Motoryzacja

Among the worst things that could happen as General Motors Corp. seeks loans from the United States, Canada and Germany is the possibility the individual governments could put protectionist limits on the money that would cripple GM's ability to function as a competitive, global company.

WASHINGTON — General Motors Corp. has agreed to keep two plants open in the United States that it had previously targeted to close, and use them to build small cars it would have otherwise imported, the UAW told its members today.

This deal or another deal like it is the only chance Chrysler has. It may not work, but insisting Chrysler go it alone is a death sentence. Forcing it to merge with General Motors Corp. would doom them both.

With a tentative deal reached and the strike at General Motors Corp. over, relief rippled through the industry, and so did a sense of optimism that a new UAW deal would help make GM a stronger competitor in the United States.

A year after their historic bankruptcies, General Motors and Chrysler have already cut the cost of making each vehicle by $3,000,and labor costs could be lower than at any Japanese automaker in the U.S. in less than five years, according to the Center for Automotive Research.