Aston Martin sold to...

[JYODER240]

To make mine a list:

GT3
Gallardo
Turbo
Ford GT
DB9
430

The only reason the Gallardo is above the Turbo is the "exotic" factor.? Realistically, I'd probably rather buy the Turbo.?

I've heard the Turbo is more impressive than it is involving.

[Raza]

Cayenne S
2 986 Boxster
986 Boxster S
996 C2
996 Turbo

I'm going to try to get a ride in a GT3 when I go home for Spring Break, but I don't think even my connections are that strong.  So far I've driven the 987 S, obviously, the 986 S, a 911 SC, and a 997 C4.

[JYODER240]

I would love to drive a GT3, thats the ultimate 911 not the Turbo.

[thewizard16]

I can't imagine what this will mean. It could mean nothing, or it could be disastrous. I don't really see it improving anything.

[chevyguy06]

http://blogs.motortrend.com/6200377/car-news/about-that-rumor-aston-martin-may-be-sold-but-not-to-lvmh/

Aston Martin hasn't been sold to LV.

[sportyaccordy]

You guys are comparing the cars from a purely performance perspective. Most people don't really care about performance over stuff like panache and looks. The DB9 has an air of class and road presence that is head and shoulders above any of the aforementioned cars. For performance I wouldn't get it over the others...but how much is it, like 150K? I'd rather the DB9 than something like a Quattroporte, S600, SL63, Bentley GT, etc. It's no sports car...so why compare it to sports cars?

[Raza]

You guys are comparing the cars from a purely performance perspective. Most people don't really care about performance over stuff like panache and looks. The DB9 has an air of class and road presence that is head and shoulders above any of the aforementioned cars. For performance I wouldn't get it over the others...but how much is it, like 150K? I'd rather the DB9 than something like a Quattroporte, S600, SL63, Bentley GT, etc. It's no sports car...so why compare it to sports cars?

I'd take it over all those as well, but not a 911 Turbo/GT3.

[S204STi]

And it might free up the 6.0 V12 Ford created for Aston Martin for use in Mustangs--into whose engine compartment the V12 settles just fine--no fenderwell cutting or firewall bashing required!? Western MotorSports of Calgary dropped one into an S197 Mustang and had it at the 2006 SEMA show (check the beast out at www.wmsracing.com).? It'll be roadtested by Mustang 5.0 magazine when Calgary thaws in the Spring!? HEMI666 passes WMS on his way home from work and he's seen the beast live and in color!
They call this creation "Vanquish'd", although the Nethead here thinks "Astang Mustin" works just as well...

The Nethead here is having a pipedream methinks.  Why put a premium luxo car powerplant in a car designed to provide bang-for-the-buck.

[the Teuton]

From Motor Trend:

Okay, here's the straight scoop: French luxury goods house LVMH is NOT buying Aston Martin. Reports that Aston had been snapped up by the company that markets everything from Dom Perignon champagne to Louis Vuitton handbags to Dior perfumes, are wrong, say our well-placed sources in the UK.

But it does look as if an Aston sale is pending. The buyer will be a private investment firm with no names familiar to anybody outside the high-finance banking community. Rumored price is just a tad less than $1 billion.

LVMH did take a look at Aston late last year, but passed. One problem with a non-automotive buyer is that there?s a lot of cost and potential liability associated with purchasing a small automaker based in England. The Aston deal will include the factory, good news for the buyer, but that also includes the workers, which may not be.

As mentioned in the LVMH rumor, Ford should retain some interest in the sport-luxury brand, if for no other reason than to provide parts and components that could be shared with Jaguar and Land Rover.

The bottom line is the rumors of Ford selling Aston look solid. It?s the buyer that Autobild (picked up by Marketwatch and our friends in auto blogosphere) has wrong. Stay tuned for the latest on the Aston Martin sale drama from Motor Trend as the story develops.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So basically this is still a rumor with no more validity to it than Paris Hilton having herpes, oh wait, she might have herpes.  Anyway, I can't see any company better for Jaguar than the current trio of Land Rover, Jag, and AM.  Maybe they should revive British Leyland or sell AM to Bristol.

[Raza]

Paris Hilton does not have herpes. 





Or if she did, I didn't get it.

[Onslaught]

Paris Hilton does not have herpes.?





Or if she did, I didn't get it.

It could take a long time before you have a break out. But I would think she would have some kind of mutant strain that would make you junk fall off after a week.

[thewizard16]

Paris Hilton does not have herpes.





Or if she did, I didn't get it.

Maybe you just got lucky.

[Tave]

"It's like if I worked my ass off to be a really good cook all my life and I became a really good cook and people were like ... Alright, you can cook. Can you farm?"

I don't care how good LV is at what they do, because at the end of the day they aren't in the buisness of automobile interiors. Aston is and is considered one of, if not the, best in the buisness.

[FordSVT]

Wow, maybe the French can buy Jaguar too, then hell can be allowed to freeze over and the anti-Christ can reign for 1000 years. 
-FordSVT-

[macchina]

I don't know.  I have to say I'm intrigued.  It has the potential to be great or disastrous.  I remember they were floating around that they were going to sell Maserati to some Italian fashion magnate right before they spun it off back to Fiat.  There's no denying the high end cars are going beyond being simply a status symbol to being a type of fashion all of their own.

It's interesting.  Couldn't say I would've expected it, but I'm honestly not shocked either.

[Raza]

I'll buy them.  I have $33.75 in my front pocket as we speak and at least another 50 in the wallet.

[the Teuton]

Mr. Raza, I'll buy stock in your company.  I have $20 sitting on my desk and a debit card, too.  Let's roll.

[chevyguy06]

From Motor Trend:

Okay, here's the straight scoop: French luxury goods house LVMH is NOT buying Aston Martin. Reports that Aston had been snapped up by the company that markets everything from Dom Perignon champagne to Louis Vuitton handbags to Dior perfumes, are wrong, say our well-placed sources in the UK.

But it does look as if an Aston sale is pending. The buyer will be a private investment firm with no names familiar to anybody outside the high-finance banking community. Rumored price is just a tad less than $1 billion.

LVMH did take a look at Aston late last year, but passed. One problem with a non-automotive buyer is that there?s a lot of cost and potential liability associated with purchasing a small automaker based in England. The Aston deal will include the factory, good news for the buyer, but that also includes the workers, which may not be.

As mentioned in the LVMH rumor, Ford should retain some interest in the sport-luxury brand, if for no other reason than to provide parts and components that could be shared with Jaguar and Land Rover.

The bottom line is the rumors of Ford selling Aston look solid. It?s the buyer that Autobild (picked up by Marketwatch and our friends in auto blogosphere) has wrong. Stay tuned for the latest on the Aston Martin sale drama from Motor Trend as the story develops.

I already posted that....

[the Teuton]

You posted the link.  I copied and pasted--you know, for those of us who don't want to open up another window.

[Nethead]

R-inge:? "The Nethead here is having a pipedream methinks.? Why put a premium luxo car powerplant in a car designed to provide bang-for-the-buck."

Because you can sell them, that's why!? People are buying nearly one-year-old Shelby GT-Hs at auctions from Hertz, and so far the average selling price has been over $60,000.00!!!? For effin' automatics!!!? And the first one auctioned off went for a mind-boggling $90,000.00!!!? Whew!? Of course, the first Shelby GT non-Hertz just reached $500,000.00 at auction until Barrett Jackson then displayed a painted-to-match electric Fender guitar to go with it and the option to buy the second Shelby GT--then bidding soared to $600,000.00 and the car sold.? This is also a Shelby Mustang with 325 HP, although the Nethead here will admit that the 5-speed manual is worth every bit of the extra $540,000.00 over the Shelby GT-Hs and their automatics...

Drop those 6.0 liter DOHC V12s into Mustangs as Western MotorSports of Calgary did, and you'll sell all you can build!!!? The Nethead here is assuming that the modest build rate of the V12s will keep you from having row upon row of Astang Mustins on the dealership lots, of course.? People got money, and many of them are spending ghastly amounts of it on cars ($3 million for a '70 HemiCuda convertible should remove any doubt you may have, if you had any).? And what would be the coolest Mustang--why, a 600 HP V12--the GT600, perhaps!? Pure Performance Motosports is asking $175,000 for a Shadrach Mustang with a 900 HP twin-turbo 4.6 3-valver, so asking just, say, $60,000 for a V12 Mustang would be a bargain--and profitable for all concerned.? Consider the other cars that offer V12s--and how much they cost!? That's a shitbetter buy than $60,000+ for a used rental car with an effin' automatic and 320 HP, huh?? If they hurry and get out of any contractual problems with Aston Martin, they might be able to get out some specialty 2007 Mustangs as the "Mustang 007"...

People pay wild money for tuner Mustangs, as that $175,000 Shadrach Mustang attests.? That's why there are at least 22 companies making tuner Mustangs right now, and many of them have several models.? Not even counting the FR500C and the FR500GT from Ford Racing Performance Parts, there are three companies producing entry level club racing Mustangs:? Steeda, Kenny Brown, and Miller Motorsports Park.? And Shelby may start producing the roadracing GT500 special shown at the '06 SEMA show ($$$), which would add another one.? Even Germany produces a tuner Mustang, and the Russians are getting the fever and providing techy two-stage superchargers for a Mustang tuner car called the AR500 (Antonov Rotrex 500).

Yeah, the iron is hot--and it's time to strike if there are no contractual prohibitions to such a mating of engine and chassis.? The V12 drops right into the Mustang's generous engine compartment with no fenderwell Sawzalling or firewall bashing required!? Check out www.wmsracing.com to see such a beast in the sheetmetal!? Bolt up a Tremec 6060 and omigod!

Thinkin' bout it, better than "Mustang 007" or "Astang Mustin" would be a more appropriate name for this vehicle:? "Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe".

[S204STi]

What are you on, and can I have some please?? Come on, you can't hold out on us for too long now, that would be cheap.

[Raghavan]

There's no way the Aston Martin V12 in a Mustang will sell for $60000.

[JYODER240]

There's no way the Aston Martin V12 in a Mustang will sell for $60000.

A Shelby GT500 has gone for more than that already. The V12 Mustang won't sell in high volume at that price but I doubt they're trying to.

[macchina]

You posted the link.? I copied and pasted--you know, for those of us who don't want to open up another window.

HAHAHA, or lazy people like me who don't read an entire thread, apparently.   :P

[Nethead]

R-inge, Raghavan, and JYODER240:? The Nethead here knows not what a Vanquish V12 in a Shelby GT spec or Shelby GT500 spec Mustang chassis would sell for once the boardroom boys hash out the details.? But I do know the fever is hot and the money is flowing like the Mississippi thru a levee.?

Put these pieces together in your minds:? The Mustang GT, sans engine and transmission and rear wing, but with the FRPP Handling Pack.? We don't need the FRPP engine mods because we're gonna ace that shortly.? Since the 4.6 V8 and the 5-speed and the wing are omitted, we have a cost to Ford of maybe $10,000 so far (remember, the V6 Mustang has an MSRP of somewhere in the $19,000s and our baby so far doesn't have an engine and transmission).? Add the cost of:
? a. the FRPP Handling Pack
? b. the brakes from the GT500 or perhaps from the FR500C if more suitable
? c. the GT500's Tremec T6060? (this is outsourced from Tremec, so it'll be $$)
? d. the Vanquish V12
Do you think a, b, c, and d equals $50,000???? Not even if you paid retail to Ford, Brembo, Tremec, and Aston Martin for these items in crates.? But Ford don't gotta pay itself retail for the Handling Pack, the V12, whatever brakes we pick, or the 6-speed Tremec.? The Tremec's cost can be an add-on to the Tremecs already being purchased under contract for the GT500s.? Ditto the Brembos.? So two of these four items are in-house products (the Handling Pack and the V12) and the other two are already being purchased in volume under existing contracts.

All that's needed to produce Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe "V12s for the insane masses" is a totally insane and absolutely unscrupulous Project Manager--and that's where the Nethead here comes in...

"Your Honor, the Defense rests its case."

[SVT666]

A Shelby GT500 has gone for more than that already. The V12 Mustang won't sell in high volume at that price but I doubt they're trying to.

There's a dealer in Edmonton asking $120,000 CDN.  They sold the first GT500 they got for $130,000 CDN.  People are really stupid.

[GoCougs]

There's no way the Aston Martin V12 in a Mustang will sell for $60000.

If for nothing else than that kind of powerplant would surpass the chassis ability of the current 'Stang.

[sportyaccordy]

If for nothing else than that kind of powerplant would surpass the chassis ability of the current 'Stang.

I doubt that, considering the Mustang appears to be doing fine with the Cobra powertrain

I'd be more concerned with how they would market it...

Mustang V12...Rough and tumble meets class and panache...a good ol' boy solid axle getting churned by a state of the art dual overhead cam 48 valve DURATEC V12...

Mustang V12. The price of admission to the V12 wonderland has just been lowered.

Maybe they could sell it as a Mercury Capri. In any case, if I were an Aston owner I would be PISSED.

[SVT666]

If for nothing else than that kind of powerplant would surpass the chassis ability of the current 'Stang.

Totally and completely untrue.  The current Mustang chassis is one of the stiffest chassis on the market...in any price category.  Stock out of the box, the AM V12 is 520 hp and 425 lbs-ft of Torque.  The GT500 has 500 hp and 480 lbs-ft of Torque.  So tell me exactly how it would exceed the Mustang's chassis ability.

[cozmik]

This is disturbing.