Crazy... http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/12/news/companies/aston_martin_sale/index.htm?postversion=2007031210
Man, I would have bought it for $924 mil.. I hope the company goes in the same direction as they've been going.
Me too, though I think that with David Richards involved, the cars will improve on what is currently produced - the V8 Vantage has already been developed by Richards' company - the Prodrive tweaked version and the Rally GT and Prodrive also produce the racing versions of the DB9
Hmmm....Sounds like a screwey business model!!! Ford Motor Co. looses 12.7 Billion last year...so in order to get some quick cash they sell one of the only parts of their company that is actually turning a profit. I hope these guys are smarter than me, for my stocks sake!!
Actually this is one of the smartest moves Ford has made in a long time. Ford is fighting for thier life. Being able to liquidate a company that is prifitable insures a high selling price. This influx of capitol can go directly to keeping the core company afloat. Hard decisions need to be made during harsh times. I'm sure the execs at Ford didn't "want" to let AM go. Darrell.
They'll blow through that billion in no time... just prolonging the inevitable. They need to go to defcon 1 and make some real changes if they want to be here in 10 years. But I do agree that selling was definately good for AM !
I predict a huge decrease in sales for cars just below the "supercar" mark. We've had about 6 years of strong economic growth, and a recession is around the corner. Those with big big money will still buy their F-cars and Lambos, but those riding the economic wave with risky investments will probably find themselves in a drastically different economic position in a year or two, which will force them to curtail their luxurious discretionary spending. Porsche, AM, BMW, Mercedes, etc will sell at a rate less than they are now, which will devalue them. Ford did the right thing - they dumped AM when its value was (arguably) the highest it would get. Had Ford held on to AM for another year or so, it is not unreasonable to assume that it could lose parhaps half its value.
From what I know, most AM dealers use the store as a tax write-offs. It is very difficult for AM dealers to offset the cost of factory-required showroom upgrades. I helped a guy seek out an AM dealership about two years ago, and he opted out because nearly every one he looked at in SoCal lost substantial money on paper (and apparently in real life), and this guy didn't need or want a money losing venture for tax purposes...he actually wanted to make cash. He went with a BMW dealership instead.
I thought it was already sold to Louis Viutton? Anyways I see Aston Martin going defunct in the next couple of years. No matter how much money the new owners have, they just don't have the experience and knowledge of running an automotive company. I guess its an ego thing for them to own Aston Martin.
As long as they have acess to ford R&D facilities and some parts bin specials they should be in good shape. Since Ford still seems to own 8 or so percent they probably have the acess. Its like the relationship between ferrari and fiat. Prodrive has serious sporting credentials, kinda like ferrari. A far better direction than the handbag manufacturer. Maybee aston will make a vantage gt3 a real hard charger with beauty to boot. Porche has great engineering but hey how can we repect a company that purposly cripples the cayman because it would otherwise blow away the 997. And at porche you cant get a GT3 in the us without a sunroof, plus they are hardly stunning to look at. Ferraris look great have great engineering but are really becomming the poseur special. If you aint prepared to bend over for the dealer then forget buying one. So now we have aston, arguably as beautiful as a ferrari, now owned by a company with real sporting pedigree. Think porche fused with ferrari without the BS of either. Potentialy aston is a real winner. I will take my am vantage with a real engine please and gt3 type spec.
They sold the wrong brand. This is great news for AM, though. Slowing down production is going to be a good thing. They will still dip but less than others in the prestige sports car segment. You mean I won't be able to buy another Aston Martin for 5 more years? Waiting list? Regardless of who owns Aston Martin on paper, its perceived value is not going to fluctuate so dramatically unless the market is suddenly flooded with underpowered 6-cyl cars bearing the badge. AM and Land Rover are the only brands Ford will be able to sell from the PAG. Volvo has proven to be the best PAG acquisition and they will never part ways. No investor will touch Jaguar with a 100ft pole now that the brand is significantly devalued with a known bottomless appetite for money.
With 40,000 members, if everyone on f-chat ponied up $23,500, we could buy it! Of course I get a free DBS for having the idea.
The first good move of the new ownesr is the introduction of the Rapide at NAIAS next year. That car is simply gorgeous.
I find it funny that the creator of facebook was offered 1.65 billion for his site, yet the genius and awesomeness of Aston Martin is being sold for half the price of that.
If I were him I would've sold FB and bought Aston Martin! He'd still have a few hundred million and would own Aston Martin..all at the tender age of 23.
But what would he do with a lot of cars? I'm sure he has a bunch of exotics already from the millions of dollars he makes in advertisements.
Maybe now the quality of the cars will improve. I sure hope they now become faster, more reliable, and lighter, not to mention of higher quality, especially the interior. But it does leave one wondering about people who bought an Aston in the last few years. Parts? Warranty? How is that going to work?
Really? Do you know who David Richards is? Or what work his other company Prodrive has done? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Richards_%28racing%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prodrive Also from what I've heard/read it's implied that Ulrich Bez will remain in his current role. I hope that they not only get the Rapide into production ASAP (which IIRC should be relatively simple due to Aston's platform system), but start to develop further special versions of the current models
I had that same thought when I was reading about the Audi R8. The mags all say "Porsche 911 Competitor", but from what I see on real world pricing, this is more in the Aston-Martin V8 territory (or 911 Turbo). Add in Maserati, the Blue Devil Corvette, the super-Viper, various AMG and other specials, and it looks like this field is getting more crowded every day. And all of these cars are getting a little less "special" as their numbers grow.
I don't know how reliable Leftlane News is, but they are reporting that the Rapide will be the second model produced under the new ownership with the DBS being the first. - Christopher
A pretty funny quote about the sale of Aston Martin from an analyst: "The fact that Wall Street has increased their ratings is hilarious to us -- we still don't see products that are going to solve their issue, which is revenue," Lindland told AFP. "You can cut costs as long as you want to but at some point you're going to end up looking like Nicole Richie and it's not going to be a pretty picture. You have to start building revenue."
