Market threatens to kill one of Big Three

Intense competition and growing overcapacity could threaten the existence of one of Detroit's Big Three automakers, General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said Tuesday. While Lutz dodged questions about GM's interest in buying the Chrysler Group, he said market conditions are conspiring to eliminate one Detroit automaker down the road.

"If you project out present trends, you can only come to the conclusion that it's going to be an extremely difficult environment," Lutz said in an interview at the Geneva auto show.

But Lutz made it clear that GM, in his opinion, is more likely to survive than Chrysler or Ford Motor Co. "Right now, we're in the best position," he said. "We're approaching the end of the beginning of the transformation of GM."

Analyst Bradley Rubin of BNP Paribas in New York agreed a shakeout is likely. "It's true. It is confusing. There are a lot of products out there," he said. More at Detroit News