long run, because as with any unsuccessful business venture, the problem was lack of profit. The second merger, with the Italian Fiat Automotive, initiated in 2008 and finalized in 2014, proved largely beneficial for both parties. Although the FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) merger was a success for both parties, all of their vehicles are last in sales compared to their counterparts from other companies. Unfortunately, FCA is looking to merge again, this time with another American manufacturer, General Motors. This idea has been discussed over the past six months as FCA repeatedly attempts to merge with GM. This merger would make Ford the only American manufacturer still standing among the “big 3” of Ford, GM and Chrysler. This means that Ford would also eventually merge with the FCA-GM corporation, leaving only one giant American super-manufacturer. If Ford chose not to merge with FCA and GM, it could lead to the Ford name disappearing for the first time since Ford began making cars in 1908 (History). For this reason, it is inevitable that Ford will merge with FCA and GM, assuming the merger between FCA and GM takes place. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original EssayTo preface this argument, my father worked in the auto financing industry his entire career. It is for this reason that I have been immersed in car culture my whole life, my brother, my father, and I frequently discuss cars for hours. Additionally, my father worked for two of the three largest American automobile manufacturers, Ford first and Chrysler more recently. As a result, I have a deeper insight into how Chrysler and Ford operate than the average automotive fan my age. There have been many times over the past decade when my father, brother and I have discussed Chrysler's plans and actions regarding their vehicles and their ownership or partnerships. Although I believe that useful information could have been gained from talking with my father about this topic, I did not discuss this idea with him throughout the process of writing this article. Although the information provided by my father would have been helpful, I also believe that his information would be biased in favor of Chrysler due to his experience with the company. Currently, my father works for Wells Fargo Dealer Services, which deals with all brands marketed in America and has more precise information on the scale of the American automobile industry. The partnership between FCA and GM could potentially be very fruitful. FCA is already the grouping of five brands, previously six, Ferrari separating for stock reasons. Fiat Chrysler Automotive could become even morepowerful by adding four additional brands. If this merger occurs, the brands included would be: Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC. Two of the three American manufacturers would join forces and discover technological advances unimaginable by current automotive standards. By merging two massive entities, the ideas and technologies of each could be combined to advance the technology currently available in the automotive market. These advancements are not possible without a merger between two large companies, because the amounts of money, manpower, and research and development are not feasible with a single company. Finally, a merger would be mutually beneficial for all parties involved, as sales would not be taken from one brand or another, revenue would be shared in such a way that all sales benefit all parties. Creating an even larger and more powerful American automaker would benefit not only the U.S. auto industry, but also the U.S. economy as a whole. Although a partnership between GM and FCA would leave Ford alone as the only major American auto brand (Tesla is not yet a major brand), it is possible that Ford could partner with the FCA/GM group in the future. The potential FCA and GM groups would compete with the huge automobile conglomerates of Europe and Asia. There are two large groups that control the majority of brands on their continent, Volkswagen in Europe and Toyota in Asia. The brands that Volkswagen Auto Group owns include: Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat, Skoda and some other small commercial vehicle companies. Conversely, Toyota is the sole owner of: Toyota, Hino, Lexus, Ranz and Scion (although Scion was dissolved into the Toyota brand about a month ago). Essentially, there are 14 companies that control the entirety of vehicle sales worldwide (Murrell). In other words, the FCA group and GM would be one of the most powerful automakers in the world, if not the most powerful. After the merger, FCA and the GM group would own a total of 15 brands sold in the United States, 24 adding the brands that are not sold in the United States. With this partnership, FCA/GM would own more brands than Volkswagen Auto Group, creating the potential for greater economic impact than any other company. Having a major American automaker again would benefit the American economy, by bringing more money into the country instead of that money going to a foreign automaker. There hasn't been an American manufacturer with such power potential since Ford's early years in the 20th century, before foreign cars began to be imported. This partnership would put FCA/GM on par with early Fords, once again making America a force to be reckoned with in the auto industry. The automobile industry is one of America's top exports, and American-made vehicles are on roads around the world. Creating more revenue for one of America's top exports would therefore create more wealth for the country as a whole, benefiting all aspects of life. Although it may not seem like the auto industry has a major impact on a day-to-day basis, without American-made cars, the country would not be where it is today. Moreover, a modern country without an efficient and individual mode of transportation cannot progress at the same pace as other countries in today's modern and fast-paced world. All over the world there are groups of people who remain exclusively faithfulto a brand or a conglomerate. from brands such as GM or Volkswagen. These brand loyalists could prove a problem for a merger between FCA and GM, as they might not like the idea of ​​a rival company working on their coveted vehicles. For example, in the United States, the traditional "crisis car of the Middle Ages" is the Chevrolet Corvette; Generally, when a man or woman reaches the age group of 40 to 60 years, they feel the need to buy a sports car. The Chevrolet Corvette is the iconic American sports car, the name Corvette is synonymous with America. According to autoblog.com, the Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car in history, the rest of the list includes in ascending order: Ford F-Series, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Beetle, Ford Escort, Honda Civic , the Honda Accord, the Ford Model. -T, Volkswagen Passat and Chevrolet Impala (autoblog.com). To extrapolate, the Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car in automotive history and one could say that the Corolla is synonymous with the country of Japan. Although the Corolla and Corvette are two very different categories of car, subcompact or compact and sports cars respectively, both are still comparably associated with their respective countries. In this autoblog.com top 10, there were four cars from American manufacturers, two from Ford and two from GM. On the other hand, there are four cars from FCA and potential rivals from the GM group, Toyota and Volkswagen, one from Toyota and three from Volkswagen. Although there are no vehicles from FCA, having two from GM would make up for the new group's all-time lack of sales. Through this partnership, it is possible that FCA enters the list of the 10 best-selling vehicles, or that GM adds one or more vehicles to this list. Even though all-time sales aren't the greatest at the moment, all-time sales provide bragging rights and a greater reputation as a business. To gauge the overall success of an automaker, all-time sales could be used, but almost as important is current success over time. Consumers have short memories and prefer to stick to the status quo when purchasing a new car, rather than taking risks to purchase a car without high esteem (like Tesla's early adopters). This reluctance to take risks would benefit FCA/GM as they would gain loyalists from all brands instead of their respective separate brands. This addition of brand loyalists would create an even greater revenue stream and provide the opportunity for many advancements and changes in the automotive landscape. A merger between two previously successful companies makes good business sense. The successes of both companies can be combined and refined to create even more success for this new company. This partnership would be different from the Daimler-Benz and Chrysler merger in that it is a merger of two already successful companies, compared to the merger of a successful company and a less successful company. With this merger already under discussion, there is a multitude of information and sources on this subject. In a Motor Trend article, the author discussed the possibility of a merger between FCA and GM, and his outlook was not as positive as mine. In fact, author Angus MacKenzie takes a very negative tone and view on this idea, saying, "This is swaggering, freewheeling American capitalism at its best, and there's a lot of money to be made by the bankers, lawyers and shareholders who are in this field. on the case. There's just one small problem: the merger would be a disaster for GM (MacKenzie 1). MacKenzie uses words such as.