RUMORS: Mercedes Wants to Buy Aston Martin!

[Bernardo]

A strong rumour, yes rumour, going around is that Mercedes-Benz is working on a plan to cease control of Aston Martin. This rumour originally grew roots in February when Adham Charonoglu, of Aston’s Kuwaiti majority shareholder Investment DAR, thinly suggested that a tie-up between Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin would make a lot of sense, financially and in other automotive ways. Could Merc be now looking seriously at this proposition? Officially no one is saying. However, McLaren and Merc end their SLR collaboration by 2009, and the German company will be looking at replacing it from in-house, probably straight from AMG or possibly elsewhere. Aston Martin could present a great option for Merc going forward in the premium sports car segment. The sharing of technology would help Aston Martin to a great degree as it increases its sales footprint around the globe and parts becoming more and more expensive to make. Source: Autocar

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Altho I would like to see the 6.2 liter AMG on the vantage, I dont want astons to became a lazy ass in handling.

No thanks merc.

And by the way, I really wish, with the ending of the cooperation with mercedes, that Mclaren once again make cars with BMW.

[enzoferrari]

Altho I would like to see the 6.2 liter AMG on the vantage, I dont want astons to became a lazy ass in handling. No thanks merc. And by the way, I really wish, with the ending of the cooperation with mercedes, that Mclaren once again make cars with BMW.

Couldn't be more agree,Aston should get more power but with good handling.

[yg60m]

I think it's BS, Mercedes would prefer developp Sports cars with its own name IMO ...

[Bernardo]

Despite recent rumors from Germany of Mercedes-Benz buying Aston Martin, executives from the British marque said on Monday they're not going to sell "all or part of the company." Aston's new management team has, however, been involved in talks regarding sharing technical developing costs or components with a number of global vehicle manufacturers. According to an Autocar report, shares in the luxury carmaker could be offered in an Initial Public Offering on the open market within five years, though no other details were mentioned. Rumors of Mercedes' interest in Aston first came in February, then again on technology sharing in March, with the latest coming last week. Source: www.leftlanenews.com

Well, well, well...This technology sharing between aston and mercedes doesn't sound bad at all, and by the fact that they didn't deny It, but said: "all or part of the company" , I think that something Its going on.

[styla21]

Interesting proposition... What has the rumour valued Aston Martin at?

[Mattk]

I don't think it's a good business decision for either company. Mercedes should be able to design sports cars without McLaren's assistance. In any case, that's not where the money is for them. Aston Martin will likely suffer if they become part of Mercedes. They'll lose that exclusivity which some people crave. It may also lose some of the Aston Martin vibe if a bit of Mercedes is in it, even if the car itself is superior. Sure, these are emotional arguments, but when you're wealthy enough to buy these cars, rationality is not something which matters.

[r2r]

Mercedes + Aston = perfect collaboration!

Why? Because…

Aston = Luxury/Performance

Mercedes = has plenty of luxury and has performance (SLR)

What they failed with SLR (design and image) they could succeed with Aston imo.