This is a little more then it seems, at the launch of the Diavel there was some exciting news about AMG and Ducati collaborating on a few porjects. At first I thought it was just for marketting reasons but after reading A&R’s article below it seems that Mercedes has interest to buy Ducati but they are feeling things out before proceeding. Ducati has had a spectacular 5 years with the debut of the 1098, they have really worked on the quality of their products and slowly expanding their product line. Ducati have had a bit of rough time earlier but these days they are on top and it seems that Mercedes has noticed, but they don’t want them because they are on top. They want them so that they have another arm of their business which is in direct competition with BMW, with an established product portfolio and distribution line, Mercedes wants to take on BMW. But what Mercedes and Ducati are trying to do is to see how they fit together, they each don’t want to alienate their customer and fan base, and Ducatiests are known to be loyal to the brand and don’t want any interference. I wonder how this would work out? Would they share their technical knowledge? Would distribution lines be streamlined? Would you start seeing Ducaties at Mercedes Dealerships? It is a shocking development and I’m not sure if its a good or bad thing, and it seems to Mercedes that there is a lot of good to take Ducati but they have to do carefully or a lot of damage will be done to either brand.

Link: AsphalyAndRubber