Lutz Says GM Open to Alliance With Ford

ZURICH, Nov 19, 2006; Reuters reported that General Motors is open to an alliance with its rival Ford, Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz said in a newspaper interview on Sunday.

Asked whether GM would choose to go it alone or merge with Ford, Lutz said, "We are open to alliances. But we can also be successful alone."

Lutz spoke in an interview in the Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung.

Both Ford and GM are restructuring North American operations to adjust to a loss of market share in their home markets. GM is attempting to recover from a $10.6 billion loss in 2005.

Lutz said GM remained open to a smaller deal with Renault-Nissan after GM declined to pursue a larger tie-up with the French-Japanese group.

"We would have been in agreement with a smaller deal on engines, and we still are today," he said.

After nearly three months of talks, GM, Nissan and Renault said in October that they would end their discussions on a possible partnership.

Lutz told the newspaper that GM would have benefited from the proposed alliance far less than Nissan and Renault.