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In 1996, Chrysler announced plans to build a replacement plant within 50 miles of its existing Toledo Jeep facilities. In theory, this presented an opportunity for alternatives to expensive ‘all or nothing’ individual competition; in practice, Toledo and other governments in the northwest Ohio/southeast Michigan region entered into the usual cutthroat contest when transnational corporations solicit incentive offers from across the United States. Chrysler's desire to remain within the region provides a unique context for analysing the opportunities and challenges associated with regional co-operation as an alternative to individual competition. In investigating the extent to which localities can co-operate and reduce wasteful incentives, this paper also identifies how the opportunities for such co-operation are limited. The research highlights the need to better incorporate this kind of region – without internal political coherence despite locational proximity – into conceptualisations and empirical analyses of regional co-operation, particularly with respect to issues of scale and conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]