RE: Aston extends Lagonda production
Monday 2nd March 2015
There was always a sneaking suspicion this might happen. Aston's Lagonda Taraf saloon was only ever intended for sale in the Middle East, a decision Aston has reneged on just ahead of the Geneva show. Funny that...
Oh yes, UK cars are available tooBig saloons are still big business in many markets outside the Middle East and so the move to expand sales is a logical one. Among the list of 25 countries are Hong Kong, Monaco, Switzerland, Singapore and the UK. Right and left-hand drive Lagondas will be available but the production run is still limited to 200 cars. Best get the deposit in swiftly!
Aston extends Lagonda production
Affluent in Austria? Moneyed in Malaysia? Prosperous in Portugal? Lagondas are now available!
Oh yes, UK cars are available too
Aston's boss Andy Palmer described the move on Lagonda production as a "high priority" for him on joining the company. Like the Vantage GT3 and Vulcan, the Lagonda will be sold through Aston's VIP sales programme with "precise pricing details remaining confidential. But of course.
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Discussion
Schnellmann said:
I assume this is a rebodied Rapide...
As I understand Aston's (or should I say Lotus's?) chassis architecture, that's not strictly true. All of their cars are based on the same basic platform but as far as I know they don't necessarily share any dimensions. I think the Lagonda is a damned slight bigger than the Rapide (at least you'd hope so if you've ever sat in the back of a Rapide). 
Mr. Magoo said:
Remember this is a Lagonda....not a new AM product name but a whole different marque, in the same way VW owns Lamborghini and Bentley...
It is a Lagonda only insofar as Aston Martin have had some 'Lagonda' badges made up.It is an Aston Martin. Designed, built and sold by the people who design, build and sell Aston Martins.
P4ROT said:
Considering the unique exterior I found the interior to be too much 'standard Aston' - I suppose you can't develop a whole new inside for a run of 200 cars.
I'd have thought the cost would be crippling/make the project untenable! I remember reading a Porsche review which mentioned the cost of R&D for the "multi-function" steering wheel you see across the range....it was a number beyond comprehension for us mortals. Many millions just for that part. SpeckledJim said:
It is a Lagonda only insofar as Aston Martin have had some 'Lagonda' badges made up.
It is an Aston Martin. Designed, built and sold by the people who design, build and sell Aston Martins.
Its a blurred line - a different brand name needs enough perceived distance from the mothership for it to work and to target a currently un-catered for segment (I think this is where the Maybach struggles).It is an Aston Martin. Designed, built and sold by the people who design, build and sell Aston Martins.
You would not call the Lambo/R8/RS6 all VW's because the same V10 5L engine was designed and built by the same people at VW??
Mr. Magoo said:
SpeckledJim said:
It is a Lagonda only insofar as Aston Martin have had some 'Lagonda' badges made up.
It is an Aston Martin. Designed, built and sold by the people who design, build and sell Aston Martins.
Its a blurred line - a different brand name needs enough perceived distance from the mothership for it to work and to target a currently un-catered for segment (I think this is where the Maybach struggles).It is an Aston Martin. Designed, built and sold by the people who design, build and sell Aston Martins.
You would not call the Lambo/R8/RS6 all VW's because the same V10 5L engine was designed and built by the same people at VW??
Mr. Magoo said:
SpeckledJim said:
It is a Lagonda only insofar as Aston Martin have had some 'Lagonda' badges made up.
It is an Aston Martin. Designed, built and sold by the people who design, build and sell Aston Martins.
Its a blurred line - a different brand name needs enough perceived distance from the mothership for it to work and to target a currently un-catered for segment (I think this is where the Maybach struggles).It is an Aston Martin. Designed, built and sold by the people who design, build and sell Aston Martins.
You would not call the Lambo/R8/RS6 all VW's because the same V10 5L engine was designed and built by the same people at VW??
There's nothing to Lagonda apart from the word. They aren't designed and built in the Lagonda factory by the staff of Lagonda. Until the badges arrived, Lagonda didn't exist except on the trademark paperwork in the safe.
Whether this car is an Aston Martin or a Lagonda is literally as simple as one CEO decision. 5 minutes on Monday morning. "It's a Lagonda". Job done.
Not that it's a big issue at all.
If they want to ask £500,000 for them, then some distance from the Rapide will be useful. Question is whether gaining that distance is worth the cost of leaving one of the world's coolest brands on the shelf in favour of simply eeny meeny miny moo-ing onto a mothballed marque almost none of the target market have ever heard of.
SpeckledJim said:
That's right. Because Lamborghinis are designed and built in Italy by the staff of Lamborghini. (using some German bits, and some unique bits they design themselves.)
There's nothing to Lagonda apart from the word. They aren't designed and built in the Lagonda factory by the staff of Lagonda. Until the badges arrived, Lagonda didn't exist except on the trademark paperwork in the safe.
Whether this car is an Aston Martin or a Lagonda is literally as simple as one CEO decision. 5 minutes on Monday morning. "It's a Lagonda". Job done.
Not that it's a big issue at all.
If they want to ask £500,000 for them, then some distance from the Rapide will be useful. Question is whether gaining that distance is worth the cost of leaving one of the world's coolest brands on the shelf in favour of simply eeny meeny miny moo-ing onto a mothballed marque almost none of the target market have ever heard of.
There's nothing to Lagonda apart from the word. They aren't designed and built in the Lagonda factory by the staff of Lagonda. Until the badges arrived, Lagonda didn't exist except on the trademark paperwork in the safe.
Whether this car is an Aston Martin or a Lagonda is literally as simple as one CEO decision. 5 minutes on Monday morning. "It's a Lagonda". Job done.
Not that it's a big issue at all.
If they want to ask £500,000 for them, then some distance from the Rapide will be useful. Question is whether gaining that distance is worth the cost of leaving one of the world's coolest brands on the shelf in favour of simply eeny meeny miny moo-ing onto a mothballed marque almost none of the target market have ever heard of.
Mr. Magoo said:
It is an interesting debate. I am in no way suggesting Ferrari are Fiats or Lambo's are VW's. However when a company buys another firm it owns it, the plant, the people, the output. The economies are introduced to make it commercially viable (sharing platforms, engines etc) the re-branding comes in with subtle engineering changes and superficially changes (styling, finishing touches).In the same way the Veyron was designed and built by the special works dept of VW I hope the Lagonda has its own identity and treatment. To approach it as a large AM built at Gaydon is cynical and to assume it is simply a badge replacement exercise is irreverent - you don't refer to your ten thousand pound Bang and Olufsen as a Phillips home entertainment system do you? But that's where it was built and then 'rebadged' at B&O.
Enjoy the car, enjoy the lineage, nothing to be gained in knocking it.
Mr. Magoo said:
Mr. Magoo said:
It is an interesting debate. I am in no way suggesting Ferrari are Fiats or Lambo's are VW's. However when a company buys another firm it owns it, the plant, the people, the output. The economies are introduced to make it commercially viable (sharing platforms, engines etc) the re-branding comes in with subtle engineering changes and superficially changes (styling, finishing touches).In the same way the Veyron was designed and built by the special works dept of VW I hope the Lagonda has its own identity and treatment. To approach it as a large AM built at Gaydon is cynical and to assume it is simply a badge replacement exercise is irreverent - you don't refer to your ten thousand pound Bang and Olufsen as a Phillips home entertainment system do you? But that's where it was built and then 'rebadged' at B&O.
Enjoy the car, enjoy the lineage, nothing to be gained in knocking it.
If I'm being irreverent in calling it badge replacement then show me what reverence is due? There is no Lagonda 'firm'. No Lagonda staff. No Lagonda factory.
It shares exactly nothing with earlier Lagondas and shares almost everything with contemporary Aston Martins.
Mr. Magoo said:
It is an interesting debate. I am in no way suggesting Ferrari are Fiats or Lambo's are VW's. However when a company buys another firm it owns it, the plant, the people, the output. The economies are introduced to make it commercially viable (sharing platforms, engines etc) the re-branding comes in with subtle engineering changes and superficially changes (styling, finishing touches).
In the same way the Veyron was designed and built by the special works dept of VW I hope the Lagonda has its own identity and treatment. To approach it as a large AM built at Gaydon is cynical and to assume it is simply a badge replacement exercise is irreverent - you don't refer to your ten thousand pound Bang and Olufsen as a Phillips home entertainment system do you? But that's where it was built and then 'rebadged' at B&O.
Enjoy the car, enjoy the lineage, nothing to be gained in knocking it.
It is interesting only with respect to the major car groups that have acquired and subsumed other, existing car companies. Using those examples to suggest that Lagonda is anything but a badging exercise for AM is rather odd. In the same way the Veyron was designed and built by the special works dept of VW I hope the Lagonda has its own identity and treatment. To approach it as a large AM built at Gaydon is cynical and to assume it is simply a badge replacement exercise is irreverent - you don't refer to your ten thousand pound Bang and Olufsen as a Phillips home entertainment system do you? But that's where it was built and then 'rebadged' at B&O.
Enjoy the car, enjoy the lineage, nothing to be gained in knocking it.
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