As Ford Motor's board of directors gathered to hold its quarterly meeting Thursday, specul

ation was growing that the world's No. 2 automaker was prepared to acquire the automotive operations of Sweden's Volvo. Merger (合并) speculation that has been widespread throughout the industry for months has focused on a possible Volvo-Ford linkup since a report last week that Volvo had hired a Wall Street investment bank to explore a possible sale.

Ford's board meeting was to be held in Dearborn, the Detroit suburb where Ford is headquartered. Chief spokesman Vaughn Koshkarian declined to comment on the agenda or the Volvo rumors. President Jac Nasser, speaking at an industry conference Tuesday night, also declined to say where Ford was negotiating with Volvo. But Nasser again said Ford was open to using its more than $ 20 billion cash reserve to expand the company's global reach.

Last year's acquisition of Chrysler by Daimler-Benz led to a panic of talks among automakers looking to strengthen their position in an industry beset (困扰) with too much production capacity worldwide. The conventional wisdom is that smaller automakers will be ill-equipped to compete in the 21st century as the industry becomes dominated by several international automakers.

Volvo, one of the world's smaller automakers, produces less than 500,000 vehicles annually. Last year it sold 100,227 cars in the United States, one of its largest markets. Ford reportedly has been courting Nissan Motor which is in debt as well, and turned down an offer last month for a 20% share in the Japanese automaker. Ford also lost in bidding late last year for financially troubled Kia Motors of Korea.

Analysts (分析家) say Ford and Volvo are a better fit. "The Volvo thing is more practical than anything else," said analyst David Healy of Burnham Securities. "Ford, which is becoming good at cost-effectively developing a variety of very different cars with the same basic chassis (底盘) and major parts, could help Volvo expand its product line," Girsky said. "If you could bring a premium price," he said, "Ford has similarly expanded Jaguar's vehicle line since it bought the British Luxury automaker in 1989."

Girsky, however, does not expect Ford to overbid for Volvo. "They had every opportunity in the world to buy Kia Motors and they walked away from it because the price got too high," he said. "I don't think Ford needs Volvo; it would be nice to have Volvo, but only at the right price."

The widespread concern over the possible merger is caused by______.

A．the Thursday board meeting of Ford Motor

B．a report about Volvo's exploration of a sale

C．the unfriendly relationship between Ford and Volvo

D．the stock changes in Wall Street investment bank