Zastava_101

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/31/b...n-up-for-sale/

Lalo

Aston is starting to make money for Ford... I see that Aston and other Ford products don't share a lot of parts, but still. I hope that if they do get sold, they get a good home. A REALLY good home.

This sucks

jsaylor

I really, really like Aston Martin.....but right now Ford needs to slim down, get hold of some funds, and focus..........and shedding Aston Martin could accomplish just that. Right now I would consider all of the foreign holdings fair game. In fact, while everyone has been talking about selling the losers, it's the winners that are going to be easy to sell and make a profit from. Shedding Jaguar right now likely wouldn't really generate any revenue at all.

Again, I love Astons, but this makes sense. If I were to pick another brand to put up it'd be Volvo. Again, some are going to cry "but it makes money"....but that is precisely why I would offer it up.

future9er24

tis a sad, sad day indeed

mustang_sallad

yup.... my heart is a little broken...
Those people who don't know too much about cars and rag on ford are always pretty **** surprised when i tell them that those sexy James Bond cars are Fords...
But even beyond the braggin' rights... I'm sad. Apparently i care a lot about cars...

05MustangFanII

It'll be missed. But it's pretty valuable. Maybe a British car company will buy it back? Or, maybe this is one more British car company the germans will sink their teeth into.

****, I sounded a bit like Mr. Clarkson their.

Louie

Here is CNN's article on the story:

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/BUSINESS....ap/index.html

Moosetang

I hope it goes to an investor group with deep pockets and not another car company. I'd hate to see Astons running around with Korean parts in them.

At least Ford can proudly and rightly say they saved AM. It's gone from a one-car brand strugling for sales to a 3-car superstar lineup since the Blue Oval came to town. They have a new factory, and mechanicals. Good job, Bez.

THRUST_

That really is sad, Aston's are probably my favorite cars right now.

I guess it wouldnt be terrible if it went back to being a british owned company. As long as they don't change the look to much, cause right now they're like pornography.

05fordgt

I highly doubt that they will sell Volvo. The reason being, they use too many cross components in other cars (AWD systems, 500/freestyle and soon Fairlane chassis with S80), plus, Ford is really touting the safety of their cars, and owning Volvo does just that. I think Range Rover is gone, and Jag too, but they keep Volvo. Too risky to get rid of, since they're sharing parts.

SyNRG

sad but ford needs the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$...

i would hate to see BMW buy AM, hopefully it falls in the hands of a private investor instead.

jsaylor

Actually, I initially thought the same thing....but after some thought I think that Volvo will be the other brand to get put up with LR and Jag being kept, at least in part. And, I think Volvo is likely to be put up expressly for the reasons you cite, and not in spite of them. Let me explain.

First, the parts sharing issue, well, isn't the issue it might first seem. In fact it could further serve to sweeten the proposal. Example? So long any purchasing company builds the S40 on the existing C1 platform they are going to be purchasing parts from Ford. Also, many car companies, including Ford, have shared platforms with companies that they have no corporate ties to so this is hardly a stretch. Heck, the first gen S40 shared a platform with the Euro market Mitsubishi Charisma, which you likely know. I would expect the extent of platform sharing we see now to lessen over time, but none of this makes Volvo a hard sell like Saab would be for GM. Volvo is still relatively distinct. Also, just as with Aston Martin, Volvo is an attractive sell because it is profitable and would draw in money.

Also worth noting, IMO, is the fact that Ford has recently decided not to employ the 4.4L V-8 Volvo uses in the upcoming Lincoln sedan. Is Ford doing so to minimize commonality between Volvo and Ford cars, outside of the S40/V50, as much as possible in preperation for a sell off of the brand? I am curious to see how the future will unfold.

But, my vote is.....sell Volvo....not that anyone at Ford cares.

cntchds

I must ask. Why not Land Rover? Those are by far the worst company in recent memory. Everyone I know who has owned one was completely agrivated by the service and problems they encountered. Seems kinda out of place for them to drop something as loved as Aston Martin and keep Land Rover which some other company could easily turn around.

Peter

future9er24

i doubt LR would really sell for much

cntchds

In the right hands ie. BMW, Land Rover could prove to be a big source of income. Ford just doesn't have the money to make the company into something profitable. Just my two cents.

Peter

future9er24

i suppose so, but the fact that land rover is how it is now might make an argument for the potential buyer to get ford to lower the asking price on LR. i agree that LR isnt going anywhere with ford, but its just a thought that occured to me when u suggested selliung it

cntchds

The whole point of selling Aston is to make a better focus on other "normal" cars I would take it, correct? Well just by selling Land Rover and getting it off of their backs it would give them a lot more money than fixing every one they produce. No matter what would happen in the long run to LR, even letting it go under could not make them lose much, could it? Sure the presses and so fourth that were used to make the cars, but were the engines/transmissions/suspension/interiors Land Rover only? What components were shared? Couldn't those things just move into a different Ford facility? Aston is truly a landmark as far as British cars go. Who else makes cars in Britain that people stateside still know? TVR, is amazing, but no one knows who they are. Aston truly stands on it's own. Land Rover is just, as many say, "a Jeep wannabe."

Sell the remaining Land Rovers, then the company as a whole. Keep Aston Martin. Get back in the game Ford.

Peter

cntchds

No one else has a say?