Member Info for Richard365054

Some of us probably watch morethancars. He's a red bloodied AML enthusiast with a bulging AML garage already. I think he has a further 3 models on order: DBX, Speedster and Valhalla. He also has a hankering for a Zagato shooting brake. Aston only need a couple of thousand enthusiasts like this around the world. Sounds easy! Fun to watch his utubes.

It's been surprisingly quiet on news regarding Gaydon. Back in April AML were stating that production at St Athan would start shortly and that Gaydon would follow. Well, nothing has followed after St. Athan. Even though part of the focus has been on diminishing dealer stocks, there must have been also a reasonable order book for the core Sports/GT models.
The Vantage never lived up to expectation, hence the front end redesign that was sorely needed and undoubtedly had held it back. It now has an AML pedigree. Hopefully there are good orders for this model as a consequence, particularly also for the Volante. The DBS seemed to have reasonable sales from what I can determine, although the DB11 had tailed off. Many complained the styling was a little too fussy, although I liked it, particularly in a monotone colour all over.
The question is, who will reveal the answers. Moers or Stroll. I'm betting Moers want's some ammunition in his locker and that he will be the one to answer questions. Stroll historically doesn't do interviews, something most of us will have seen who follow F1.

My memory might not be completely accurate, but Mercedes could have purchased either Bentley or Rolls Royce at the time when BMW and VW were interested, but declined to do so. They decided they could reintroduce the Maybach name by adapting an existing model, but it still remainsed an identifiable Mercedes. This was the problem and sales were appalling. At one time about 8 years ago they approached AML to redesign the model completely.

Mercedes do not have a top of the range model to appeal to very deep pockets and they will know to the penny what the margins are on these cars, let alone the potential of being able to introduce themselves to the very wealthy. The people that buy the supercars and hypercars have bulging garages and Mercedes would dearly like to have a piece of this.

The article on the electric SUV was interesting as AML have placed the electric Rapide on the back burners. In terms of volume, DBX numbers will match all AML GT and sports cars in the future, so perhaps the focus on an electric SUV is fully appropriate. Much of the work has probably already been done with the electric Rapide.

No disagreement with you on how the market values the share, but my belief is that the Board have done a less than satisfactory job of late. Certainly not worth the fortunes they are paid.

Hello Walkersworld, I'll fill you in with details in a few weeks.

longtimeinvestor, you may be willing to formulate excuses to justify inadequate management from the top but I am certainly not. Incidentally, where did you pull the 200p share price from or are you just trying a little too hard.

Given the downturn and take over of HBOS and the 43% stake by the Government, Lloyd's were still able, some years ago and I believe before dividends were restarted, to achieve a price, albeit with AHO's deliberate self interest and intervention, in the very low 90s. Since then the share has been in freefall and this was, at least one year, before the Brexit referendum.

Lloyd's have quite simply not adapted and this is an intended criticism of the Board. The sole purchase they have made is MBNA, a company with questionable working practises and that had potentially significant debts.

Lloyds put a value on assessing each ppi claim, whether successful or not, years ago. With the proliferation of claims companies and legal sharks it became apparent years ago that hundreds of millions a year were being wasted on fraudulent claims but the company did nothing. They could have, in company with other banks, challenged the cost liabilities for these claims but instead continued to spend shareholders money.

During the period of the ppi saga, which is still ongoing, Lloyd's stated in excess of a dozen times that there would be no additional money needing to be put aside. Their judgement was crass and inexcusable, a fair measure and summary of the Board in general. Someone should have been made to account for appalling judgement and the responsibility for initiating the whole sales process of ppi policies identified and if still in the employment of the Bank, removed. I have no doubt that the instigation of the ppi process occurred at Board level, albeit years ago. But the process continued well into the 21st century and the sales process used by branch specialists as well as in motor finance will have required a formal sign off and appropriate training. It didn't just occur to everyone to start miss selling to boost salaries.

For years the Banks have been functioning in a low or very low interest environment. Lloyds continued to rely on a diminishing mortgage book as the interest rates fell. A case of if you keep doing the same thing you'll keep getting the same result. They have had nothing to provide a separate and major source of income, unlike other banks who have experienced and established pensions and investment divisions. Finally they did address this issue. But these Board Room characters have been and are paid millions to assess the market and identify opportunities for growing the company and providing return for their shareholders. The current Board, in particular the CEO and Lord Blackwell have had very little of newsworthy interest to say for some years. Lloyds just continued to trundle along and that has been reflected in the diminishing share price for five years. Brexit and Covid have played their

I sold half my Lloyds holding a couple of months ago and have to say I have no regrets whatsoever. In a few weeks, badly or otherwise, I'll reveal how my alternative investment has performed. On other issues:

1. AHO to leave next year. In my own opinion, a shame it's not sooner and the same with Lord Blackwell. The current board have exhibited a complete lack of imagination and the share price has reflected their inabilities. Lloyds have needed to be involved in the pension and investment market and have shamefully ducked making decisions as they have been too amply rewarded for doing very little for years.

2. Has anyone received replies to their letters sent to the AGM, for which we were all promised responses. Not me. Over 2 months ago now.

3. Lloyds have shareholder dividend capital left over from 2018 totalling in excess of £600 Million. This has nothing to do with the PRA and the little urchin Wood who rules the roost. Any ideas why shareholders are denied access to it. Shamefull behaviour Lloyds and another example of why shareholders hold the Board in low esteem.

I've just finished reading an interview with Adrian Hallmark, CEO of Bentley.
The factory closure has apparently cost them £18 million each week.
In order to satisfy social distancing they are running the production line at half speed with fewer people, so initial output is just 50% compared to just before the shutdown.
His comments on SUVs are interesting. "People love big powerful SUVs. But if you look at a Bentayga today, if you took the engine out and filled it with batteries, it would be so heavy that it wouldn't go anywhere. The batteries themselves kill the range of the batteries. It's going to take five to ten years before you get a breakthrough. Smaller cars you can do sooner. So what we're working on is what's the best we can do on plug-in hybrids in which period of time".

Perez has a lot of spacial awareness. Several times he could have lost his front wing or been given a puncture. He's very astute and aware that a race isn't won at the beginning. Perez and Vettel would be interesting and a lot of money saved instead of Vettel and Stroll.

I can't say I have a lot of enthusiasm to see Vettel at AML. Am I one of the few to say this. I've watched his career ever since he came to F1 and the era he dominated was the era of the blown diffuser, as he likes a very planted rear end. It suited his driving style although Alonso twice came very close to winning the title in a car that wasn't as good.

Ferrari this year had continued with the concept of last year's car for some strange reason, contrary to the aerodynamic paths that the leading teams had been following. They've only just changed direction with upgrades that were tried in Austria, but neither driver put any race mileage on them. Vettel though had already been told his services wouldn't be needed for 2021 and I can't say I disagreed with that. Since Germany 2018 Vettel's performance has been completely erratic. I can't name any driver that has spun as many times in close competition, giving away vital points in the process. His driving style is reactive rather than proactive and if the car has had a loose rear end his driving style has not adapted to it in the two years since Germany. The current Red Bull seems to have a loose rear end but at least the drivers find the limits in practise rather than in the race.

Perez reminds me somewhat of Pedro Rodriguez, a driver I followed as a kid. He gave his all in the races, although not always in qualifying was he as high as he should have been. Racing in the midfield is often fraught with more dangers than at the front because the scrapping is intense. But Perez is one of the most reliable finishers and his tyre management is masterful, a skill not many drivers possess. I think in the second half of 2019 he was the highest points finisher outside the top three teams, so his pedigree and ability speaks for itself.

I would be sad to see him lose a seat at next year's AML as I don't see Vettel doing a better job. Just my view and others will disagree, but that's sport.

3300, don't forget the spud gun. Those stung a little bit as did pea shooters.

2021 is the really big test for AML and the product line will hopefully be in a position to deliver.
Valkyrie will have it's deliveries throughout the year as well as the limited edition speedster. Total combined approximately £440 million.
If the sales success with DBX continues then another £700 million and if the Sports/GT numbers are comparable then this may bring another £600 million. The redesign of the Vantage nose plus release of the Volante will surely help numbers.
As to the future, well, we've heard about variations of the DBX and wouldn't a 1959 Le Mans winning Continuation be a rather nice addition to the fold.

I don't disagree with that Paul, but it's also perceptions that people will feel when thousands of Mercedes workers are going to lose jobs as well as salary cuts. No matter the brilliance it's rather like Verstappen said recently that 60% of the grid would win in the Mercedes car.

There is prize money, currently I think around $1.4 Billion. This gets distributed to teams and team shareholders but not drivers. Drivers are paid salaries and receive also valuable endorsements. The actual team payments are generally determined by final positions at the end of a championshipmyear, but some teams also receive historic payments due to their participation in the championship over time.

If you like Aston reports on utube there's an interesting one called morethancars. The guy has a few lovely Astons including the GT8 and new DBS. He's just purchased a near new DB11 for a work partner and is eyeing up a Zagato. I think he also has a DBX and speedster on order. He rather likes his Astons!!

Good morning 3300. I think there has to be a sense of reality in drivers salaries. So many people have died and lost their jobs and so many countries are in recession. Daimler are cutting numbers as well as salaries. Hamilton is one of the very best but he's also a flag bearer and ambassador for the Mercedes brand. There has to be a realisation that next year countries are collectively starting a fairly long road to recovery.

Reportedly, Hamilton's opening gambit for negotiating his salary for 2021 was £40 million. Toto Wolff, responsibly in light of the Corona virus and the massive job losses around the world countered that he was viewing a figure of £20 million. It'll be interesting to see where they meet but Hamilton is short of options, particularly those that could afford his salary request.

I think AML have been clever in targeting female drivers in the design and execution of the DBX. Not that it isn't a real drivers' car as early reports say it very much is, particularly with a bespoke floorplan, something most of the competition don't offer. I don't think the market for top end SUVs is congested as most super and hypercar owners also own an SUV. It will be fascinating to see how the order book develops, but the growing figures for coronavirus in South America and Asia are worrying. We tend to focus on ourselves and Europe, but other parts of the world, including the USA, are really struggling.

I've been trying to work out how the Q2 figures will compare to Q1. In the first quarter AML were quite obviously making quite a lot of vehicles for stock. Q2 has seen a complete close down, apart from the last month when DBX production gained momentum in Wales. Most of the time all the staff have been on furlough. So I'm curious if we are expecting worse figures than we will actually get.

The other fact I found about DBX orders is that half are from customers new to AML. That's the very best way they can expand their base.

PC62, it is difficult to get accurate verification of numbers. The term destocking doesn't include cars built specifically to order and the figures I was researching yesterday only gave me units sold/registered in the UK and Europe. UK to end May was 320, Q1 in Europe was 421. Could not find US, China, Asia, etc.
If all 150 Valkyries are delivered next year that will add £375 million, the Speedster £75 million. There are the pairs of Zagatos that total £40 million. Will the DB5 007s run into 2021.
Difficult to judge numbers for the DBX but we hear order numbers total "thousands" and the revamped Vantage roadster has strong orders.
Interestingly, Mercedes have a final hurrah with their AMG GT. The very last Black edition has a 700 BHP version of their 4 litre twin turbo V8. Wouldn't that be something in the Vantage or do we wait for the DBS V12.