RE: Aston Martin revives DB9
Discussion
jdw1234 said:
chevronb37 said:
jdw1234 said:
chevronb37 said:
I've just spent 2 weeks touring Europe in a V8 Vantage. I was pleasantly surprised by the fantastic reaction from the general public. Everywhere we went the car attracted a huge amount of positive attention from car folk and non car folk alike. At the Belgian GP, people of so many nationalities came over to tell us how lovely the car was and lots of camera phones came out for snaps. At the risk of sounding like a total nob, ladies in Italy loved it.
It's amazing how people you chat to who claim Astons are their favourite cars - or their kids' favourite cars. Several people ended up sitting in the car or going for a ride in it over the course of the trip and they all thoroughly enjoyed it. Compared to my Exige, the level of prestige that badge carries is remarkable.
Whether the company is stuck in a styling ruck is probably a matter of personal taste but you can't argue with the strength of the brand as automotive currency. Among petrolheads and the general public, the cars imbue a huge affection and it was a genuine honour to get to pilot one across the continent - loved every second.
Try it again in London.It's amazing how people you chat to who claim Astons are their favourite cars - or their kids' favourite cars. Several people ended up sitting in the car or going for a ride in it over the course of the trip and they all thoroughly enjoyed it. Compared to my Exige, the level of prestige that badge carries is remarkable.
Whether the company is stuck in a styling ruck is probably a matter of personal taste but you can't argue with the strength of the brand as automotive currency. Among petrolheads and the general public, the cars imbue a huge affection and it was a genuine honour to get to pilot one across the continent - loved every second.
You might as well drive a Mondeo.
I'm an Aston heir not an Aston owner so wanted to offer a relatively non-biased alternative viewpoint of their perception around the place. I'm sure in London they are common as muck but apparently elsewhere they garner decent support from people.
Sounds like a fun trip!
I generally approve of Astons despite obvious design similarities. This looks good. this is a proper GT, but please tell me, why the hell does it have a track mode.
Another car with an identity crisis. What's wrong with being a rapid, comfortable and beautiful GT car without sporting pretentions?
Another car with an identity crisis. What's wrong with being a rapid, comfortable and beautiful GT car without sporting pretentions?
Zod said:
Not so. My car gets photographed all the time. I get thumbs up. People ask me to rev it when I'm in traffic. A Porsche would be invisible. An Aston is not.
That's a sweeping statement.A GT3 or GT2 would not be invisible; they have presence, even in more affluent parts of London.
Some strong opinions in here. Good ones though.
Personally i'm on Aston's side here. This isn't a new car, it's a facelift, no matter what way you butter it up. Look at the Fords atm, they all have the kinetic design, they share it throughout their platform from KA to Galaxy.
The class tag cannot be attached to many boutique manufacturers these days, Aston can hold that title aloft imo. I for one are happy to see them continue with the design. Outside of the whole Virage debacle I don't see what's wrong with modernising the car with some trick bits, granted the front may be a little too aggressive for what should be a more subtle car but it's still beautiful.
Evolution doesn't always have to be a bad thing, most peoples problem seems to be from the Virage angle, I get that slightly but this is the a DB9 facelift, it has achieved what it set out to do.
Would you rather they stopped the DB9 and made some monstrosity GT car that they weren't happy with?
Personally i'm on Aston's side here. This isn't a new car, it's a facelift, no matter what way you butter it up. Look at the Fords atm, they all have the kinetic design, they share it throughout their platform from KA to Galaxy.
The class tag cannot be attached to many boutique manufacturers these days, Aston can hold that title aloft imo. I for one are happy to see them continue with the design. Outside of the whole Virage debacle I don't see what's wrong with modernising the car with some trick bits, granted the front may be a little too aggressive for what should be a more subtle car but it's still beautiful.
Evolution doesn't always have to be a bad thing, most peoples problem seems to be from the Virage angle, I get that slightly but this is the a DB9 facelift, it has achieved what it set out to do.
Would you rather they stopped the DB9 and made some monstrosity GT car that they weren't happy with?
Zod said:
Not so. My car gets photographed all the time. I get thumbs up. People ask me to rev it when I'm in traffic. A Porsche would be invisible. An Aston is not.
Interesting - I don't give either a modern Aston or a Porsche a second glance (unless of course it is a One-77 or Carrera GT!) but this is likely due to over-familiarity/boredom/frequency of sighting - both at work (Holborn Circus) or at home (rural Herts).I can see how you would get attention though, as few would dispute they look far better than a Porsche to your 'average man/woman in the street'.
Zod said:
jdw1234 said:
Try it again in London.
You might as well drive a Mondeo.
Not so. My car gets photographed all the time. I get thumbs up. People ask me to rev it when I'm in traffic. A Porsche would be invisible. An Aston is not.You might as well drive a Mondeo.
There are millions of them.
I am not saying I don't believe you and your car looks lovely - just that I am suprised.
Luca Brasi said:
I love Astons but this is getting a bit silly. They take the Virage out of production and now the 'new' DB9 looks just like the Virage 
So what? They are just streamlining the model range and getting it in line with the strategy they want to pursue. I don't see why that is 'silly'.torres del paine said:
Zod said:
Not so. My car gets photographed all the time. I get thumbs up. People ask me to rev it when I'm in traffic. A Porsche would be invisible. An Aston is not.
That's a sweeping statement.A GT3 or GT2 would not be invisible; they have presence, even in more affluent parts of London.
jdw1234 said:
Zod said:
jdw1234 said:
Try it again in London.
You might as well drive a Mondeo.
Not so. My car gets photographed all the time. I get thumbs up. People ask me to rev it when I'm in traffic. A Porsche would be invisible. An Aston is not.You might as well drive a Mondeo.
There are millions of them.
I am not saying I don't believe you and your car looks lovely - just that I am suprised.
I guess lack of funds plays a part here and so the scary thing is that this will only become more of a problem - less change will turn away some of their customers, so they'll have even less to invest and so on.
But I think when the shape was so good to begin with and you're talking a 2 door coupe it is going to be harder to be creative. The real disappointment to me was the Rapide. There was an opp to break the mould with a 4 door and they just make a stretched DB9 (or was it a stretched DBS? not sure really).
But I think when the shape was so good to begin with and you're talking a 2 door coupe it is going to be harder to be creative. The real disappointment to me was the Rapide. There was an opp to break the mould with a 4 door and they just make a stretched DB9 (or was it a stretched DBS? not sure really).
Zod said:
torres del paine said:
Zod said:
Not so. My car gets photographed all the time. I get thumbs up. People ask me to rev it when I'm in traffic. A Porsche would be invisible. An Aston is not.
That's a sweeping statement.A GT3 or GT2 would not be invisible; they have presence, even in more affluent parts of London.
How that appeals to people on here is maybe different, but as a bunch of car nerds we will inevitably hold very different opinions to normal folk.
Zod said:
Only to people like us. Don't confuse presence with pedigree and appeal to petrolheads. M5 is the same; I spot them and love them, but to 99.9% of the population they are just a 5 Series.
True, however, in the main, an M car is not the same as a GT Porsche in the headturning stakes. An M5 will blend in somewhat (part of the appeal) but a hot, spoilered beetle would still stand out I reckon. A 997 GT3 in Viper Green would elicit some response from the general population. Likewise, a white GT2. They have pedigree and presence IMO.
Interestingly, an early silver Boxter or 996 Carrera wouldn't quicken the pulse. The years haven't been kind to them in the looks department. My ageing E46 M3 would get more interest.
Zod said:
LaurasOtherHalf said:
What's the deal with who owns aston these days? Are they totally independant?
It would appear there's no money to reinvest in building any successors to the current line up which is a shame.
I hate to say it but it would appear they need a 4x4 platform for a premium SUV to bring some coin in, but if they have no other manufacturer they can borrow the platform from I guess they can't afford to develope one themselves?
Er, they've just launched a completely new model, the Vanquish. It would appear there's no money to reinvest in building any successors to the current line up which is a shame.
I hate to say it but it would appear they need a 4x4 platform for a premium SUV to bring some coin in, but if they have no other manufacturer they can borrow the platform from I guess they can't afford to develope one themselves?
Is certainly doesn't look new to me, just a bit of a tidy up of the skin.
From the outside, it seems as if Aston are lacking major backing to develop a truely new, ground up range redesign.
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