Aston Martin to be bought by 2 billionaires...

LONDON - Billionaires Bernard Arnault and Albert Frere are considering a bid for Aston Martin, the luxury automaker that Ford has put up for sale, the Financial Times reported Friday....

...heres the link enjoy...

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15345870/

 

Bernard Arnault was one of the first names connected with a purchase of Aston, however I've heard there is some unrest within the Aston ranks about fears that Arnault would make Aston too mass-market/devalue the brand in a similar way as many business commentators suggest is happening with his Louis Vuitton brand.

 

That would be a huge shame, but at least it be a true European brand again, imo thats worth alot...my two cents

 

I can see it now: and AM with "LV" edition seats. Coming to an Athletes house near you!

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

What if they decide to up V8 Vantage production to 25K units a year and drop the MSRP to $80K? Porsche would be in big trouble....




Terry

 

If they buy the company, do the designers and engineers come with the company? If they kept Astons looking the same, then I dont care who owns the company.

 

Louis Vuitton is NOT getting diluted. Gucci is the king of branding everything and anything, and they aren't diluted.

What IS diluting the brand, is all of the fakes out there. That is why I do not buy LV stuff for the girlfriends..everyone assumes it's fake.

 

Don't forget the rap crowd..

 

not very certain language there. I am considering many things, doesn't mean any of them will happen.

 

They should call Diamler and ask them about buying a car company with strong sales for a premium price.

 

If Wikipedia is accurate, "The brand is highly counterfeited, and just over 1% of the items bearing the trademark Monogram Canvas are authentic. Ironically, the signature Monogram Canvas was created to prevent counterfeiting."

think Louis Vuitton is pretty good in controlling the brand. It only sells the products through its own stores and the very high-end department stores, which have "mini-boutiques" of the brand's products. They are expanding the product range, but they aren't "diluating" it by making cheaper products, ect. Personally, I think the LV stuff I see with people is pretty ugly. How good is the quality of the brand? LVHM, the company he has a 51% does a very good job with balancing the idea of luxury, profits, and level of exclusivity.

Townshend, what do you mean that Gucci is the king of branding (how)? Didn't Burberry run into a lot of trouble with the down-market and over branding and have to pull back?

 

Maybe it's different on this side of the atlantic, but over here, LV is developing a reputation as a wannabe's brand and as I said business commentators are suggesting that the brand is becoming diluted. It's suggested that the problem is more to do with the plethora of z-list celebs, reality TV contestants and topless models who are obsessed with LV than the fakes.

Back on topic, I think that Arnault and Frere could be preferable purchasers of Aston when compared with investment banks/VC funds who are likely to just strip the assets of Aston which could be an especially big problem for a company like Aston where by far the biggest asset is the brand - Aston finally have a range of decent cars and an order book that stretches into years rather than weeks, which could all be ruined through a sale of the Aston brand to someone who hasn't a clue what to do with it

 

Didn't Burberry hit the wall with that same problem? Any articles about the LV problem?

 

So, what's next for the Chav culture?

CW

 

What I mean by that is they have taken anything and everything and slapped a Gucci label on it. Some of the more classic examples are: the Gucci ice cube trays (pour water in and it makes ice cubes in the shape of a G), Gucci playing cards, Gucci frisbee, and the Gucci grill set. The list goes on and on..

 

Ewww.....Have they gotten any backlash for that? Is it be diluted? Can't imagine the cost. But it's what Ferrari has been for a long time. But I think that luxury brands are becoming "lifestyles" more than just cars, clothes, ect.

I believe Tiffany & Co. went down market and mass produced. I wonder how that is working out.

 

Not that I'm aware of. They've had this stuff for a couple of years at least now.

BTW, if you're interested, a pair of ice cube trays is $85.
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Future of AM ?

LV looks extremely Ghetto these days
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Dear Westworld,

Sorry but I am beginning to see a trend here .... Any data ? or is everything downmarket by declaration ?

 

I think he is right about MB & Bentley

Ive been hearing that since they bought Chrysler MBs quality has gone way down

Seeing a Bentley used to be very special as they were so rare

In SoBe I refer to the new Continental as the SoBe Toyota bcus you see 12 every day

The Azure is still special though

Porsches are a dime a dozen, & Bimmers are 2 dozen for a dime except for the upper models such as the CGT, and Ms

Ferrari, RR, MyBiotch & AM seem to be staying upmarket & Lexus is still trying to climb

 

Let's face it, after a while, every prestigious brand, being in cars, motorcycles, fashion, watches, etc... tends to go 'downmarket'.

Years ago, Aston Martin used to be 'hand made' here in Feltham, England, with a production of a few hundreds only, aluminium bodies rolled by hand, engines assembled and signed by one engineer, and so on....

There is no way a car maker can survive like that anymore. They need volume to keep the cost down (hence lost of rarity), and import/share components (AM uses Ford parts bin) -lost of authenticity. The V12 AM on the DB9 and Vanquish, for example is nothing more than 2 V6 Mondeo together.

AM production will reach thousands, when it was hundreds before. It's an unavoidable fact of life. Even Ferrari produces about 5000 cars a year now, it used to be 500/600 thirty years ago. Does that make them 'downmarket' ?

 

Dear William H

Thank you for replying. Are you calling a Porsche 911 and a Conti GT downmarket common products ? I have to disagree if that is the case.

Were MB's previous quality problem an example of it going downmarket or a case of their upmarket cars being made badly ? An upmarket car can be badly made and but that does not mean its downmarket. The quality problems of MB were not caused by their being down market but by their being badly made upmarket cars.

Your have also equated seldom seen with upmarket, but is a car upmarket just because it is rarely seen? A morris minor might be a rare sight where your at but you'd agree that its not upmarket even though its probably more rarely seen than an Azure.

Are Porsches and Contis downmarket because they are frequently seen ? I think what has happened is that BMWs, Porsche 911s and Conti GTs have lost appeal to snobs rather than they have gone downmarket and I don't think anyone expressing a fair view can call a Porsche 911 or a Conti GT downmarket common products by any measure.

 

I think Aston Martin had their best days in the 50's and 60's when royalty and james bond (sean connery) were seen in them. With all the junk they put out in the 70's and 80's, it was hard for them to bounce back.

All the AM's these days are nice, but lacking originality and true sophistication as days of old.

Why can't they stick to making "gentlemans cars" instead of "it cars".

 

Although this means you are diluting yourself, I am neverthelss, impressed.

 

How gaudy. I even heard there was a Ferrari with Ostrich seats somewhere in Florida..