Who Owns Who

[DHC09]

[DrivInGScHool]

Thats sweet . great example of whats going on in the Automotive industry

[SuperDave]

Its a little old now. Aston Martin and a few other now ex-Ford brands have been off loaded.

I like how there is the little Proton/Lotus link on the side, such big players :P But even then Proton, and obviously Lotus, might be up for sale soon.

[Northy]

and Bently is owned by Audi...

[DHC09]

Yeah I realise these things change like every 3 months, but I don't think its toooo old as Toyota acquired subaru earlier this year.

Either way it's nice to see an overview of it all :P

[ancullen]

Toyota are looking for a non-Japanese manufacturer to purchase - it should be Lotus. It would fit in quite well with Toyota's operations, and would cost bugger all. It would allow Toyota to bring back the MR2 by component sharing with the next gen Elise/Exige. Obviously a Lotus version should be lighter, more powerful, and more expensive though. They could also co-develop a new Esprit replacement, except make it front-mid engined and use it as a base for a new Supra, with a less powerful variant as a new Celica.

Esprit: 230kW 2GR-FSE, sub-1,200kg, $120,000+

Supra: 200kW 2GR-FE, approximately 1,450kg, $65-70,000

Celica: 150kW 4GR-FE, approximately 1,400kg, $45-50,000

The platform could be shared with the IS-series of Lexus, or possibly with the proposed new sub-IS class of Lexus, therefore keeping costs, size, and weight down. And we get a new Celica and Supra out of the bargain!

[saintly]

isn't Lotus owned by Proton?

[ancullen]

For now...