#merger

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne still believes GM should, at the very least, listen to his pitch for a possible merger.

It’s a chance to make your mark on racing history and to witness the whole thing in person. 

It’s no secret; Toyota is buddy-buddy with British luxury automaker Aston Martin. The two firms have collaborated before, perhaps most famously the iQ-based Cygnet city car, and the latest gossip indicates is the “capital T” is interested in buying Aston.

One of the main concerns with the recent American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and Grand-Am merger was the involvement and relationship with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), which is the organizing entity behind the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That can be put to rest however, as the organizations met with one another to find a way to put it all together.

If you’re wondering how to sell the controlling stake in a major car company for 4.5 billion euros and leave the tax collector hanging without legal worry, just ask Porsche.

A few years ago, Italian auto giant Fiat was very close to partnering up with General Motors. However, that deal went sour at the last minute and a few years after that, Fiat bought a big chunk of Chrysler in its quest to have a large slice of the American market.

What if Ford and General Motors merged? The result would be a global automotive machine so inconceivably huge rivals like Toyota and Volkswagen might not even think of challenging it. And it would be awash with cash, and profits, cutting tremendous expenses at both automaker from research and development all the way to accounting. At least this was the plan proposed by General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner in a private meeting with Ford executives in the summer of 2008.

Porsche is looking increasingly unsure over a potential takeover by Volkswagen, which currently holds a 49.9-percent stake in the sports car maker.

According to Car & Driver Euro-based blogger Jens Meiners, more than one of his sources within the Volkswagen Group suggest that they would like to take over Alfa Romeo from Fiat. According to Meiners, this move would allow Alfa to reach its ambitious sales targets, given that a takeover by VW would virtually guarantee class-leading performance and execution of future Alfa models.

Chrysler has just announced that starting this Friday (December 19th) it will cease production until January 19th – at the earliest.

The month long “production pause” is not due to a lack of demand says Chrysler, which recently scheduled a meeting with dealers to assess the economic crisis. According to Chrysler dealers, 20 to 25 percent of their reduction in volume can be attributed to a lack of available credit.

This reinforces the belief that it is the instability of the banks and their consequent tight grip on credit that is driving the economy into a recession.

News of the production pause comes just as The Wall Street Journal erroneously reported that Chrysler is back in merger talks with General Motors.

See official press release after the jump: