Report Aston Martin, Mercedes announce partnership.

[LaArtist]

Seems on paper that Aston is getting a good deal while Daimler is drawing the short straw.
But knowing the Germans reality is most likely opposite.

 

[Bronx13]

So how much time it will take till we will see the astons with the amg engines?????
1-2 years???

 

[Wunderkind]

So how much time it will take till we will see the astons with the amg engines?????
1-2 years???

I'd say it will be 3+ years before we see that.

 

[jackywhatever]

AMG gets nothing from Pagani
i think having shares in AM is a good deal, as other mentioned there will be synergy between the two brands and R/D budget shall be generously increased

 

[Gianclaudio]

AMG gets nothing from Pagani
i think having shares in AM is a good deal, as other mentioned there will be synergy between the two brands and R/D budget shall be generously increased

Pagani pays for the engines, and then again, we're talking about a minuscule quantity (less than 150 Paganis ever made)
And there is the proud of powering the finest cars in the world... (if you balance attention to detail, design, perfomance, exclusivity, etc)

 

[jackywhatever]

Pagani pays for the engines, and then again, we're talking about a minuscule quantity (less than 150 Paganis ever made)
And there is the proud of powering the finest cars in the world... (if you balance attention to detail, design, perfomance, exclusivity, etc)

Of course. They did a wonderful job with pagani and there comes some new financially fruitful partnerships.
I just hope Daimler can learn from AM for designing beautiful interiors.

 

[Human]

Eventually! Was a looooong courtship

Happy for Aston finding a proper German partner

 

[Kilcrohane]

'I still think Mercedes will be tempted to use their now tantamount to control of Aston Martin to use Aston Martin Lagonda badging on high-end SUVs, to compete eye to eye with the 2016 Bentley Falcon and mooted Rolls-Royce SUV.'

- yep, as I thought, Mercedes is getting into Aston Martin not for AM's cars - you don't buy a dog and bark yourself: they have the coming AMG SLC/GT 'Vantage-annihilator' - they wanted the badge all along - since back to at least 2009 - for high-end SUVs, to go up against what they would have known internally as confirmed long ago Rolls-Royce SUV and Bentley Falcon, as Auto Bild now pretty well confirms:

http://www.autobild.de/artikel/elegante-xxl-suvs-von-bmw-mercedes-und-audi-4303182.html

the Roller:

the Bentley SUV:

the 'Aston Martin/Lagonda' SUV - GL/ML/MLC re-clothed:

One can now understand Daimler's in the end great rush to get AM 'bought', with the knowledge that the Rolls-Royce SUV could appear as early as next year, 2014, which leaves Mercedes little time to re-clothe and rebadge the ML/GL/MLC base as AML.

Mercedes didn't need a 'higher' badge to compete with Bentley and Rolls Royce in the super luxury sedan class, as the S-Class is a special iconic brand in itself, and the L and XL wheelbase versions will do the job and more against the Flying Spur and Ghost, but the same trick could not be pulled off with the GL and ML, as these have 'soccer mom' image written all over them, and therefore need a separate brand for Daimler to move them into the $200k and above price bracket. The G-Wagen/G-Class is like the S-Class a special case and can carry up to $350k pricing due to its history and military connotations.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

I disagree with you this time Kil. How does having an Aston Martin/Lagonda badged SUV help MB in any way? It will still not be an MB even if they do make money on the sale of parts, technology etc. And there really is no reason the MB brand couldn't handle an ultra high end SUV in it's own right. Perhaps call it the GLS? All they would need to do is milk any relationship it bares to the S-class as much as they could.

 

[Sunny]

Occam's razor would suggest Daimler's motivation for the deal is simply an additional revenue stream for AMG. Why all these convoluted theories of SUVs?

 

[Wolfgang]

^ Because the GL Coupe might be twinned with the AML crossover?

http://www.germancarforum.com/commu...gonda-plans-more-than-one-model-coming.36817/

 

[Merc1]

Those renders look like bowel movements.

M

 

[Kilcrohane]

I disagree with you this time Kil. How does having an Aston Martin/Lagonda badged SUV help MB in any way?

- it allows them to compete with the coming Bentley and Rolls-Royce SUVs, quite simply.

And there really is no reason the MB brand couldn't handle an ultra high end SUV in it's own right.

- that's precisely the point; the Mercedes-Benz brand cannot stretch a rebodied GL to compete with $200k+ Bentley and Roller SUVs. Mercedes already tried this - and failed - by conspicuously calling the new, X166 GL, as 'the S-Class of SUVs'. It didn't wash. Yes, the car itself has S-Class(W221) like interior quietness and overall drivetrain refinement, but in America at least, the GL's biggest market and that too of the probable Aston Martin-branded Bentley Falcon competitor, the GL, even $100k plus GL63s, is still associated with middle-class soccer moms carrying kids, not plutocrats carrying their billions, as is the target market for the Bentley Falcon, Roller SUV and the AM SUV.

In summary, Merc's SUVs cannot do the S-Class(V/X222) 'thing' - be stretched to cover the redundant Maybach and compete with Bentley and Rolls Royce credibly. Hence the need to get AM on board pronto. What better way to flog $200k+, $100k-cost rebodied GLs, than to put James Bond in his new Aston Martin SUV in the next flick.

 

[Merc1]

For once I completely agree Kilcro...

M

 

[Kilcrohane]

Just to add:

the other major problem Daimler would have with trying to sell a Mercedes-Benz branded SUV to compete with the new Bentley and Rolls Royce SUVs is the whole provenance thing.

Would someone spending the better part of a quarter of a million dollars be swayed by 'made in Tuscaloosa Alabama by ex chicken farmers' or 'made in Crewe England/Goodwood England/Graz Austria by craftsmen'? I think we know the answer.

However good the GL/GLC is/will be Mercedes cannot compete with the whole image and snob value of the English Bentley and Rolls Royce final assembly operations. What better way to get around this than to join them. You can just see the whole 'Aston Martin's new SUV, hand made in Warwickshire, England, the birthplace of William Shakespeare' thing being played out to the full.

 

[jackywhatever]

Just to add:

the other major problem Daimler would have with trying to sell a Mercedes-Benz branded SUV to compete with the new Bentley and Rolls Royce SUVs is the whole provenance thing.

Would someone spending the better part of a quarter of a million dollars be swayed by 'made in Tuscaloosa Alabama by ex chicken farmers' or 'made in Crewe England/Goodwood England/Graz Austria by craftsmen'? I think we know the answer.

However good the GL/GLC is/will be Mercedes cannot compete with the whole image and snob value of the English Bentley and Rolls Royce final assembly operations. What better way to get around this than to join them. You can just see the whole 'Aston Martin's new SUV, hand made in Warwickshire, England, the birthplace of William Shakespeare' thing being played out to the full.

Their benefit to join the game is almost spiritual. Unless they plan to slowly acquire more shares of AM.

 

[klier]

MB should buy Aston Martin completely. Perfect for both brands.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

What if MB got Aston to assemble it's Uber SUV. Problem solved.

 

[klier]

What if MB got Aston to assemble it's Uber SUV. Problem solved.

Aston putting together an uber SUV for MB??

Looking at the craftmanship of the new S class, I'd rather see them dong it themselves really.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

So would I. But Kil has a point, it can't be assembled in Alabama. It just won't fly at this end of the market.