DeTomaso factory in liquidation
Discussion
The end of an era? I have recently been informed that DeTomaso Automobili SpA will be put into liquidation.
Alejandro DeTomaso, the founder and driving force behind the company, passed away last year. There has been speculation ever since about the future of the company, as the one DeTomaso Guara that they continue to manufacture per month surely couldn't be enough to pay the salaries of the 30-odd people employed.
Apparently the property will be sold off along with spare parts and miscellaneous things, but the name will be retained. There is always the possibility that this is a bit of "Italian Book-keeping" intended to get some tax breaks and shaft some suppliers (the company hasn't always been known for their upstanding scruples).
The factory visit scheduled for early July for the Owners as part of the International Owners Club Meeting is still planned, so perhaps we will learn more then.
It's a shame... I have had several conversations with Santiago DeTomaso, Alejandro's son and the current president of the company. The official party line for years has been that a new Pantera and a new Vallelunga were in the works. Alejandro probably was planning something like that, but Santiago lacks the drive necessary to pull something like that off. He told me that he felt it was too expensive to produce a limited-production supercar in the 21st century and gave me 50 reasons why it was so. His father would have ignored those who claimed it was impossible and bulled ahead and pulled it off somehow.
Noble shows it is possible. Pagani shows it is possible. Marcos, TVR... these are all examples of what DeTomaso could have been in the 21st century with someone a little more ambitious at the healm. Instead, it appears as though they will fade into people's memories and will appear as a footnote in the history books.
This is a sad bit of news for us that have held the DeTomaso torch for years...
Alejandro DeTomaso, the founder and driving force behind the company, passed away last year. There has been speculation ever since about the future of the company, as the one DeTomaso Guara that they continue to manufacture per month surely couldn't be enough to pay the salaries of the 30-odd people employed.
Apparently the property will be sold off along with spare parts and miscellaneous things, but the name will be retained. There is always the possibility that this is a bit of "Italian Book-keeping" intended to get some tax breaks and shaft some suppliers (the company hasn't always been known for their upstanding scruples).
The factory visit scheduled for early July for the Owners as part of the International Owners Club Meeting is still planned, so perhaps we will learn more then.
It's a shame... I have had several conversations with Santiago DeTomaso, Alejandro's son and the current president of the company. The official party line for years has been that a new Pantera and a new Vallelunga were in the works. Alejandro probably was planning something like that, but Santiago lacks the drive necessary to pull something like that off. He told me that he felt it was too expensive to produce a limited-production supercar in the 21st century and gave me 50 reasons why it was so. His father would have ignored those who claimed it was impossible and bulled ahead and pulled it off somehow.
Noble shows it is possible. Pagani shows it is possible. Marcos, TVR... these are all examples of what DeTomaso could have been in the 21st century with someone a little more ambitious at the healm. Instead, it appears as though they will fade into people's memories and will appear as a footnote in the history books.
This is a sad bit of news for us that have held the DeTomaso torch for years...
Don't worry that's the "business as usual" of the specialist super/sportscar production. The De Tomaso name still has good brand value and probably will be bought by some big player who will make a bland, anemic car by some twat modern designer.
Anyway the Guara seemed very uninspired IMO, both in design and in market positioning so that's a basic problem. When they had Maserati they made quite interesting cars also, specially the late biturbos (Shamal and Ghibli), but they never sold well, probably due to dodgy reliability image. Ah well at least they didn't made a SUV ...
Curiously I was just thinking in posting about this. The world seems flooded with supercars again. I've done my bit of business planning and analysis in recent years, in areas other then the car business, and, based on what I grasp would be their economic structure, I have severe doubts about the viability of a small sportscar maker to survive without some strong niche. TVR and Morgan are really interesting case studies. Both base their approach in special characteristics (ex: TVR = great power + reasonable prices + outrageous design) and have a faithful following from their costumers so they can hopefully pay their bills. On the other hand, as luxury goods, super/sportscars are very susceptible to global economic cycles and regularly go through liquidation.
Now don't tell that TVR TYPHON bloke that it's about to be sold ...
Anyway the Guara seemed very uninspired IMO, both in design and in market positioning so that's a basic problem. When they had Maserati they made quite interesting cars also, specially the late biturbos (Shamal and Ghibli), but they never sold well, probably due to dodgy reliability image. Ah well at least they didn't made a SUV ...
Curiously I was just thinking in posting about this. The world seems flooded with supercars again. I've done my bit of business planning and analysis in recent years, in areas other then the car business, and, based on what I grasp would be their economic structure, I have severe doubts about the viability of a small sportscar maker to survive without some strong niche. TVR and Morgan are really interesting case studies. Both base their approach in special characteristics (ex: TVR = great power + reasonable prices + outrageous design) and have a faithful following from their costumers so they can hopefully pay their bills. On the other hand, as luxury goods, super/sportscars are very susceptible to global economic cycles and regularly go through liquidation.
Now don't tell that TVR TYPHON bloke that it's about to be sold ...
It's funny how the ole man could build the company, and pull it off, while the kid who got it handed to him has 50-reasons why he "can't" do something.
What a weenie. Didn't someone say, "lead, follow, or get out of the way"??? This guy needs to step aside and let the company move on.
Sounds like he's more interested in liquidation.
Dogsharks
What a weenie. Didn't someone say, "lead, follow, or get out of the way"??? This guy needs to step aside and let the company move on.
Sounds like he's more interested in liquidation.
Dogsharks
raftom said:
Don't worry that's the "business as usual" of the specialist super/sportscar production. The De Tomaso name still has good brand value and probably will be bought by some big player who will make a bland, anemic car by some twat modern designer.
Anyway the Guara seemed very uninspired IMO, both in design and in market positioning so that's a basic problem. When they had Maserati they made quite interesting cars also, specially the late biturbos (Shamal and Ghibli), but they never sold well, probably due to dodgy reliability image. Ah well at least they didn't made a SUV ...
Curiously I was just thinking in posting about this. The world seems flooded with supercars again. I've done my bit of business planning and analysis in recent years, in areas other then the car business, and, based on what I grasp would be their economic structure, I have severe doubts about the viability of a small sportscar maker to survive without some strong niche. TVR and Morgan are really interesting case studies. Both base their approach in special characteristics (ex: TVR = great power + reasonable prices + outrageous design) and have a faithful following from their costumers so they can hopefully pay their bills. On the other hand, as luxury goods, super/sportscars are very susceptible to global economic cycles and regularly go through liquidation.
Now don't tell that TVR TYPHON bloke that it's about to be sold ...
WHAT? TVR sold about not can't????
Despite my loyalty to the brand I've never been particularly enamored with the Guara. The factory let me play with both a Guara coupe and the Guara Barchetta for a day in the hills around Modena and it is truly an impressive handling machine, but I don't care for the styling. I would have prefered to see them continue to produce the Pantera 2 - they only sold 38 of those and I'm not entirely sure why they discontinued production of them. It still doesn't look terribly dated, and is a much more attractive car than the Guara...
I agree that the viability of a small manufacturer is very very risky... They either need to have a well-established reputation so that kids aspire to own one when they grow up (and then do so) or find some niche in the market to survive, as you say. The worst thing that could happen to the DeTomaso name is for some faceless bland multinational to snap it up and pump out blah-mobiles.... But someone with some imagination could use it as a stepping stone to entering the sports car market. Any of the entrepreneurs of the last decade or two (Saleen, Pagani, Noble, etc etc) could have used the name had they been so inclined...
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