Ford talks to Toyota

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from Autoblog:
Ford officially responds to talk of Toyota alliance

We just received an official statement from Ford regarding the hoopla surrounding Ford CEO Alan Mulally visiting Japan last week with President of the Americas Mark Fields in tow and meeting with executives from Toyota. Here it is.

"We meet regularly with other automakers on a variety of topics of mutual interest. "

That's it. The brief statement does nothing really to quell the speculation that has arisen from the meeting. What, exactly, are the topics of mutual interest that these automakers are discussing? Some say Ford wants access to Toyota's hybrid technology, despite the fact it already pays licensing fees on the Escape Hyrid's drivetrain because of how similar it is to Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive. Of course, any talk of alliances and partnerships brings up the obvious advantage of greater purchasing power and larger economies of scale spread across two companies rather than one.

Regardless, Ford's concise statement on the matter tells us that it was a closed door meeting, and we're not supposed to know what transpired between the two automakers. That's fine. We'll find out soon enough as this industry is the worst at keeping secrets.