Feeling a bit out-foxed by Toyota, BMW AG and DaimlerChrysler AG are aiming to play the old American foreign policy game of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," by joining together to develop a hybrid drive that can find its way to specific "green" models in three years time.

This new endeavor puts into question what BMW, DaimlerChrysler, and GM were doing all this time at the "Hybrid Center" in Troy, Michigan where the three automotive giants were supposed to have collaborated on hybrid projects starting last year.

Alas, it seems to boil down to this: the enemy of my enemy may be my friend, but he's still my enemy. Developing new technology to share amongst three rival car companies is like the United States teaming up with China to develop new nuclear weapons with which to fight Russia. It's very difficult to make those kinds of partnerships work to say the least.

[Source: Autozeitung]