Make McLaren their ultra high end sports car division. Spending so much money on a Merc for the SLR is a bit too much for most people.

Good news?

leave McLaren alone build your own crappy car.

Make Mclaren compete with Bugatti

In my opnion do the following-

A Ferrari 430 rival – A simple 2 seater, mid-engine, rear drive car/4WD (share platform with 599 rival)

A Ferrari 599 rival – A three seater with the steering in the middle (Like Mclaren F1). Again Mid engine and rwd (share platform with the 430 rival)

A Ferrari 612 rival – A four seater based with front engine, rear wheel drive. (Produce on the sucessor to the SLR)

Help Mercedes build the next SLR as a strict two seater sharing a platform with the Mclaren 612 rival (Strict four seater).

pffft Bugatti loses 4 mil a car on the Veyron. Why compete with that?

Mercedes is trying to get rid of Ron Dennis but since he owns 30% of McLaren (the other 30% belongs to his close business partner) the only way to do it is to buy him out.

Not sure if this is a good thing for Merc to be pursuing while their 30% stake iin Chrysler is dying on the vine.

Maybe even build a true sucessor to the F1 using the mid engine platform from other models

This makes no sense there is no place for McLaren in the MB garage. What is the purpose of HWA and AMG if McLaren is in the house?

Ron Dennis owns 15%
Masier Ojjeh (Tag) own 15%
Mercedes owns 40%
Qatar based company owns 30%

Plus Mercedes own 19% of Chrysler LLC

Unless they want to keep it a separate brand and compete against themselves.

Someone say something that helps this make sense…

Too much like the relationship between the Gallardo and R8.

if Daimler buys them what would be the point of Mercedes’ next super car being made by H.W.A?

Holy crap, I knew that Daimler did well in 2007 so I guess it’s time to go shopping in the toy store. I rather see McLaren go with Daimler than someone else.

I’m willing to bet Merc wants a bigger stake in the F1 program.
Stuart: do you have any similar numbers breaking down BMW-Sauber ownership?

Veda,
I’m alright with Merc. having an SLR halo car. I don’t think it’s not too much to ask of Merc buyers. The CL65, SL65, and S65 AMG’s, especially with options, already push or exceed $200k. It’s similar to Porsche with its Carrera GT (when it was in production): The most expensive “production” road-going Porsche will set you back about $200k (911 GT2), but double that to get the halo car.

I can see a place for McLaren in the Merc. family. Keep the division separate, but use it to build your ultimate sports cars–mid-engine, rear drive, carbon fiber specialities. That was Gordon Murray’s initial vision for the SLR, after all. Mercedes is going toe-to-toe with Ferrari in Formula 1, might as well make a genuine street car rival.

corvette, if Merc. buys McLaren, I see your point, Merc. may cut ties with HWA on the follow-up SLR, but contracts might prevent that. And besides, HWA might still work on the powertrain, while McLaren does the chassis and aero.

Jazz, why would Merc. want to get rid of Dennis?

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stuart- Yep my numbers were wrong – thx

Merc wants to get rid of Dennis after the whole spy scandal. Plus a company that size would want to have more control. Dennis effectively controls McLaren.

Maybe they just need the cash w/spy saga $100 Mil fine?
I want to see Ron cry some more, so I hope they fire him right after the race. He screwed up the championship and lost the best driver (debatable)in F1.
Although it will never happen I hope he gets relegated to a hell of Nascar.

Just what McLaren needs, the fangs of Daimler in its neck.

Stuart: McLaren is already planning a 2seater F430 rival much like you suggested, it should hit the roads in 2011.

I think McLaren should be Mercs Lamborghini rival, maybe with a three seats as a trademark..

My problem with Mercedes owning other car brands (McLaren and Maybach) is the way they manage the brands… They need to give them more freedom of development and individuality.

It is not something new to anyone here that Maybach turned our negative profit, I’m am not aware of a financial review from McLaren – but I would not doubt the situation being the same as it is with Maybach. The reason!? Pretty easy… the buyer is not willing to pay 5 times more for a car which looks the same as a lower level (even though this lower lever is high class) car. It is probably unnecessarily for me to state the similarity between the SLR and the standard SL, and the Maybach compared to the w220 S-class.

Be it my will, I would give these companies much more freedom. Just like BMW has given to Rolls Royce, Audi/VW to Bugatti, and to a lower extent to Lamborghini and Bentley.

If they find good management to chair McLaren/Maybach… revenue from the manufacturing of the two will be decent enough. After all, none of the big groups mentioned above (Daimler-Benz included) get more than 3% from this cars in total group profit (I admit to being subjective to the 3%s… yet I’m confident it’s in that area). So if it doesn’t bring (that much profit) at least let it develop itself in it’s own way.

You people need to understand that all mercs are really only GT’s and Mclaren are more hard core race bre4d cars (like ferrari) which explains why the SLR went so wrong.

Mclaran would be a more prestiges brand and a direct rival for Ferrari like no other rival before. The lamborghini’s, astons and so on are good but Ferrari knows that if anyone can catch them, it would be Mclaren. They have similiar pedigree as they were both born from F1 and even have similiar track records of wins and titles. ferrari has many beautiful cars in the past unlike Mclaren who have two but the second being one of the most beautiful, most desired and fastest cars ever – the McLAREN F1 Fastest car for 10+ (even the Bugatti veyron only managed half a year).

———
LP640 – The 612_rival would be a front engine GT for people that want a day-to-day Mclaren. Basing this on the next SLR would make both viable and profitable but the SLR should stick to two seats as oppose to the Mclarens 4 seats.

The three seater 599-rival would make sense as it can be produced on the smaller platform (cheaper) and more sports oriented with steering in the middle and better performance then it smaller 430-rivaling sibling.

—————-
johnnycanuck – BMW can use the Sauber name on their Audi R8 rival to give the car some creditability from the launch showing BMW connection with Formula 1. Call it the BMW Sauber.

Stuart: I’d go as far as saying most Mercs are not even GT’s. They are luxury boats.

I really don’t want Mercedes purchasing Mclaren. Seriously, enough brands are already corporate owned, which is where almost all your head throbbing leads to. Individually owned brands are more creative, look at Ford/Merc/Lincoln, Volks/Audi, Toyota/Lexus, and their limited to their “category”- what the mother company envisions as profitable.

Who cares if your buying something of high quality and features, it’s nothing radical, it’s nothing unique for the money. Are you buying that Mercedes because of the name, or because of what it does, because I can tell you I can get the same thing in an Accord for 35k or a Fusion for even less. Of course, it’s attention to details, but it’s all the same idea, the same problems that are being solved, your still paying for basically the same thing, the same problems and same solutions.