Quote:
Originally Posted by guzzis3
Ford owned them for some years. They and Jaguar were owned by another company I can't remember who. Possibly the reason they are in trouble now is they no longer have an affluent big brother. I don't keep track of car politics anymore, getting old. Time is short...
Some other examples. Citroen bought Maserati in the 70's, Fiat bought Ferrari, VW bought Bugatti and Lamborghini. None of these acquisitions were ever going to contribute significant cash to the parent company, and usually they run at a loss.
They buy them for the exact same reason they do F1 WRC touring cars etc. Associating the key brands with technology, beauty, desirability, sporting excellence. In other words it's publicity.
Our aston martin is beautiful and desirable, here buy our taurus...
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Aston has been owned by a few other manufacturers. But since Ford ditched them at least a decade ago they have been in private hands.