Posted on 08/31/2006 7:34:53 AM PDT by eraser2005
Ford Explores Possible Sale of All or Part of Its Aston Martin Luxury Brand
DETROIT (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it is exploring the possible sale of all or part of its Aston Martin luxury sports car brand as the company works to free up cash to pay for its North American turnaround plan.
But it said no decisions have been made about its other luxury car brands which include Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo.
"As part of our ongoing strategic review, we have determined that Aston Martin may be an attractive opportunity to raise capital and generate value," Bill Ford, the automaker's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at biz.yahoo.com ...
Ford needs to get its own house in order.
I'm looking for a Model-T.
They are also probably going to let go of Jaguar and Land Rover. Then probably partner with some other major import, likely Japanese. Maybe make Doctor J commercials. "Is there really Japanese technology in my Ford?"
I'd dump Land Rover first. It's overpriced crap.
And Jaguar isn't?.... Your above statement can be applied to any English build vehicle unfortunately.
Can you say "British Leyland"? I knew you could.
I keep hearing the Jaguar and Land Rover reports, but I have my doubts. Jaguar might make more sense at this point, as it shares tech with Aston, but Land Rover last I heard was profitable.
As for partnering with a Japanese company, they do already run with Mazda. The new Fusion/Milan/Zephyr are essentially heavily modified Mazda6s. Even the new Mustang rides on a modified Mazda platform.
But I do think there is room to cooperate more with another Japanese company. Toyota keeps being mentioned, but I wonder about Honda. They're not tied up with anyone right now. And if you believe fuel cells are the wave of the future, they may be looking to partner up. Why? Honda buys their fuel cells from Nucellsys (formerly Ballard Power Systems AG), which is a Joint venture owned by Ford and DaimlerChrysler. In other words, if fuel cells take over, right now, Honda is reliant upon Ford and DCX....
At least the Aston Martins are sharp looking autos.
It's the JAMES BOND car for God's sake.
"I'd dump Land Rover first. It's overpriced crap."
I could not disagree more, my Range Rover is worth every penny.
Is it a Ford Range Rover, or a BMW Range Rover?
The "take" I see out there, is that Ford is incapable of building the handed-off design.
What I would like to see is for Ford to: broaden their portfolio with some MPG leaders like the Ka and some kind of answer to the Honda Fit, and also to develop ultra-clean diesels that are US-legal and wring every MPG out of that Arab oil. Keep the designers, just point them toward the economy market.
And I am willing to wager that there is money to be made in the high-end economy market, which sounds like an oxymoron, but is epitomized by the Toyota Prius. I know that Ford has some hybrids but they are mostly attempts at getting reasonable MPG out of heavy vehicles.
What I would like to see are minicars that are really high-tech, with 4-wheel disk brakes, high-end bearings and transmissions, that manage to achieve high MPG and also are engineered to be 10-year vehicles. People would pay for those, IMHO.
I went to the Aston Martin dealership when I was in HK. Not that I could afford one but just to look. I can honestly say, those cars are pieces of art. One of the most beautiful cars I have seen.
The Ford-Jaguars are more reliable. Lot less mechanical problems. But they look awful, are just another jellybean car. The older (classics by now) Jags have lines that can't be beat
Osama Bin Ladin disagrees. He and his crew drive Toyota Land cruisers exclusively.
'And Jaguar isn't?.... Your above statement can be applied to any English build vehicle unfortunately.'
If that's the case, why are english built vehicles (Jaguar, Aston Martin, Mini, Land Rover, Lotus, Rolls Royce, Bentley etc) exported all over the world and aspired to by millions when American built cars aren't exported anywhere and only bought by Americans? Go to europe and you see no US built or designed cars at all. Back home all I see is cheap japanese cars and expensive european cars.
You might not like them, but at least they export and earn money and jobs for their economy - all of our car makers export virtually nothing from America, preferring to build locally in europe and so on, not helping the US economy at all.
Simple fact is that Japan holds the cheap/reliable market and europe holds the aspirational/performance/luxury market which leaves us with what? Pick-up trucks I guess. Instead of US auto manufacturers buying premium euro brands to try to add some class to their portfolio, why can't US auto makers build cars the world aspires to?
'Osama Bin Ladin disagrees. He and his crew drive Toyota Land cruisers exclusively.'
Anything OBL disagrees with is OK by me. Just off to do the patriotic thing and order a LR3!
Fords idea of buying luxury divisons has been a tremendous failure. Land Rover has lost money. Jaguar has lost tons of money and has lost prestige because of products like the X-Type which is a Europeon Ford in drag with an inflated price tag.
"I'd dump Land Rover first. It's overpriced crap."
The Discovery is one of the worst automotive buys on the market. I have trouble respecting anyone who purchases one. Same with the old X-Type. 3 series money for a mediorce and slow Ford Mondeo.
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