My new Vantage S Roadster

[Neil1300R]

George H said:

Car is looking good Mikey

How are you coping without heated seats in a roadster? They would be a fairly high priority for me!

Can you lift up both the wipers now when washing the car, without one of them fouling on the bonnet? Don't know if the V8V did that before, but it drives me insane on the DB9.

Get in car, press buttons 8,9, hold them in, insert key, turn to position 1, wiper blades go to centre of windscreen.
not in the car at the moment, but if its its not 8, 9 together its 7,8. Its the only way to clean the car properly

[George H]

Neil1300R said:

Get in car, press buttons 8,9, hold them in, insert key, turn to position 1, wiper blades go to centre of windscreen.
not in the car at the moment, but if its its not 8, 9 together its 7,8. Its the only way to clean the car properly

Thanks, I'll definitely give that a try

It will work by pushing the ECU in the slot instead of turning the key to position 1 wont it?

[V8V CG]

Neil1300R said:

Get in car, press buttons 8,9, hold them in, insert key, turn to position 1, wiper blades go to centre of windscreen.
not in the car at the moment, but if its its not 8, 9 together its 7,8. Its the only way to clean the car properly

A Do you know any more wonderful tips and tricks like that one? It is 8 and 9: I just tried.

B What is that piece of luggage behind the passenger seat? Is there something made to fit that space?

Thanks.

[JohnG1]

Jay_Davis said:

The Vette had it integrated in 1989.

So based on that, they should manage adding a keyless lock/ignition system by 2027.

How do I say this?

A corvette?

Really? I mean, really? The ZR1 that had Lotus designed cylinder heads was moderate. But no one outside of the US of A thinks of a vehicle like a Corvette in anything like the same light as European heavy metal.

Oh, and don't be so crass as to take this as somehow anti-American. I love America. American cars of my experience suck.

[Neil1300R]

V8V CG said:

A Do you know any more wonderful tips and tricks like that one? It is 8 and 9: I just tried.

B What is that piece of luggage behind the passenger seat? Is there something made to fit that space?

Thanks.

but then I would have to admit to RTFM, which would lose me `man points`!

no luggage behind my seats apart from map pockets

[mikey k]

George H said:

Neil1300R said:

Get in car, press buttons 8,9, hold them in, insert key, turn to position 1, wiper blades go to centre of windscreen.
not in the car at the moment, but if its its not 8, 9 together its 7,8. Its the only way to clean the car properly

Thanks, I'll definitely give that a try

It will work by pushing the ECU in the slot instead of turning the key to position 1 wont it?

The manual says 2 & 6 on my vantage S as you turn the ignition on
Reset them by taking ECU from ignition

Edited by mikey k on Saturday 8th October 19:52

[mikey k]

Neil1300R said:

V8V CG said:

A Do you know any more wonderful tips and tricks like that one? It is 8 and 9: I just tried.

B What is that piece of luggage behind the passenger seat? Is there something made to fit that space?

Thanks.

but then I would have to admit to RTFM, which would lose me `man points`!

no luggage behind my seats apart from map pockets

No map pockets on the light weight seats
It is a "messenger bag" which turned out is exactly the right width and depth

[Jay_Davis]

mikey k said:

ShortTimers - I got the dealer to remove it, saved me doing it!
Jay - I know what you are saying, but it's an Aston it's not about the technology

There's technology that's "gadgets" and there's technology that's downright useful. A keyless system falls under the downright useful category, especially when they give you two types of keys: one which is absurdly expensive, slippery, and breakable, and the others are just ridiculously expensive and wear out faster than the tires.

[Jay_Davis]

JohnG1 said:

Jay_Davis said:

The Vette had it integrated in 1989.

So based on that, they should manage adding a keyless lock/ignition system by 2027.

How do I say this?

A corvette?

Really? I mean, really? The ZR1 that had Lotus designed cylinder heads was moderate. But no one outside of the US of A thinks of a vehicle like a Corvette in anything like the same light as European heavy metal.

Oh, and don't be so crass as to take this as somehow anti-American. I love America. American cars of my experience suck.

"European heavy metal"??? Would that be the beetles-on-steroids from Germany or the required-live-in-mechanic cars from Italy and England?

Just off the top of my head, I had an integrated tire warning system in 89, an adjustable suspension and a heads-up display in 97, and a completely keyless system in 2004. I had 400+HP getting 27 miles per gallon with a car that is easy to live with as a daily driver and inexpensive to maintain. Not to mention the fact that the service I got from my local Chevy dealer was SOOOOO much better than that I have received from two different Aston Martin dealers that its absurd. Of course that's compounded by the fact that the Vantage has spent more time at the dealer in 2+ years than my last two Vettes did over 12 years.

So, not for nothing, the only car I was really willing to give up my Vette for was the Vantage, and then there's still a couple of things I miss (the service department being the biggest one).

[JohnG1]

Jay_Davis said:

"European heavy metal"??? Would that be the beetles-on-steroids from Germany or the required-live-in-mechanic cars from Italy and England?

Just off the top of my head, I had an integrated tire warning system in 89, an adjustable suspension and a heads-up display in 97, and a completely keyless system in 2004. I had 400+HP getting 27 miles per gallon with a car that is easy to live with as a daily driver and inexpensive to maintain. Not to mention the fact that the service I got from my local Chevy dealer was SOOOOO much better than that I have received from two different Aston Martin dealers that its absurd. Of course that's compounded by the fact that the Vantage has spent more time at the dealer in 2+ years than my last two Vettes did over 12 years.

So, not for nothing, the only car I was really willing to give up my Vette for was the Vantage, and then there's still a couple of things I miss (the service department being the biggest one).

Fair points. But a heads-up display, while cool is hardly core to the driving experience.

One thing to consider is that perhaps Chevrolet offered such good because they were sustaining multi-billion dollar losses and providing a level of service that was generating losses.

I certianly can see problems with all cars, 911s with RMS, older Ferraris with cam belts and so on.

But - notwithstanding that, I return to the earlier point. Outside of the US of A sales for US built fast cars are negligible. I suggest that there are good reasons for that.

[mikey k]

Jay_Davis said:

"European heavy metal"??? Would that be the beetles-on-steroids from Germany or the required-live-in-mechanic cars from Italy and England?

Just off the top of my head, I had an integrated tire warning system in 89, an adjustable suspension and a heads-up display in 97, and a completely keyless system in 2004. I had 400+HP getting 27 miles per gallon with a car that is easy to live with as a daily driver and inexpensive to maintain. Not to mention the fact that the service I got from my local Chevy dealer was SOOOOO much better than that I have received from two different Aston Martin dealers that its absurd. Of course that's compounded by the fact that the Vantage has spent more time at the dealer in 2+ years than my last two Vettes did over 12 years.

So, not for nothing, the only car I was really willing to give up my Vette for was the Vantage, and then there's still a couple of things I miss (the service department being the biggest one).

But the steering wheels on the wrong side

[George H]

JohnG1 said:

How do I say this?

A corvette?

Really? I mean, really? The ZR1 that had Lotus designed cylinder heads was moderate. But no one outside of the US of A thinks of a vehicle like a Corvette in anything like the same light as European heavy metal.

Oh, and don't be so crass as to take this as somehow anti-American. I love America. American cars of my experience suck.

John, I'm glad you posted that. I wasn't going to post anything anti Corvette, because last time I did in general gassing I got flamed for it.

Lets face it, the reasoning why anyone outside of America would buy a corvette over say, a 911, is laughable. In fact, I can't see one reason why an American would buy a corvette over a 911, unless they desperately wanted an old fashioned plastic sports car with no style.

[mikey k]

George H said:

Lets face it, the reasoning why anyone outside of America would buy a corvette over say, a 911, is laughable. In fact, I can't see one reason why an American would buy a corvette over a 911, unless they desperately wanted an old fashioned plastic sports car with no style.

Yep price!

[George H]

Quinny said:

And the Porsche isn't old fashioned??

Nope, despite people saying they look old fashioned, I think they are probably the benchmark for sports cars. The new 911 is pretty high tech, especially compared to a Corvette. Do they still have leafsprings?

[GlynMo]

George H said:

Nope, despite people saying they look old fashioned, I think they are probably the benchmark for sports cars.

Bwahahahaha! Not really, when so much of the on-board and design technology is necessary to prevent the back overtaking the front.

[JohnG1]

Quinny said:

And the Porsche isn't old fashioned??

Hmmm.

Variable vane twin turbo
Four wheel drive with three differentials
Variable valve timing and lift
CCM brakes
Adaptive suspension
ABS
Switchable TC
On-the-fly adjustable throttle and gearbox maps (with pdk)
Seven speed twin clutch gearbox

Having spent three weeks in a 911 turbo, they are not old fashioned. Unless you mean the shape.

In which case pretty much everything is old fashioned if we live, as many think we do, in a post modern world.

Back to my core point. How many folks outside the US of A buy US built heavy metal versus vice versa???

[mikey k]

Jay_Davis said:

There's technology that's "gadgets" and there's technology that's downright useful. A keyless system falls under the downright useful category, especially when they give you two types of keys: one which is absurdly expensive, slippery, and breakable, and the others are just ridiculously expensive and wear out faster than the tires.

Fair point but it's not an option I would have taken up!

[Jockman]

Weren't the Astons technically American cars for a short period of time..........

[mikey k]

ironically the investment Ford put in is the basis of most the model range now. Where would Aston be with out VH platform I wonder!

[Jockman]

Indeed Mr K.

I believe AM benefitted rather handsomely from the Ford arrangement - survival even?

I do concede the point though on the large US guzzlers selling primarily in the US domestic market only.

How dare American consumers support their domestic manufacturers. Not very British I say