Ducati - Davidson Merger

.OrgOwner · 07-08-2007, 9:49 PM

Fast Harleys perhaps?

Quote:

The cheif financial officer of ducati Motor holding Enrico D'Onofrio, has told The Financial Times a merger with Harley Davidson would be totally complimentry and the Italian company would consider joining forces at any time.

The coment comes after speculation on the stock market that the two manufacturers have been in discussions. While D'Onofrio made no comment responding to the speculation he confirmed that Harley Davidson visited the Italian factory two months ago and decribed the relationship between the two firms as "good friends" According to the financial times Ducati's distribution opportunities would be greatly increased if the speculated merger was to proceed. D'Onofrio said the benefit would be mutual especially if Harley Davidson was looking to expand internationally.

"The US market flattening and we do not have critical mass" said D'Onofrio. "In this market you must." While D'Onofrio, a former Toyota executive, agreed the marriage could cause brand dilution, he ramined adamant the Ducati brand was strong enough to maintain it's identiity. He estimated Ducati may join forces with another manufacturer in tow to three years, once promises made to its current shareholders have been met.

LITEITUP · 07-11-2007, 3:54 PM

Thatd be some messed up stuff. You cant merge 2 companies like that. Maybe Harley and Victory or Ducati and Bimota but jeez...

analogbear · 07-11-2007, 4:23 PM

I think it would be great. Bring some Duc tech to HD, and some HD cachet/marketing to Duc...Nice.

soupnazi · 07-11-2007, 5:49 PM

It'd be more for market share and exposure rather than technology (or lack thereof) integration.

stegen · 07-11-2007, 8:56 PM

A guy i work with told me that he heard on TV that Honda may be buying HD. didnt know if it was a hostel takeover or if he misheard

Dangerous Dan · 07-11-2007, 9:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stegen

A guy i work with told me that he heard on TV that Honda may be buying HD. didnt know if it was a hostel takeover or if he misheard

I heard that also . I have a bunch of Family that works at Harley That I'll ask this weekend .

analogbear · 07-11-2007, 9:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soupnazi

It'd be more for market share and exposure rather than technology (or lack thereof) integration.

???
I think the power and smoothness of the new Duc motors are great. Seems like good tech to me, and even though the V-Rod has some ripped-off Japanese tech, it isn't too bad either...

Quote:

Originally Posted by stegen

A guy i work with told me that he heard on TV that Honda may be buying HD. didnt know if it was a hostel takeover or if he misheard

Did you spell "hostile" like that on purpose? If so, AWSOME! Talk ablout hostility in your takeovers...Gimme a drill to the knee of my enemy anyday...

soupnazi · 07-11-2007, 11:57 PM

Yeah I agree the Ducrapi's are a nice bike to race (somewhat uncomfortable to ride passively however) but it doesn't take much to see that HD's success is based on their lack of change. There's buckleys they'll start adopting the engine or frame technology.

HD recently made an agreement with some Chinese motorcycle manufacturer, I think ZongShen, in order to gain entry into the Chinese market. A merger with a european company would be only to expand their market into new regions.

*Fastrr* · 07-11-2007, 11:58 PM

I agree, that's screwed up if they did merge. Ducati's got nothing in common with Harley, except that they are both motorcycles. I'd be darned if i would EVER buy a Ducati if they do merge. Everyone already knows i won't ever ride a Harley or Buell...I'll walk first, right after i kick the bike over.

.OrgOwner · 07-12-2007, 12:03 AM

Does "buckleys" translate ?

soupnazi · 07-12-2007, 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fastrr

I agree, that's screwed up if they did merge. Ducati's got nothing in common with Harley, except that they are both motorcycles. I'd be darned if i would EVER buy a Ducati if they do merge. Everyone already knows i won't ever ride a Harley or Buell...I'll walk first, right after i kick the bike over.

I would and have ridden Ducrapi's and Harleys and can confidently say that I'd never -buy- one.

Thrashing the crap out of one that doesn't belong to you is OK.

soupnazi · 07-12-2007, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by .OrgOwner

Does "buckleys" translate ?

Ah, it's an Australian term. It basically means, 'no chance'.

Quote:

Australian slang terms 'Buckley's', 'Buckley's chance' and 'Buckley's and none', meaning 'next to no chance' are based on the experience of William Buckley, an escaped convict. Buckley survived in the bush with the Watourang people in the Geelong region for 32 years before giving himself up in 1835. This story also inspired a number of contemporary books, as well as later studies and an epic poem by Barry Hill in 1993.

TheDead · 07-12-2007, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by analogbear

???
I think the power and smoothness of the new Duc motors are great. Seems like good tech to me, and even though the V-Rod has some ripped-off Japanese tech, it isn't too bad either...

The V-rod engine was made by porche. We'll thats what i heard anyway.

one_wheel_up · 07-12-2007, 3:18 AM

Buell is going to be using the same Rotax motor as Aprilia soon enough. Yeah H-D collaborated with porsche on the V-rod engine

analogbear · 07-12-2007, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by one_wheel_up

Buell is going to be using the same Rotax motor as Aprilia soon enough. Yeah H-D collaborated with porsche on the V-rod engine

Yes, but every Porsche development since the Boxter was designed was influenced by the Japanese advisors who travelled to Porsche to help them become profitable...I was cutting right through the German middle-man, and going to the source...

soon2b954 · 07-12-2007, 7:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by analogbear

Yes, but every Porsche development since the Boxter was designed was influenced by the Japanese advisors who travelled to Porsche to help them become profitable...I was cutting right through the German middle-man, and going to the source...

Not so sure that Porsche needs help from the Japanese on how to build quality sports cars that make a profit. From what I have read I believe the 911 brings the most profit per vehicle sold then most others!

one_wheel_up · 07-12-2007, 8:46 PM

In a round about way just about anything on the road anymore regardless of whether its a motorcycle or not the japanese have had their ideas put into practice.

analogbear · 07-13-2007, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soon2b954

Not so sure that Porsche needs help from the Japanese on how to build quality sports cars that make a profit. From what I have read I believe the 911 brings the most profit per vehicle sold then most others!

It does now, but remember: They all (all Porsche models) used to be assembled by hand in the same factory in Stuttgart...
It was the Japanese that brought in advanced computer controlled robotics and reduced the number of individual employees, as Porsche needed a new way to build all of their cars, and they needed a profitable entry-level sports-car...The 911, in most trims, is a grand tourer, rather than a sports car (I would consider the GT-2 and GT-3 the only real sports cars in the 911 product-line now...My '94 Turbo is really the last 911 variant that is a real sports-car) as it is now literally feet longer and a foot wider than it used to be (and the Cayman actually has the dimensions of the old 911). The Japanese were also instrumental in updating Porsche's design division, which is really where the shared tech comes from...