Sergio Marchionne says the auto industry is broken.
He says automakers waste billions on pointless r&d investment and destroy heaps of shareholder value in the process.
The Fiat Chrysler CEO says companies must consolidate now or face "disastrous consequences" later.
In April, Marchionne laid out his plan for saving the industry. It was a cold, candid assessment by the head of a global auto giant, or as he put it: "A dispassionate look at the industry from the outside using insider knowledge."
"It is about ... fundamentally changing the paradigm for the industry," he said.
Is Marchionne right or was he simply putting FCA up for sale? We asked six superstar industry thinkers to discuss the matter in detail: Bo Andersson, Arndt Ellinghorst, John Krafcik, Bob Lutz, Tim Manganello and Andy Palmer.
Not all are convinced it's the right time for companies to merge, but like Marchionne they all see an industry with huge challenges.
What follows is an edited transcript of a two-hour video roundtable discussion held last month in the Automotive News TV studio in Detroit.
