FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

Discuss the sport you love with other motorsport fans

Formula One related discussion.
User avatar
By darwin dali
#8553
News: Ford is to sell Volvo and Jaguar to cut costs (they must be in REAL bad shape). Potential buyers are BMW.

Impact on F1?
I won't see a Volvo F1 car and most likely no Jaguar either (unless BMW starts its own Toro Rosso team batched Jaguar).
Ford with its financial troubles is a very unlikely candidate to enter F1 in the foreseeable future.
User avatar
By bud
#8554
Man Toyota is really hurting GM and Ford in the states.
User avatar
By darwin dali
#8555
Not to forget the struggling Chrysler company just sold by Daimler-Benz. And Honda certainly has an impact as well judging from all their cars on the road here.
User avatar
By bud
#8556
Maybe they should start selling the Ford Falcon designed and built in Australia in the states to help sales like GM have done with the Monaro/Commodore as a Pontiac

http://www.fpv.com.au/index.aspx
User avatar
By welshie
#8557
I just dont understand why ford would sell it's most profitable companies. Aston Martin was the only one making any real money, and that was their first to go!
User avatar
By deMuRe
#8591
Who did they sell Aston Martin to?

So where do you think the car market is going? Are we all going to be driving around German and Japanese metal in 10 years?
User avatar
By darwin dali
#8592
Richards.

Looks that way, doesn't it? I guess it's pure Darwinism: survival of the fittest. They ARE the best carmakers these days.
User avatar
By deMuRe
#8593
Dave Richards purchased Aston Martin? Didn't think his pockets were that deep. Nice one, so we are going to Have an Aston Martin GP team next year? Or is he sticking with his Pro-Drive dreams?
User avatar
By darwin dali
#8594
He's part of a consortium of some sort that bought Aston Martin. And no, he said the name won't appear in F1.
User avatar
By madbrad
#8596
Volvo and Jaguar are costs? the don't turn a profit?
User avatar
By darwin dali
#8598
Apparently not. Ford has never done well in the high-price, sub-luxury class. Their bread and butter are more like the F150 trucks and their crappy sedans.
User avatar
By welshie
#8600
As far as I can tell Ford are trying to strip the company back to basics, or as much as possible anyway. This means selling branches of the company that need high amounts of investment, even if they do return a profit.

I also know that they are trying to cut a cars design cycle (ie from concept to production) from 2 years, down to 6 months by 2014. If this was the cycle for the cars already in production, then Ford would be in large amounts of profit now.
User avatar
By darwin dali
#8602
from 2 years, down to 6 months by 2014. If this was the cycle for the cars already in production, then Ford would be in large amounts of profit now.

I fail to see the logic in this. If their cars suck and nobody wants them, then a faster cycle doesn't do any good either.
User avatar
By madbrad
#8603
I understand their real estatew the world over is collateral for their latest cash infusion. Better to sell the vestigal companies than literally lose the farm. it will be interesting to see how those small companies far out on thier own again. The absense of a common influence is in a way good for the consumer, but letely it's really hard for small independents to survive. I mean, Jag was in rough shape when Ford bought them. I dare say they would not be with us today had that not happened.
User avatar
By darwin dali
#8606
They're not gonna fend for themselves all alone - I'm sure somebody (BMW, e.g.) is going to pick them up if the price is right.

See our F1 related articles too!