It’s no secret that Chrysler, Ford and General Motors continue to lose market share to imports, and that (along with other factors) is reducing their profits and stability. Ultimately, if something isn’t done, it could lead to the demise of one or more of our Big Three.

One way of combating this trend is to follow the old axiom: If you can’t fight ’em, join ’em. Form alliances. Renault-Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn is known as a corporate savior, and he helped save both companies. Speaking at a Tokyo conference recently, Ghosn said that he would still consider the idea of a North American automotive business partner, so he must have been thinking of Chrysler. About a year ago General Motors turned Ghosn down. Ford is already allied with Japanese automaker Mazda so that’s out. When Chrysler was under German control it was not interested. However, it has recently sought alliances, including the Chinese. Now, following the purchase of Chrysler by private-equity firm Cerberus, it may be possible to have a Chrysler-Nissan discussion.

Ghosn might be interested in increasing North America Nissan production without building new factories, perhaps he wants to restart Renault sales here, or both. Hopefully not Renault. During the years when I was a service manager, I worked at two different multi-line dealerships , including Mercedes-Renault and Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep franchises which sold Renault products. Renault’s quality and reliability were abysmal; I hope it has improved.

What do you think needs to be done to ensure the survival of Chrysler, and by extension, Dodge Ram trucks with Cummins diesels? A good alliance can strengthen both partners and reduce the costs of doing business for both. A bad alliance would be spelled DaimlerChrysler. Do you think another alliance is a good thing for Chrysler’s survival, and specifically this one?