It was clearly a joke, but the bleak state of the auto industry was sadly evident when this happened at  Estee Lauder Cos Inc.’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Friday.

Leonard Lauder, the company’s chairman, and founder Estee Lauder’s son, was first up at the meeting held at the St. Regis hotel in New York City.

As he ran through the list of attendees, Lauder introduced “a board member of the Ford Motor Co,” who “said Estee Lauder should buy Ford.”

Like Lauder, the audience must have also been momentarily tickled by the thought.  Laughter could be heard at the meeting, which was also broadcast online.

Quick to emphasize that it was a joke, Lauder said: “If there is press here, forget it please.”

“This is the first time … I ever thought that our market cap would surpass GM’s and Ford’s,” Lauder said.

Estee’s market cap is roughly $6.5 billion. GM’s market cap is about $2.6 billion, while Ford’s is about $4.5 billion.

The two automakers have been hit hard as demand for cars is falling around the world. Both posted far deeper-than-expected quarterly losses on Friday.

Well, if Mr. Lauder is seriously considering buying an auto maker, maybe they’ll knock a few million dollars off of the sticker price.

(Photo/Reuters)