no longer owned by ford

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2007/02/01/louis-vuitton-to-acquire-aston-martin/#more-4744

Bummer... Ford keeps going down hill little by little. [mad]

Chad

Well, as a money maker ...it wasn't.. Shame though.

They need to do something with Jaguar. I thought they got Aston Martin into the black.

no longer owned by ford

http://www.leftlanenews.com/2007/02/01/louis-vuitton-to-acquire-aston-martin/#more-4744


They still have 15%, which is better than not owning it completely

Dude ford posted a 12.7 billion dollar loss...... R.I.P I hope they can figure something out... Ford in Europe posted a 1.7 billion dollar profit.... What are we doing wrong here.

Thats Right....... We dont have the RS Focus or the ST Focus or Mondeo, diesel focus, Focus diesel van (47 mpg), ST220 the GT6... Why arent they figuring that they need those cars in the market. I hope they get their stuff together soon...

Thats Right....... We dont have the RS Focus or the ST Focus or Mondeo, diesel focus, Focus diesel van (47 mpg), ST220 the GT6... Why arent they figuring that they need those cars in the market. I hope they get their stuff together soon...

Focus ST and RS - come on, please stop beating this dead horse. Look at the prices of these vehicles.

Mondeo - it was killed based on sales, just like the Focus SVT. I won't argue it's not a great car, but.

Tansporter - gets more like 30 mpg, 36 at best (6.5 L/100km). I don't know why only DCX got this right and brought the Sprinter over. Opel has one too, where is it?

What is the GT6?

Focus ST and RS - come on, please stop beating this dead horse. Look at the prices of these vehicles.


i hate it when people use this argument. you CANNOT just make a straight currency conversion and assume that is how much you would pay for the car in north america. for example, a new 2007 bmw 330 costs the equivalent of 60000 US dollars. are these cars selling for this price in the united states??? no, they are not. its US equivalent(328 instead of 330, though they have the same exact engine) only sells in the mid to upper forty thousand range. this is only one example. there are others but i think it is pretty easy to see my point using this one.

anywho............doesnt it scare anyone just a little that ford sold aston to a purse manufacturer?

May I quote John McElroy?

Phil,



Great question, and one that many people have been asking.



Here’s the simple answer: the base price of a C1 Focus 3-door with a 1.4 liter engine in Europe is about $20,000.



Yes, the C1 is a great platform but it’s an expensive one. People in Europe pay more for their cars than we in the U.S. do, and they expect to get more car for it.



Imagine how few Focus’s Ford would sell in the U.S. if it carried a base price of twenty grand with a stick and a puny engine. They needed to hit a U.S. base price of about $14,000, so they stuck with the old platform and merely “refreshed” it.



John McElroy

you didnt understand my previous post at all..........

another example:

in the Uk, a new golf gti costs roughly 21000 pounds which is a little over 40000 dollars.

essentially, we get the same exact gti that the british do. does it cost $40000 to buy a gti in the states?? no.

May also have to do with what the market will bear..........

isnt this thread about aston martin...[scratch]

Anyway, as long as it still is alive, and keeps its style I dont care. But most likly now itll be even harder for me to own one, b/c LV will probably do unneeded comstetic upgrades and put in "special leather" and the prices will go up like crazy.

well they got 1.2 billion back of the 12 billion they lost

i think ford needs to bring some of the ecnomy cars to the u.s people will buy a car that gets like 30+mpg in the city and like40's on the highway as long as its safe as well

good luck ford[thumb]

Judging by the fact that LV even decided to bid on Aston Martin suggests that they want to make the brand more exclusive and thus more profitable.

Comparing the US economy to the EU economy and it's two consumers is comparing apples to oranges. European models tend to be much better refined than their US counterparts. Just look at the focus. Ford had to make the car much less refined in order to make it worthwhile to sell in the US. In fact, they made it too unrefined, which caused the 2000-2001 recall fiascoes. There are a lot of variables when it comes to price, Labor and taxes are big ones to consider. It is much more expensive to build and sell a car in Europe then it is here. Labor is heavily regulated in Europe, in fact the governments act like unions. I mean, the citizens almost riot every time they try to increase the number of work hours in a week. Then there are the steep taxes, Europe imposes on businesses and individuals. In Europe, it's considered a luxury to drive so they tax it that way at every level, even gas. It's also why European cars are more refined, if you are going to pay such a steep price for owning a car aren't you going to demand that you get your monies worth?

Also, I'm sorry, but there is not a big enough market here to justify the cost of bringing the euro focus over here. You just wouldn't be able to sell it for a high enough price and in enough quantities to justify it. Europeans love small cars. They see bigger cars as excessive and to be frowned upon. Your average american would rather upgrade to a larger car then pay for an upscale compact car.

it is very true about cars costing a lot more in europe- i recently met someone from france and she said my focus is a "very very expensive- very sought after and highly praised car in europe" she went on to say that "ford is a very highly respected company and expensive car brand in europe and that she loved my svt" so yes they charge a lot more for cars in europe because they do not buy as many cars as americans do so they have to charge more for them to make a profit- they dont have the endless gross consumption of cars like americans do- they also know if tyhey were to charge that here we would not buy them sooo-- thats why the price dif. and the reason that most of their cars have no power is gas is like 6.00-7.00 a gallon if not more- private transportation is a luxury in europe - a lot of people use trains/subways/taxis- instead of owning cars cause it so expensive

so they actually sold it eh?!? that sucks. I Thought they were gonna keep it. well at least they still own 15% and can get stock dividends on it and whatnot.

That really blows.

good riddance

pfff..i'm happy Ford doesn't own Aston Martin anymore. They turned the jag into a taurus and the aston into a jag. Screw 'em.

anywho............doesnt it scare anyone just a little that ford sold aston to a purse manufacturer?

Its actually a holding company. They just own the majority of the stock. This will have no affect on how the cars are produced and designed. The company will still have free reign, probably even more so than when Ford owned them. I am glad for sold AM, their quality had been going down. Hopefully with LVMH they will be more hands off and let the british take control back.

pfff..i'm happy Ford doesn't own Aston Martin anymore. They turned the jag into a taurus and the aston into a jag. Screw 'em.

thats oh so true

Aston was just something sitting around collecting dust for ford anyway. i remember a few years back when ford was in the market for BMW....that would have been a worthwhile investment i think. Also does anyone know if that 12 billion loss includes the refinancing of all Ford assets????

pfff..i'm happy Ford doesn't own Aston Martin anymore. They turned the jag into a taurus and the aston into a jag. Screw 'em.

I'm not quite sure i fully understand that, I think i agree though. Ford's cost cutting turned the interior 'luxury' of the new XK series Jag into plastic city, but I don't think it hindered Aston Martin's quality. From the V8 Vanquish onwards, and especially the new V8 Vantage, Aston has been releasing absolutely stunning cars, with top class interiors too. It's probably for the best that AM has abandoned the sinking Ford ship.

Maybe Prada will acquire Ferrari next? Or Vercace might take over Lamborghini, they're already doing a special edition LP640 Murcielago with Vercace Leather interior, I'm scared to look up the price [80?]

Vercace Lambo: http://www.supercarsite.net/lamborghini/murcielago-lp640-versace/2006

um correction bigjordan, an 06-07 325 stickers at 55K I haven't seen a single 3 series stickered for less than 53K, you could get the previous generation in the upper 40s maybe but not the current

Versace* 2006 Murcielago LP640 Versace

[:p]

Thanks chief, c is close to s, obviously....fine don't believe me.

May I quote John McElroy?

Phil,



Great question, and one that many people have been asking.



Here’s the simple answer: the base price of a C1 Focus 3-door with a 1.4 liter engine in Europe is about $20,000.



Yes, the C1 is a great platform but it’s an expensive one. People in Europe pay more for their cars than we in the U.S. do, and they expect to get more car for it.



Imagine how few Focus’s Ford would sell in the U.S. if it carried a base price of twenty grand with a stick and a puny engine. They needed to hit a U.S. base price of about $14,000, so they stuck with the old platform and merely “refreshed” it.



John McElroy

Funny thing is that the new 08 Focus will cost more to build than it would of to just bring the c1 over. Good job Ford, I no longer have any faith in the future of your company and it's products.

you didnt understand my previous post at all..........

another example:

in the Uk, a new golf gti costs roughly 21000 pounds which is a little over 40000 dollars.

essentially, we get the same exact gti that the british do. does it cost $40000 to buy a gti in the states?? no.

We dont get the same car really... there are a ton more features on the euro version. Much more luxery features... auto dim mirrors, back up kurb view mirrors, rain sensing wipers, built in bluetooth, t.v. on the nav system, just to name a view. Sure we get the core, which is still really nice, but theirs is even better.

Aston was just something sitting around collecting dust for ford anyway. i remember a few years back when ford was in the market for BMW....that would have been a worthwhile investment i think. Also does anyone know if that 12 billion loss includes the refinancing of all Ford assets????

I think it does, the buy outs were like 9 billion, then 1.2 billion in operation and sales....

I'm not quite sure i fully understand that, I think i agree though. Ford's cost cutting turned the interior 'luxury' of the new XK series Jag into plastic city, but I don't think it hindered Aston Martin's quality. From the V8 Vanquish onwards, and especially the new V8 Vantage, Aston has been releasing absolutely stunning cars, with top class interiors too. It's probably for the best that AM has abandoned the sinking Ford ship.

Maybe Prada will acquire Ferrari next? Or Vercace might take over Lamborghini, they're already doing a special edition LP640 Murcielago with Vercace Leather interior, I'm scared to look up the price [80?]

Vercace Lambo: http://www.supercarsite.net/lamborghini/murcielago-lp640-versace/2006


Yeah I agree with you. In the past couple years Aston has been putting out some beautiful cars. I just fear for any company that is scooped up and purchased by a big powerhouse like Ford. I guess I just dig smaller independant car companies more than standardized ubercorporations. It's sad that money plays a bigger part than quality in most cases. That's why I love BMW...they are independant of anyone and their quality is beautiful.

lol its coo, i just wanted to be mr. correct-o

hehe

its fun sometimes

Johnny

seriously- i m gad louis vuitton has bought aston martin- lv has a fantastic eye for detail and their quality is really second to none- i think they could improve a.m. interiors cause fords has done it much justice- and yes i have sat in the a.m. and i was not that impressed for 125,000 car

um correction bigjordan, an 06-07 325 stickers at 55K I haven't seen a single 3 series stickered for less than 53K, you could get the previous generation in the upper 40s maybe but not the current

talking base prices

http://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/3/328isedan/default

well bigjordan i wouldn't believe it if not for seeing the link you sent
wow, i didnt' know they made one that cheap anymore,
I'm a valet at a hotel and we have to get names from
cars when the guest gives us bogus names to avoid valet charges
and in looking through glove boxes, i see lots of window stickers
never seen one that low, but the 55K was for the new body style 328
and I was blown away that the price was over 50K
but damn, I guess I haven't came across one yet
but I'm gonna get snoopy on the next 3 series I park now

now i know why my shit in my glove box is always screwed up when i get my car valeted -thanks-lol

here's the kicker
I work at a resort that many people from Mexico visit
while they are shopping, as people in the service industry know
they come spend 10's of thousands of dollars
but they give us bogus names to avoid valet charges
(of only 12$ mind you) they're cheap greedy bastards
we only search for a name in the car when they give us
a false name, it's usually just the mexican nationals
but on occasion you get the cheap, rich a-hole CEO's
also lock your' interior compartments like your' glove box
if you're gonna try to rip off the hotel
or be like me and never valet your' car,
and please tip at least the going rate for a gallon of gas
each time you need your' car, I hate 1$ tips when they're driving
a 100K$ mercedes....

I'd take a buck from a schmuck. They're practically all over so you'd be rich in no time. Then you can start handing out the G.W.s

i wish the quantity would be enough to make up for lack of quality
but unfortunately I'm looking to get back in the tech industry
all these new shopping centers and malls popping up
make us the new favorite place for the migrating shoppers
and I don't like being treated like a dog