Ford seeking partnership with Toyota

Things aren’t exactly peachy-keen over at the blue oval, and the suits know it. In fact, Ford CEO Alan Mulally (pictured) and his “right hand man” Mark Fields went over to Japan to sit down and chat with the Toyota folk about a potential alliance. The exact details of this partnership — merger? acquisition? — remain to be seen.

These past few years, the line between an “American” car and a “Japanese” one has blurred substantially. The Toyota Camry is manufactured in Georgetown, Kentucky, for example, whereas the Ford Edge and Mazda CX-7 share many components. Ford’s talks with Nissan/Renault may have fallen through, so now they’re moving over to ToMoCo.

It won’t be an equal relationship, as it’s obvious who’s the bigger dog in the yard these days. Think along the lines of DaimlerChrysler.