Surprisingly enough, I have experiences with Great Wall automobiles. Many of the non-military contractor vehicles available during my stays in Iraq were Great Wall Deer pickup trucks (read: rebadged early 1990s Toyota Hilux pickup trucks). That’s a pretty good indication of what the brand has been for years: licensed Toyota products re-branded to fit China’s policy of joint-production intents, with one notable foray outside of that box in the form of a Fiat Panda look-alike that was so close that Fiat took Great Wall to court.

Now, look at the Jeep brand. Currently FCA’s cash cow, with an upcoming Wrangler on the way, a new pickup truck on the way, a Grand Cherokee that has a range that spreads from rough-and-ready off-roader to luxury sport-ute to violence with rear seats in the form of the Trackhawk, plus a host of semi-off roaders that are more carlike and friendly to those who wanted that sort of thing (blech), Jeep is doing quite well for itself, with an estimated value that is above the entire whole of FCA.

So why are these two companies being mentioned here? Because Great Wall has expressed interest in acquiring Jeep, and only Jeep, from FCA. The Chinese company has aims to become the largest manufacturer of SUVs in the world, and has seen the successes that Geely, another Chinese manufacturer, has had with Volvo and what TATA, the Indian manufacturer, has had with Jaguar-Land Rover. And it’s been no secret that FCA leader Sergio Marchionne has wanted a partner in manufacturing for a while now.

But would Jeep survive if FCA sold off the brand to Great Wall? Even to an outside observer, for FCA, that would be all but corporate suicide. And there still isn’t a great reaction to the phrase “Chinese-made”, no matter the leaps and bounds that Chinese manufacturers have made. What do you think?