Cars
In the two decades ending in the late 80's, Aston Martin had produced about 5,000 cars. Or, to put it another way, not as many cars in 20 years as Camrys sold in America in a week.
Now, fortunately for Aston, exclusivity and exotica go hand in hand with expense. Because a typical Aston Martin costs 5 or 10 times as much as the aforementioned Toyota Camry, selling fewer cars still makes for a reasonable business operation.
Aston Martin, recently sold by Ford after almost a couple decades of involvement, has a Porsche and BMW-bred boss, Dr. Ulrich Bez. Ulrich... or rather Dr. Bez, pardon - is an intelligent man. He says, "In 2000, we built 800 cars and if I had told you then that we would build 7,000 cars in 2006, you would have laughed at me." We may have, but, we would stop laughing now and admire the business model. A small lineup of the most beautiful cars; all sports-oriented; all purchased on emotional highs; all debuting to worldwide appreciation; all secondary stars to 007; all... you get the point.
Everybody likes a formerly forlorn British automaker that can complete a turnaround so impressive that money-losing Ford uses it to earn serious cash. Forty-score cars in 2000, 7 x 1000 this past year. That is an amazing rate of growth, and it is likely to hit a wall for two chief reasons: Aston Martin selling 5000 Vanquish's a week would be so very unexclusive and there are only so many consumers of $200,000 cars on this planet.
To make it nice and complicated, understand the point this way: to achieve the same growth spurt over a similar amount of time, Camry sales in the States would have risen to over 3 million. Put every person in the capital of Brazil in a Camry and you'd have it.
You can see why Ulrich...sorry, Dr. Bez, feels an connection with Toyota. Says he, "Toyota has carried out the same strategy that I introduced for Aston Martin in 2000. The foundation is quality, usability and reliability. Their strategy is very simple and they make very logical steps."
---
Beware, The Good Car Guy is on a long-term test drive (aka short vacation) starting the 22nd. Updates will be attempted. Check back regularly.
- Aston Martin Cygnet Mini Confirmed For Production, Sales Start In 2011
It's officially official; Aston Martin today confirmed that the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet luxury city car is to go into production with sales to start in 2011. The British automaker said details on pricing and specification will be announced by the...
- Here's Why We Think Aston Martin Has Lost It With The Cygnet
In an interview last week with British car magazine Autocar, Aston Martin boss Ulrich Bez explained the reasons behind the company's decision to launch the Cygnet city car, which as you know, is a Toyota iQ with a new face and some fancy pansy dressings...
- Aston Martin Dbs V12 Volante: Stunning New Photo Gallery Goes Live
Say you want about the DBS V12 Volante but in our book, Aston Martin's fastest-ever production convertible is a complete stunner. Revealed for the first time at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show this past March, the soft top variant of Aston's beefy...
- Aston Martin Cygnet: $30k - €25k Mini Based On The Toyota Iq And It's Official!
We know what you're thinking but you couldn't be more wrong; this is not some funky replica kit but an official concept for an Aston Martin mini car! The Cygnet is based on the Toyota iQ and it is expected to go on sale before the end of next...
- Aston Martin One-77: Updated High-res Photo Gallery
When it comes to exotic supercars like the Aston Martin One-77, there's no such thing as a sufficient number of photos. The more the better. Hit the jump to browse through our updated gallery that consists of high-resolution photos (1600px) shot during...
Cars
THE GROWTH SPURT OF ASTON MARTIN
In the two decades ending in the late 80's, Aston Martin had produced about 5,000 cars. Or, to put it another way, not as many cars in 20 years as Camrys sold in America in a week.
Now, fortunately for Aston, exclusivity and exotica go hand in hand with expense. Because a typical Aston Martin costs 5 or 10 times as much as the aforementioned Toyota Camry, selling fewer cars still makes for a reasonable business operation.
Aston Martin, recently sold by Ford after almost a couple decades of involvement, has a Porsche and BMW-bred boss, Dr. Ulrich Bez. Ulrich... or rather Dr. Bez, pardon - is an intelligent man. He says, "In 2000, we built 800 cars and if I had told you then that we would build 7,000 cars in 2006, you would have laughed at me." We may have, but, we would stop laughing now and admire the business model. A small lineup of the most beautiful cars; all sports-oriented; all purchased on emotional highs; all debuting to worldwide appreciation; all secondary stars to 007; all... you get the point.
Everybody likes a formerly forlorn British automaker that can complete a turnaround so impressive that money-losing Ford uses it to earn serious cash. Forty-score cars in 2000, 7 x 1000 this past year. That is an amazing rate of growth, and it is likely to hit a wall for two chief reasons: Aston Martin selling 5000 Vanquish's a week would be so very unexclusive and there are only so many consumers of $200,000 cars on this planet.
To make it nice and complicated, understand the point this way: to achieve the same growth spurt over a similar amount of time, Camry sales in the States would have risen to over 3 million. Put every person in the capital of Brazil in a Camry and you'd have it.
You can see why Ulrich...sorry, Dr. Bez, feels an connection with Toyota. Says he, "Toyota has carried out the same strategy that I introduced for Aston Martin in 2000. The foundation is quality, usability and reliability. Their strategy is very simple and they make very logical steps."
---
Beware, The Good Car Guy is on a long-term test drive (aka short vacation) starting the 22nd. Updates will be attempted. Check back regularly.
- Aston Martin Cygnet Mini Confirmed For Production, Sales Start In 2011
It's officially official; Aston Martin today confirmed that the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet luxury city car is to go into production with sales to start in 2011. The British automaker said details on pricing and specification will be announced by the...
- Here's Why We Think Aston Martin Has Lost It With The Cygnet
In an interview last week with British car magazine Autocar, Aston Martin boss Ulrich Bez explained the reasons behind the company's decision to launch the Cygnet city car, which as you know, is a Toyota iQ with a new face and some fancy pansy dressings...
- Aston Martin Dbs V12 Volante: Stunning New Photo Gallery Goes Live
Say you want about the DBS V12 Volante but in our book, Aston Martin's fastest-ever production convertible is a complete stunner. Revealed for the first time at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show this past March, the soft top variant of Aston's beefy...
- Aston Martin Cygnet: $30k - €25k Mini Based On The Toyota Iq And It's Official!
We know what you're thinking but you couldn't be more wrong; this is not some funky replica kit but an official concept for an Aston Martin mini car! The Cygnet is based on the Toyota iQ and it is expected to go on sale before the end of next...
- Aston Martin One-77: Updated High-res Photo Gallery
When it comes to exotic supercars like the Aston Martin One-77, there's no such thing as a sufficient number of photos. The more the better. Hit the jump to browse through our updated gallery that consists of high-resolution photos (1600px) shot during...