Aston seeking funding for new models article, SUV .......

[steveatesh]

Article in Reuters about AM looking for new models, including SUV and crossover

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/12/11/uk-astonm...

I'm not writing any more cos I'm off to get some popcorn

[R8VBV]

HAHAHA...... who said this would not happen? It only took a few weeks!

[avinalarf]

steveatesh said:

Article in Reuters about AM looking for new models, including SUV and crossover

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/12/11/uk-astonm...

I'm not writing any more cos I'm off to get some popcorn

Where's Lotto. C'mon lad AM needs YOU and your wonga.

[R8VBV]

I give it until 2018 before AM is part of Daimler. Who's first in line for the Aston Martin ML diesel?

[Jon39]

This makes me sad.

Just looking at the numbers, I hope AML is not eventually consumed by a huge amount of interest and debt (again).

The Reuters article describes;

2013 financing costs £26.9m
Existing debt £410m, repayable in July 2018
Latest borrowing bond issue in March, $165m with interest rate 10.25%
Now considering further debt or equity of £100m to £150m

2013 Profits - net loss £16.7m

[R8VBV]

And all because you lot aren't buying enough of their new cars..... You should be ashamed!

To be honest it's hard to believe Aston can't make a profit out of a 10 year old platform. You'd think it would be a cash cow by now. I'd like to see how much the dealers make out of new cars vs secondhand. I bet they're not far apart.

Unfortunately the business is now owned by foreign investors who will be out to make a profit and Daimler are starting to sink their teeth in a little. I don't know many individuals out there who would sink c£400m for a company with nearly that in debt and still loosing money, to stop the Germans taking over?

[Zod]

I will be surprised if Daimler don't buy Aston in a couple of years. They need a brand with real prestige and Aston gives them two. Maybach is now just an S-Class trim level. If they stewarded Aston Martin the way BMW has stewarded Rolls-Royce, the results would be very healthy.

[JohnG123]

If they built them correctly I would buy one !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Speedraser]

Zod said:

I will be surprised if Daimler don't buy Aston in a couple of years. They need a brand with real prestige and Aston gives them two. Maybach is now just an S-Class trim level. If they stewarded Aston Martin the way BMW has stewarded Rolls-Royce, the results would be very healthy.

I'll be surprised also, but I'll also be sad. Mercedes' track record of dealing with other companies is very poor and reeks of arrogance -- doesn't bode well. Also, I'd hate to see M-B steward AM the way BMW has stewarded R-R; all R-Rs now use BMW engines and the Ghost & Wraith are based on BMW platforms. As I've said more than a few times an Aston Martin needs to be an Aston Martin -- a Benz-based Aston would destroy one of the few remaining great marques and would be a car I'd have ZERO interest in. AM under M-B could result in Astons becoming, to modify your words, "just an SL-Class trim level." Worst case scenario, perhaps, but TBH it wouldn't surprise me all that much. The off-the-AMG-shelf-engine "Aston" may well be coming soon, and that would be a giant step in that -- wrong -- direction. It's a very slippery slope from there.

To me, Aston Martin is in the same league as Ferrari when it comes to specialness, desirability and "thoroughbredness," and it MUST remain so. Otherwise, it will become just another very nice car that isn't really what it pretends to be. An Aston that shares a platform -- or an off-the-shelf engine -- with Benzes could no longer hold its head high in the company of Ferrari.

[WayneB]

I don't see Daimler Benz ever buying out Aston Martin, I think they must have learned a lesson about having a loss making manufacturer from their ownership of Chrysler.

The Germans don't need the prestige AM would apparently bring , they already view Mercedes Benz as an pinnacle of quality, engineering and design.

VW owning Bentley and BMW owning Rolls Royce was a different thing, they were flush with cash at the time and didn't realise what they would be getting into with those brands, a very expensive mistake.

The only way Aston Martin would be able to make long term profit is to share a common platform and be built in the same plant as Jaguar, a partnership with Jaguar makes total sense (to me anyways)

[SFO]

does anyone think AM will actually go bust?

apart from its name, what does it have? old tech, and more old tech.

[R8VBV]

WayneB said:

I don't see Daimler Benz ever buying out Aston Martin, I think they must have learned a lesson about having a loss making manufacturer from their ownership of Chrysler.

The Germans don't need the prestige AM would apparently bring , they already view Mercedes Benz as an pinnacle of quality, engineering and design.

VW owning Bentley and BMW owning Rolls Royce was a different thing, they were flush with cash at the time and didn't realise what they would be getting into with those brands, a very expensive mistake.

The only way Aston Martin would be able to make long term profit is to share a common platform and be built in the same plant as Jaguar, a partnership with Jaguar makes total sense (to me anyways)

Chrysler wasn't really an international brand though. Merc will buy them, put an Aston body and interior on a GT, SL and ML and charge a 50% premium for it. And they will sell as people with view them still as British cars but with German engineering, like everyone still believes Jag and LandRover are British.

No they won't go bust, the brand is worth more then the business.

Edited by R8VBV on Thursday 11th December 21:23

Edited by R8VBV on Thursday 11th December 21:24

[hashluck]

R8VBV said:

No they won't go bust, the brand is worth more then the business.

Indeed, look at the top 12 cool brands 2014 and imagine that discussion regarding any of the others in the list (and AM were second)

The 2014/15 CoolBrands top 20 is:

Apple

Aston Martin

Nike

Chanel

Glastonbury

Google

YouTube

Dom Pérignon

Rolex

Netflix

Bang & Olufsen

Ray-Ban

[Jon39]

R8VBV said:

... like everyone still believes Jag and LandRover are British.

You must be referring to ownership.

When I last looked at the Daimler accounts (a while back), the geographical spread of shareholders surprised me. The Company is not as German as we think.

[Jon1967x]

hashluck said:

Indeed, look at the top 12 cool brands 2014 and imagine that discussion regarding any of the others in the list (and AM were second)

The 2014/15 CoolBrands top 20 is:

Apple

Aston Martin

Nike

Chanel

Glastonbury

Google

YouTube

Dom Pérignon

Rolex

Netflix

Bang & Olufsen

Ray-Ban

I'm sure that's the official list but it is odd - I guess cool and valuable are different things - Glastonbury? YouTube but not Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and the rest? I'd rate Miele ahead of Netflix

Anyway... the art has to be sharing of the parts bin but in a clever way. Bentley using a VW platform... Don't rolls use 7 series underpinnings? These things are different to the cygnet which is a prime example of getting it wrong.

Budgets are limited, so I'd prefer ever penny going into the bits that make admins astons, and reuse parts to save every penny that would otherwise be spent on eu crumple zone design and sticking airbags everywhere for the U.S. market.

[mikey k]

hashluck said:

R8VBV said:

No they won't go bust, the brand is worth more then the business.

Indeed, look at the top 12 cool brands 2014 and imagine that discussion regarding any of the others in the list (and AM were second)

The 2014/15 CoolBrands top 20 is:

Apple

Aston Martin

Nike

Chanel

Glastonbury

Google

YouTube

Dom Pérignon

Rolex

Netflix

Bang & Olufsen

Ray-Ban

Being cool is no good if you aren't selling or making a profit from what little you do sell

[AMDBSNick]

hashluck said:

Indeed, look at the top 12 cool brands 2014 and imagine that discussion regarding any of the others in the list (and AM were second)

The 2014/15 CoolBrands top 20 is:

Apple

Aston Martin

Nike

Chanel

Glastonbury

Google

YouTube

Dom Pérignon

Rolex

Netflix

Bang & Olufsen

Ray-Ban

I don't go to Glastonbury wearing trainers, shades or a second hand car dealers watch

[Neil1300r]

mikey k said:

Being cool is no good if you aren't selling or making a profit from what little you do sell

Means there is lots of value in the brand

[mikey k]

Neil1300r said:

mikey k said:

Being cool is no good if you aren't selling or making a profit from what little you do sell

Means there is lots of value in the brand

Yep they just haven't found a way to turn that in to £'s

[hashluck]

mikey k said:

Neil1300r said:

mikey k said:

Being cool is no good if you aren't selling or making a profit from what little you do sell

Means there is lots of value in the brand

Yep they just haven't found a way to turn that in to £'s

Agree with both of you but means that the brand name will not be allowed to disappear.