Chinese auto giants see little value in GM or Ford

2008 will be the year that both General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. went down in recent history as the complete sandbags those companies have really become. Both are losing money hand over fist (save for Ford's most recent profit surprise), and are struggling with trying to provide vehicles customers actually want to buy -- as distinct from vehicles they were projecting to produce.

GM CEO Rick Wagoner said recently that a GM bankruptcy won't be coming, although the automaker then announced it would be laying off even more workers as it digs and scratches its way to some type of profitability. A question then came up in the market again: would a foreign auto company be willing to take a stake in either American icon? How about those up-and-coming Chinese automakers who are cranking out fuel-efficient cars by the boatload and could be seen as very eager to enter the U.S. market?

Not so fast -- according to The New York Times, Chinese automakers are not interested. Not interested in equity stakes or even buying asset pieces from either American automaker. GM's recent sale notice for its struggling Hummer division and Ford's recent sale of Volvo didn't even register on the radars of Chinese auto companies, according to the report.

It's hard to see any company buying Hummer (except a military contractor) with global fuel prices where they are, but Volvo would be a neat catch for a company wanting to expand beyond a single global region. Ford doesn't have a buyer yet, but a deal could be announced any day now. Still, Chinese automakers may be smarter than to partner with or buy into two currently dead weights in the vehicle business. There are plenty of other global auto partners besides GM and Ford.