Red Alert: Audi To Swallow Ducati
It would be a great announcement to start the Beijing Auto Show, opening to the media in the world’s largest car market on April 23. Audi has its eyes on another date in the calendar: On April 18, a day before VW’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hamburg, Audi should announce the purchase of Italy’s motorcycle maker Ducati, sources tell Reuters.
The story has been around for a while, but a due diligence check takes time. Audi’s auditors did not find any hidden skeletons, reports the wire service. Other papers, such as the Corriere de la Sera, and Germany’s Handelsblatt agree.
Ducati would round out Volkswagen’s brand portfolio nicely. It would have everything from heavy trucks, even ship engines, to screaming superbikes. It also would flip the bird at Audi’s Bavarian rival BMW.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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And what's more...it's a jackboot kick in the airbag over at AMG, a corporate sponsor with amusing marketing tie-ins with Ducati.
Yay! Now Ducatis can have the legendary VAG reliability!
Maybe Audi will bring back desmodromic valves in automobiles. Ever since I first heard about the 300 SLR, I have wanted a car with desmodromic valves.
Surprisingly very few negative comments about Audi buying Ducati: This seems to be OK, unlike the idea of them buying Alfa, which raises a major outcry every time the idea is mooted. And yet I'd consider current Ducatis to be worthy of the badge they wear, unlike most of the current Alfas.