Micro cars are the hot new(ish) segment across the pond right now, and any mass-market car company that isn't in on the business should be. Recall that Chrysler is having talks with Chinese automaker Chery to collaborate on a new car for said segment, focusing on the Hornet concept as a particular possibility (wouldn't that be nice?). However, especially considering the sale of Chrysler to Cerberus, an alliance is now not looking like a very good idea, says James B. Treece, the Asia Editor of Automotive News.

Treece says that reasons for this include Chery potentially taking all kinds of resources from Chrysler (such as capital invested in new projects and dealer resources, advisers on assembly methods, safety regulations and quality standards, and of course, time), then turning around and screwing Chrysler by becoming a competitor. Neither Chrysler nor the other domestic automakers needs another competitor.

Chery is likely to make higher demands on a partnership anyway as part of their haggling negotiations now that Chrysler has changed hands. It would be best at this point to just cut ties and let the Chinese automaker figure out the U.S. market on their own. Read the Automotive News article (subscription required) by clicking the 'Read' link.

[Source: Automotive News]