Aston Martin back up for sale?
Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage
It's been a busy few years for Aston Martin. Back in May of 2007, the British sportscar company was sold by Ford to a consortium of investors, including Kuwaiti firm Investment Dar and its partner Adeem Investment Company. Ever since, the grapevine has swirled regarding the future of Mr. Bond's favorite automaker, with the rumormill hitting a fever-pitch as of late with whispers that up to 20% of Dar's stake is available for bidding.
Aston Martin's future product chips all seem to be on the table already, with thr new four-door Panamera-fighting Rapide, Lagonda uber-luxury sedan and One-77 supercar all waiting in the wings. Of course, all of that development work is expensive, and times are already tough. If an agreement is struck, Dar would be looking to either profit from selling a portion of Aston or for an instant infusion to its current stable of technology. We wonder if Mercedes-Benz, which has both cash and engineering expertise, may be involved in any potential deal.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Throwback 4:32PM (12/15/2008)
Mullaly made the right call in selling AM, Jag and LR. Tata has asked the British government for money for Jag & LR, and now a portion of AM is back up for sale. Imagine how much worse off Ford would be if they still owned these money pits.
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BoxerFanatic 9:14PM (12/15/2008)
It is tight wallet time for just about everybody. If it is tight for consumers of premium products, it is tight for luxury boutique businesses, too.
But MB did so well with Chrysler, I am not sure if I would want them anywhere near AM, which is the only company in the industry that is an object lesson in sticking to your strengths, and making them work well, and look attractive.
I hope they stick to that, and weather this economic climate. Do they really NEED to renovate their amazingly good product lineup? Stick with it, update one or two thinks that make sense, and weather this storm.
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Carletti 4:48PM (12/15/2008)
I just don't see the attraction of an Aston Martin. The name sounds cool enough, but the cars are overly hyped. It's not like the company was always like this, the DB5 is one of my favorite cars. But these new cars are too dull to be worth the money...and the company's target market probably realizes this.
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Sean 4:56PM (12/15/2008)
Are you nuts man!? Aston Martin makes some of the most excited GT cars out there right now in my opinion
Biomech 6:21PM (12/15/2008)
Good sir, do you have eyes?! JUST LOOK AT THEM *drool*
AC0 5:16PM (12/15/2008)
SHOTGUN!
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Carletti 5:19PM (12/15/2008)
I'd rather have an M6 than any current Aston. By virtue of the way they price their cars, if the M6 carried the Aston Martin logo, it would be worth $300,000+. I just don't think their cars are worth the money they ask for. Maybe if the V8 Vantage started at $55,000 I'd think differently.
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Mobius_1 5:48PM (12/15/2008)
And you have a Porsche avatar?
BoxerFanatic 9:22PM (12/15/2008)
Have you seen Aston's finishing? I've seen one in the wild.
Aston has never been about absolute performance at any price. Ferrari and Lambo have been more in that camp, and McLaren F1 still is on the short list.
Aston has always been a gentleman's sports car or grand tourer, finished impeccably well, while still being very satisfyingly fast.
Think of it almost like a car finished like a Roller for someone who wants real, actual performance.
speedball3 6:33PM (12/15/2008)
Anyone else think the picture used of that aston martin looks like a 370Z?
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Richard S. 10:45PM (12/15/2008)
It seems that at least GM and Ford sold their stakes in other manufacturers at the right time: GM got rid of Suzuki, Isuzu and Subaru stakes before their price collapsed. Ford sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata when Emerging Markets were at the top. Aston Martin went to high oi-priced fuelled investors from Kuwait.
The value of Jaguar and Land Rover since the sale has gone down abrutly. If I were Honda I would offer to take it off from the hands of Tata for a discount to what they paid. I believe that with Acura having become Honda's Buick division, if they get Jaguar and Land Rover and add their technology and quality production systems together with Jaguar's beautiful designs they could get a decent car that can competer agains BMW, Mercedes and Lexus.
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roshan2u 12:41PM (1/20/2009)
Astons aren't for everybody. You can never compare the DB7 or the new astons to any other car manufacture. They make the most beautiful cars in the world. They dont paint their cars in RED or bright Orange because you dont need color to get attention. They are just stunning to look at. The person who said I'd rather own an M6 than an astonr martin, its like saying I'd rather own a NIssan Sentra than a M6.
If my net worth was 5 billion dollars I'd buy half the shares and put back the british legen back on the map.
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