Aston Martin - up for sale?

[nopanic - neil]

http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evonews/287149/aston_martin_could_be_for_sale.html

2 names mentioned in article - Toyota (be interesting for Le mans) and Mahindra & Mahindra - did they not make a bad copy of the Jeep?

anybody else read anything?

[Jules G]

Not surprising Neil,   AM European sales have bombed it's the States and Far East which are keeping them afloat. They already have a partnership with Toyota with the IQ car which they re badge as a Cygnet

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/aston-martin/cygnet

Another year on and the 2011 reg cars will be sub 10K!

[Grand_Fromage]

The Aston Martin enterprise is no stranger to financial problems. From its beginnings it lurched from one crisis to the next. It is only the intervention of various 'angels' that has kept the marque alive. You would think that with such an iconic name on your cars, Aston Martin would be hard to make a mess of, but many seem to have managed to.

Like many other 'branding' exercises AM is doomed to be whacked onto the front of undeserving vehicles. The 'Cygnet' is an abomination, but perhaps also a taste of what is to come...

[landman]

Guess this means that I'll have to get on & order one now before they become re-badged something-or-others

Anyone lend me £90k?

[Jules G]

Like many other 'branding' exercises AM is doomed to be whacked onto the front of undeserving vehicles. The 'Cygnet' is an abomination, but also a taste of what is to come...

.
The only reason AM have the Cygnet is to get round the emission targets set by the EU, still to have a well build (thanks Toyota) Aston potentially for sub 10K city car next year it's a no brainer based on the 2011 reg car.

No doubt Tata motors will be along soon to make a bid given they are not taking any UK PLC handouts any more and have secured private finance for future developments. AM would be a nice fit sitting above Jaguar in the super car category.

 

[landman]

Surely there's too much overlap between the Jag XKR and the Vantage for that to happen?

You'd either have to kill off the powerful XKR's or the Vantage in order to make that work.

I suspect that the real issue with AM is that the VH architecture is now old & they need to spend many millions [billions?] on a new platform.

They need to look to Porsche for the answer - namely the hideous Cayenne that makes them so much cash they can then spend the money on the 997 etc.

Might be life yet in the Lagonda project http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/03/01-lagonda-live_580op.jpg

[Brad Zarse]

Holy c*** that's fugly!

[JDS]

Surely there's too much overlap between the Jag XKR and the Vantage for that to happen?

Ford made it all work when it owned them both I thought? Regardless, it's only due to Ford's money that AM and Jag/LR have decent vehicles now, prior to that investment period all three were in serious quality trouble. Tata got a bargain, perhaps they could pick up AM at an even better deal?

[Grand_Fromage]

So there IS a car more ugly than the Cayenne.

Might be life yet in the Lagonda project http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/03/01-lagonda-live_580op.jpg

[Lorry]

Holy c*** that's fugly!

Even its mother wouldn't love it, but if it makes money it could fund AML for years.

Its alright going racing, but something has to pay the bills

[Jules G]

Surely there's too much overlap between the Jag XKR and the Vantage for that to happen?

You'd either have to kill off the powerful XKR's or the Vantage in order to make that work.

I suspect that the real issue with AM is that the VH architecture is now old & they need to spend many millions [billions?] on a new platform.

They need to look to Porsche for the answer - namely the hideous Cayenne that makes them so much cash they can then spend the money on the 997 etc.

Might be life yet in the Lagonda project http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/03/01-lagonda-live_580op.jpg

Paul, the XKR is in direct competition with a low spec 911, BMW 6 and Merc SL etc the Vantage is more of a high end premium 911, Maserati or Merc so I think there is a natural fit for both in the same stable. The DB9 would fits with a Bentley GT, Ferrari California and the Vanquish sits with SLS, 458, McLaren.

The XKR platform is quite old now so a joint platform would certainly ease the development cost. Father in law has a limited edition XKR S black, its a nice motor, goes like a rocket but its not comparable to an Aston IMO.

[mulc99]

Aston has "NOT" been up for sale now for about a year. DAR the company who own 64% of us, owe a staggering £4 Billion.
We have had a multitude of possible investors visit inc Merc, Toyota, Tata and Nissan. It appears that the major stumbling block is the price.
Dar are adamant that they want a full return on there investment. £800 Million.
As for the Cygnet fiasco, I believe that was solely down to Dr Bez.
If anyone is interested, There is 0% finance on offer and we currently have over 1750 cars in stock worldwide. 
By the way. We also have 22 Directors.  

[JDS]

By the way. We also have 22 Directors.  

Lopping off a sizeable chink of those would probably go a long way towards balancing the books .... 22 Crikey.

[Andy Zarse]

By the way. We also have 22 Directors.  

Holy Arabian egos Batman!! 

I assume most of them are stupid useless Hackett-wearing cretins, who, if it wasn't for daddy's oil, would die of hunger due to their inability to so much as boil an egg.

Whatever happens to Aston, and I wish it good luck, surely it will be far better off without such bloodsucking parasites biting its arse?

[Snoring Rhino]

The Lagonda to us may seem ugly, I think with the AM badge on this, in the US, could be a competitor to the Cayenne. 22 Directors, Wow, alt view is there is lots of expert resouce to call on. DAR need a kick in the arse, reality is that it worth as much as someone is prepared to pay for it with the right resurection plan even if they have to cut their losses (although DAR are probably not really interested in AM's future). Seems like an Itialian private equity fund and Indian Mahindra and making competitive offers right now.