Idle speculation...but will Ford try and buy Aptera?

[aptera1213]

Mulally said in an interview Tuesday that Ford will emphasize its cost cutting efforts with the United Auto Workers union and will give much more detail to Congress than it did during a visit earlier this month.

The company also will accelerate plans to roll out electric cars as part of the plan it will present to Congress this week. Ford's plans call for an investment of up to $14 billion to improve fuel efficiency over the next seven years. The company said would improve the overall efficiency of its fleet by an average of 14 percent in 2009.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28012984/

the quickest way ford could release a viable electric car would be to "acquire" Aptera...

i don't think they will

i'm not sure they even could (would Aptera sell itself?)

but what would be your thoughts if Aptera did become part of Ford (like Saturn is to GM) ?

as long as Ford didn't mess up the 2e, as long as production was still going ahead at the same or accelerated rate, i wouldn't mind it...it would likely open Aptera sells through out the country much quicker

[KarenRei]

Ford couldn't afford to buy enough office supplies to fill the back of an Aptera at this point ;)

All kidding aside (last I checked, they still had ~$30B cash on hand), saying "Hey, we're so into cleantech that we only just now, as we're failing, bought a cleantech company" doesn't seem like a winning strategy to win over lawmakers to me. I'd wager that if they get desperate enough, they'll announce plans to commercialize their Escape PHEV. They recently scaled up the utility testing program, after all.

[evmavin]

Ford bought Think, trashed it and sold it off.

[zkc]

i would just really like to see Aptera make it on its own, if it can grow its footprint gradually outside of CA and get a 4 passenger vehicle to market i think they have a shot at sticking around (fingers crossed).

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

Since Aptera is private, I don't think that Ford can just buy them at will, as it were.

[bigalwedworth]

I just Coulden't and Woulden't buy a FORD,Dodge, GMC, Chevy or anything made by them! even if they bought Aptera No Way! There never getting my hard earned money!
Sorry but no!
Cheers
AL

[Marc]

Perfect use of some bailout money if they get it, and nice easy exit for investors. :)

[danieloneil01]

Maybe Honda could buy them and make it available to people outside of Cali sooner and at a bit cheaper price. :)

Because by the looks it won't be as cheap or as quick as first thought a few months ago.. :(

[RainCaster]

Hi,

Since Aptera is private, I don't think that Ford can just buy them at will, as it were.

I have been a part of several small, Venture Capital backed firms over the years. Each time, when an offer to buy was made, the VCs (who are the majority shareholders) said yes. Now that is grossly simplified, as the mechanics going on underneath are rather complex, yet that decision to sell ultimately remains with the majority of the shareholders.

Having said that, I don't think than Mulalley has the brains to recognize how truly fantastic the Aptera team is. After all, this is the genius who told Congress his company needed a bailout, but he was unwilling to lower his bloated compensation package.

RC

[speculawyer]

Ford bought Think, trashed it and sold it off.
Well they did sink a lot of money into a re-designed Th!nk City with full crash testing but then they sold it off.

The people that picked up Th!nk probably thought they got a great deal since they picked up Th!nk for cheap and got a fully designed car ready to go. However, now it looks like Th!nk is about to go bankrupt again . . . perhaps Ford can return the favor by buying Th!nk back. ;)

(And opening up a Th!nk factory in the USA.)

[Marc]

Each time, when an offer to buy was made, the VCs (who are the majority shareholders) said yes.

In general: When money is on the table, you take it.

Fill in the blanks:

In tough times: When money is on the table, _____________.
In a recession: When money is on the table, ______________.
In a DEPRESSION: When money is on the table, _____________.

Kiss of Death:

"We'll get a better offer"
- Jerry Yang, Mark Zuckerberg, and long list of well-intentioned founders....

Me being one of them. :)