All Entries Tagged With: "ASTON MARTIN"
Aston Martin Cygnet: When Sports Car Makers Aim For The Guardrail
- Behold! Aston’s $43,000 Aztec.
- Aston Martin Cygnet based on Toyota iQ; featuring Toyota engine
- Recalls botched joint efforts of yore
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Aston Martin
TEAM Ferrari has to be howling at this one.
The Aston Cygnet – a joint, face plant project where an Aston Martin’s likeness (read: iconic fascia) is artistically transplanted onto a little Toyota iQ economy hatch- is a sad insight into the economic realities facing a small, independent sports car manufacturer.
The little “Aston” will be brought to markets next year.
Plainly the Cygnet was born of a need to increase revenue whilst simultaneously jumping through the completely-pointless environmental, one-size-fits-all fleet emissions standards set forth by, what Mrs. Thatcher would’ve called, “the bureacracy in Brussels.”
While Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bugatti, and the like are more sheltered from fleet average regulations thanks to their sheltered status as subsidiaries of larger automotive conglomerates, Aston, it would seem, does not have this luxury.
Though, if push came to shove on placing unfair restrictions of fuel economy, Aston’s mangement could highlight that Ford is still a major shareholder in the company.
Still, this decision was part of extending brand awareness while being paid for it.
According to Car & Driver, the Cygnet’s largest engine option, rippling with all the power of an orange salamander – a 1.3 liter Toyota four cylinder motor – will produce a 0-60 time in a blistering 12 seconds and likely set the not-so-hot hatch’s price as high as €30,000 ($43,000).
By the way, speaking of bogus brand extensions – does anyone remember the Chrysler TC by Maserati?
Aston’s next GT, had better come with the looks of an Alfa 8C and the performance on an Enzo to make up for this bull $#!t.
2010 Aston Martin Rapide & Aston’s Golden Era
- 2010 Aston Martin Rapide a far cry from original four-door attempt
- Imaginative 1980s Lagonda = wierd science
- Rapide better blend of Aston heritage with extended platform function
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd
SPEAKING of German cars in the 80s, time in its kind haze tricks us into the belief that Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW could do no wrong in that Go-Go decade.
It was a lean era of rightness and tightness, maximum attitude with just the right amount of – everything. Engineering connected driver to car in a way that technology has since displaced.
British cars did not share in that golden era. In fact, the 80s were a despicable time for marques like Jaguar (XJS-C) and Aston Martin (Lagonda).
-shudder-
These were the dying days of British Leyland, union strikes, dismal quality control, financial woes, and nonsensical forays into technologies too advanced to be safely implemented – touch panel shifting, anyone?
Perhaps that’s why – these two decades on – Aston Martin is now enjoying its own seminal period of perfection. Where ze Germans have taken their eye off their A-game and given into pork and brand extension, Aston has – except for the wrongful Toyota city car gamble – kept focus.
Granted, product can always be improved and the V8 Vantage on up to the One-77 are no exceptions.
But, all things being right as rain, Dr. Bez & Co. now peddle the world’s most beautiful cars; the 2010 Rapide “four door sports car” included.
The last time Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd built a low-slung, ahead-of-its time four door, it was walloped by the dual curse of poor sales and core-client backlash.
Add salt to this wound: the old Lagonda was starkly different from other Astons of its day.
Aside from being a severe 80s geometric interpretation of what the future held for cars, the Lagondas were overpriced and overstuffed with hardware that failed often and expensively. What made Aston “Aston” seemed cast aside in favor of the starkly modern.
Creative, though it was, the Lagonda belly flopped.
Fast forward and in contrast the Rapide’s entrance onto the world stage (officially) at Frankfurt and previously in concept in 2006 at Detroit has been met with almost universal praise for hitting the mark.
Credit for this initial success belongs to the Rapide’s smart inclusion of Aston heritage and a carefully weighted, but not stilted balance of future elements that will compromise the 2+2+hatch luxe coupé segment which the 2010 Rapide and the Porsche Panamera inhabit.
With first deliveries set for early next year, we’ll wait to see whether quality and performance meet early praise and truly cap Aston’s current golden era.
The Paradox of Thrift
Two members of the press at work…
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG The Flagellants by Pieter van Laer
THERE’S a lot of loathing of self and others happening in the media at present.
I’ll explain how this pertains to cars in a sec…
Much of their vitriol has to do with money; the lack of it for some; the depraved squandering of it for others. For most magazines and newspapers and their salaried staff, it’s definitely the former.
Average advertising revenues fell faster in 2008 than Chrysler’s December numbers which means that executives at every business that makes dough by printing hardcopy – from the New York Times to Vogue to Car & Driver - are casting people off left and right. And like any good ship captains, these corporate heads make sure that they’re the absolute last to leave a sinking ship.
So understanding that the fourth estate is lacking a foreseeable future, what entitles you or anyone else to have one, either?
FoMoCo + 007
The opening scene’s riddled with automotive carnage. BTW, Doesn’t the Aston’s right rear tyre look particularly thin for a modern GT?
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG via IMCDB
NEVER have I ever so badly wanted to see an Alfa Romeo get crushed.
Part ‘n parcel of what makes the latest two films in the Bond franchise so engaging (Casino Royale and the Quantum of Solace) is that the writers have cleverly managed to make us invested in wanting even the lowliest of evil henchmen get snuffed.
No longer are these extras merely faceless automatons that Bond has to kick through like chord wood to get to the boss villain at the end of the game. Each and every casting is deliberately vile and takes real effort to dispatch.
So, when in the notorious opening scene (the same one the blogosphere obsessively covered when a few stunt drivers got seriously hurt) a vicious, violently edited chase sequence occurs where a group of machine gun totting hitmen chase Bond’s Aston Martin DBS in a pair of Alfa Romeos, you couldn’t help but want to see each gorgeous Alfa crash spectacularly – which, of course, they did.
PAG ON DISPLAY
Interestingly enough, the Alfa Romeos are the last cars we really get to see that are outside the Ford family (except for a lone old school VW Bug).
Literally, every car onscreen, from a lowly Mazda taxi in Bolivia to Ford Edge Hydrogens (also in Bolivia) to the villain’s gorgeous predecessor gen. (X308) Daimler Super Eight in Austria (also known as the Jaguar Vanden Plas) is (or was) a Ford product.
This is the third recent Bond film in which Ford has pitched product; it’s reputed if not reported that Ford paid as much as $36 million for the Ford Ka Mk II cameo in the scenes shot in Haiti. Though, I’m sure that investment carried over into the other Ford models onscreen.
Considering that investment, one wonders if Ford will be so heavily committed again now that the FoMoCo’s Premier Auto Group (PAG) has been disolved and Dearborn finds itself in hot water along with the rest of Detroit (Ford’s shares are currently worth less than GM’s).
It’ll be interesting to know how Ford will fare in its return.
QUANTUM WORTH SEEING
As for the second Bond film starring Daniel Craig, it’s well worth watching – eventhough it fell short of Casino Royale and most film critics were quick to dismiss it. There’s been some debate online as to whether he has displaced Sean Connery as best Bond ever.
Roman style, Roger Ebert turned his thumb down on Quantum of Solace.
Still, I give it thumbs up. The spectacular vehicular carnage alone sells the movie!
[Linked: 007]
New York Auto Show In The Year 2008
By Gunnar Heinrich
OUR New York Auto Show segment is back online following its televised premiere on CPTV, the PBS affiliate for Connecticut.
For those who never saw it, this story (TRT: 10:22) takes the auto show through ADL’s unique perspective.
Rather than giving the viewer a dry recount of yet another auto show, we decided to give it the theme of one of New York’s fashion events. After all, the auto show is as much about style as it is about the brass tax of selling cars to an often indifferent public.
The segment covers events such as the Saab Bio Hybrid concept party,the Lamborghini Press launch of the LP560-4, and interviews with GM execs and Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez.
Enjoy.
Ferrari’s Massmarket Foray
Ferrari California Presented By GranTurismo.
By Gunnar Heinrich
GOING massmarket is like going public.
You’re opening up your once closely held business to outside scrutiny and increased regulatory pressures, but in theory you’re removing the ceiling on capital generation.
While Ferrari is very much a unique part of publicly traded Fiat, it has more or less been left alone to its own devices; making precious few exotics for the precious few patrons who can afford the price of admittance (and maintenance).
Ferrari’s pressures, even during their parent company’s darkest hours, seemed to have little to do with fiscal needs but more to do with performance wants.
Luckily this laissez faire system has worked to Ferrari’s benefit. The company has never seen better days – financially.
And like Porsche’s foray into SUV-land and Aston Martin’s segue into four door saloons, Ferrari is set to test, albeit conservatively, the waters of mass-marketdom with the decidedly practical and comparatively everyday California Spyder.
As an aside, the car has a Fiat Barchetta’s front and an ass ressembling the face of some frowning newt; there’s little on first, second, or third glance that can visually recommend the California’s style.
Add the increased proportions and a roomier cabin design placed forward of a conventional trunk thanks to traditional front engine/rear drive setup and what we have are key clues to suggest that this car will have potential SL, 6-Series, 911 and Maserati GT buyers cross shopping.
No doubt that means more Ferraris will be built than ever before as a result for the demand at the $100K level is far greater than it is at even $200K. Plus, Ferrari has entered an age where it’s “brand” identity is as platinum as can be – with new orders regularly reaching into two long years’ wait on new models. Again, we’ll expect the same if not more of the same sell-out rate for the California.
But with all this success that is yet to be reaped, are we witnessing the slow but steady disolution of an elite marque into just another expensive, over-hyped brand?
[Linked: Ferrari California]
Automobiles De Luxe Promo
By Gunnar Heinrich
JUST over a minute long, this promo serves as a fast abstract of what Team ADL has accomplished over the course of the last 12 months.
It’s also teaser on what’s to follow.
You may recognize clips from the 733i, the Silver Cloud, Silver Spur, M5 Enthusiast Segment, and New York Auto Show, but you’ll also see more than a bit of what we’ve captured recently this summer with segments featuring the Cadillacs CTS and XLR-V along with the BMWs 1 and 3 series.
Just How “German” Is Lamborghini?
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG by BusinessWeek
OR Bentley and Bugatti for that matter?
Catching up with the latest on “German” auto news as I’m prone to do over at the respectable German Car Blog, I continually find myself questioning the site’s self described focus of “delivering news and opinion about Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, VW and Porsche.”
Apparently, BMW and Mercedes-Benz aren’t German enough for inclusion which leads one to suspect the obvious – the blog really just covers the marques associated with the VW-Audi Group.
Fine, but back to the “German” point. Does foreign ownership of a nameplate dictate nationality?
Did anyone claim Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, or Volvo as American brands just for being members of Ford’s Premier Auto Group? Or might we have really thought Lamborghini as made-in-the-USA when Chrysler owned the raging bull?
I think not. So why insist that the British Bentley, the Franco-Italian Bugatti, or the Italian Lambo as Teutonic? As a concept, it seems oddly foreign.
[Linked: German Car Blog]
Bentley Continental GTC
By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG via Auto/Motor Cars
SINCE it is the start of Labor Day weekend, I thought a glossy picture of a car that would (and does for a few) truly celebrate the fruits of one’s labor was in order.
The Bentley Continental GTC has been on the market for a little more than a year and in that time the 2+2 droptop has managed to eclipse not only the chromium sheen of its Arnage superior, but successfully rival the ragtop competition from Aston Martin.
Far be it for me then to suggest that this is Bentley’s finest hour? For those precious few who’ll drive this magnificent car this (US) holiday weekend, I imagine they’re likely to agree.
[Linked: Bentley]
After Hours Phone Call To Aston Martin Works Service
By Gunnar Heinrich
BROWSING through the elegantly scripted pages of Aston Martin’s website, your inquisitive publisher played web bot and crawled over to Aston’s Works Service page.
Under the subheading “Enquiries,” I found a promising paragraph explaining the golden terms of Aston’s dedication to their demanding clients. One passage in particular caught my attention straight away as indicating a level of service that would put any Lexus dealer on notice.
It reads:
“Throughout your car’s stay at Works Service, a qualified engineer will always be available for you to discuss the progress of any work. In fact we are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
On call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Now that is service!
Never had I heard of such measures and naturally I wanted to hear the reassuring voice of an Aston technician on the other end of the line for myself.
So, at 2:00AM EST or 07:00 BST, I picked up the phone and called the first service number on Works Service’s list.
Seven minutes on and having listened to the same repeated lines of Handel’s Music for The Royal Fireworks, I hung up. I don’t love my phone company that much.
But, I figured that perhaps the service technician at that number was out of the office – doubtless mainlining Red Bull to keep himself alert and at the ready for a concerned client’s call.
So, at 2:10AM EST or 07:10 BST I dialed the second number on the list.
The soft brill-brill of an overseas ring cooed in my ear.
An answer! A woman on the other end of the line in Midlands English announced that I had reached Aston Martin Works Service!
First question: How can I get my car there?
“Oh,” said she, “this is the after-hours call center.”
Works Service was closed.
Would I call back at nine? “I think they come in at eight, but I’m not sure,” she said.
When do they close shop?
“At five. But please call back at nine.”
At this point, I’m almost positive that any fussy Dubai-based DBS owner who expected an actual technician to answer his call would have cussed in Arabic and slammed down the receiver.
But your publisher signed off with a polite will-do.
[Linked: Aston Martin Works Service]
