The breakdown of two of Detroit's Big Three is bringing urgency to the scramble among the world's automakers to forge alliances with former rivals, carve inroads into new markets and shop for well-known brands.
The turmoil has led to a flurry of deals realigning the automotive playing field. Italian automaker Fiat's bid to become a truly global player by acquiring control of Chrysler and eyeing General Motors Corp.'s European operations is only the most obvious move. There have been several others -- some in the works, others only rumored -- spanning Europe, Asia and North America.
The goal for automakers, analysts say, is to survive the worst climate for vehicle sales in decades by getting bigger and broader. To do that, they're looking to either acquire distribution networks in new markets for their own cars or bid for the brands that have come up for sale as a result of Chrysler's and GM's struggles.
But it's not clear how different your local auto-dealer row will look a decade from now.
"The GM and Chrysler restructurings are going to trigger a major shift in the way the automaker landscape looks over the next five to 10 years," said George Peterson, president of Tustin consulting firm AutoPacific. "There could be so many permutations and combinations that you can't really predict what will happen."
Chrysler, which also sells the Dodge and Jeep brands, filed for bankruptcy protection April 30, the same day it struck an alliance with Fiat that ultimately could give the Italian company a controlling stake in the onetime American auto stalwart. GM is trying to avoid bankruptcy in part by unloading its Saturn and Hummer brands in the U.S., its Opel division in Europe and its Swedish car marque Saab. It's also killing its Pontiac brand.
Striking the deal for Chrysler will give Fiat, which fled the U.S. market in the 1980s, an instant dealer network to sell small, fuel-efficient cars built in North America and based on models such as the Fiat 500, popular in Europe. The Italian company is also in talks with GM to take over Opel and has expressed interest in Saab.
Completing all those deals could vault Fiat into the top five among the world's auto companies in terms of sales. (It currently ranks 11th.) But others are angling for Opel -- Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc., for instance -- and reports have surfaced that Chinese automaker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. is interested in Saab. Geely denied that report.
