Not sure what the problem is.
Discussion
There have been a few feature threads on AM in the past few months with the V12 Vantage Roadster, Vanquish, Virage/DB9 and now the V/H article and generally the same comments crop up.
Why is there a developing negativity towards AM no matter what they do? I take my hat off to a company that survives independant of a big German/Italian company. Their design has been steady and stunning and the engineering keeps developing at a competative rate.
Regardless of whether the design is to liking or not, or how a company names its models or if the CEO is a bit eccentric surely a British company doing well should be cause to celebrate?
Or do the ill-informed want this company to go the direction of TVR - or even Bentley and Rolls Royce, former British companies that get absorbed etc?
Sorry, rant over. To be honest I should just do myself a favour and not read the threads on here anymore and save my blood pressure!
Why is there a developing negativity towards AM no matter what they do? I take my hat off to a company that survives independant of a big German/Italian company. Their design has been steady and stunning and the engineering keeps developing at a competative rate.
Regardless of whether the design is to liking or not, or how a company names its models or if the CEO is a bit eccentric surely a British company doing well should be cause to celebrate?
Or do the ill-informed want this company to go the direction of TVR - or even Bentley and Rolls Royce, former British companies that get absorbed etc?
Sorry, rant over. To be honest I should just do myself a favour and not read the threads on here anymore and save my blood pressure!
Vantagefan said:
There have been a few feature threads on AM in the past few months with the V12 Vantage Roadster, Vanquish, Virage/DB9 and now the V/H article and generally the same comments crop up.
Why is there a developing negativity towards AM no matter what they do? I take my hat off to a company that survives independant of a big German/Italian company. Their design has been steady and stunning and the engineering keeps developing at a competative rate.
Regardless of whether the design is to liking or not, or how a company names its models or if the CEO is a bit eccentric surely a British company doing well should be cause to celebrate?
Or do the ill-informed want this company to go the direction of TVR - or even Bentley and Rolls Royce, former British companies that get absorbed etc?
Sorry, rant over. To be honest I should just do myself a favour and not read the threads on here anymore and save my blood pressure!
Mate, don't stop reading threads, just stop worrying about what other people say. There will always be a differing point of view which can be seen as negativity, but you'd have to assume that a fair proportion of those on these forums are indeed Aston owners, so they can't hate the brand that much! I'm new to Aston Martin, having recently bought my first one. There are, of course, nuances that need a little getting used to, but I am officially over the moon with the most important factor....how it makes ME feel. Nobody else. So by all means, read others opinions, but don't let them change yours.....Why is there a developing negativity towards AM no matter what they do? I take my hat off to a company that survives independant of a big German/Italian company. Their design has been steady and stunning and the engineering keeps developing at a competative rate.
Regardless of whether the design is to liking or not, or how a company names its models or if the CEO is a bit eccentric surely a British company doing well should be cause to celebrate?
Or do the ill-informed want this company to go the direction of TVR - or even Bentley and Rolls Royce, former British companies that get absorbed etc?
Sorry, rant over. To be honest I should just do myself a favour and not read the threads on here anymore and save my blood pressure!
s off an buy something else. Personally I'm loving their work. There's a huge difference to a thread posted in the AM section versus those in General Gassing. The one's in GG, I read but can't be bothered to post up as there are too many people that want to knock AM - "I can't tell the difference, they are boring, they are too slow etc etc". People entitled to their opinions, but most of them have never driven an AM. No point trying to convince stupid people - they've got years more experience than I can counter. The worst one is "I will not buy a car that says Power, Beauty, Soul". Really, you would ignore a whole car/ marque for something that comes up on the screen as part of the cars system checks? See no point arguing it.
One's on here tend to be things we don't like, what can be improved. Objective, not subjective comments.
One's on here tend to be things we don't like, what can be improved. Objective, not subjective comments.
I think from the owners there are generally a few 'gripes' more than outright negativity - we all still seem to love our cars, plus most of us are owning Astions second hand and really there's nothing to compare then with at the £30-50k mark!
The thing is, if you don't own an Aston (and probably never will) it's very easy to read journalistic articles and regurgitate the negativity; of which there is a lot, some of it justified. The engines are getting old, the VH platform is getting old, and then from nowhere they come out with the 310quish which is actually a damned good car, all carbon body, some nice styling touches, a bit lighter, some decent engine tech and silly toys for the Americans. Ordinary gearbox aside (I think at 200k, it should have something other than an old tech saloon car slush-box), it's a fine car. Power and performance are where they should be for a releibale GT and dynamicaly it reviews as excellent.
But we need a new Vantage, urgently, as good as the current 'S' seems to be. The DB9.2 should keep the wolves from the door for now at that segment, it's probably as good to drive as a Ferarri California or a Bentley GT/GTC. But the new 991 destroys the Vantage in every measurable way except desirability and/or class. That's the problem when you go head to head with Porsche. You need to keep up when they take a step ahead, impossible when you have a thousandth of their R&D budget!
The other thing is; people are entitled to hold an opinion on a public forum and often believe they're right. Don't let it get you down, though I must say sometimes I come across as a fanboy when defending the marque against a detractor. The 'Astons are crap' brigade usally drive a car of an entirely different segment and just repeat verbatim what they've read elsewhere by other people with no experience of the brand.
Sadly a few have had bad experiences with Friday afternoon cars and you can't blame them for being bitter.
The thing is, if you don't own an Aston (and probably never will) it's very easy to read journalistic articles and regurgitate the negativity; of which there is a lot, some of it justified. The engines are getting old, the VH platform is getting old, and then from nowhere they come out with the 310quish which is actually a damned good car, all carbon body, some nice styling touches, a bit lighter, some decent engine tech and silly toys for the Americans. Ordinary gearbox aside (I think at 200k, it should have something other than an old tech saloon car slush-box), it's a fine car. Power and performance are where they should be for a releibale GT and dynamicaly it reviews as excellent.
But we need a new Vantage, urgently, as good as the current 'S' seems to be. The DB9.2 should keep the wolves from the door for now at that segment, it's probably as good to drive as a Ferarri California or a Bentley GT/GTC. But the new 991 destroys the Vantage in every measurable way except desirability and/or class. That's the problem when you go head to head with Porsche. You need to keep up when they take a step ahead, impossible when you have a thousandth of their R&D budget!
The other thing is; people are entitled to hold an opinion on a public forum and often believe they're right. Don't let it get you down, though I must say sometimes I come across as a fanboy when defending the marque against a detractor. The 'Astons are crap' brigade usally drive a car of an entirely different segment and just repeat verbatim what they've read elsewhere by other people with no experience of the brand.
Sadly a few have had bad experiences with Friday afternoon cars and you can't blame them for being bitter.
Bincenzo said:
Mate, don't stop reading threads, just stop worrying about what other people say. There will always be a differing point of view which can be seen as negativity, but you'd have to assume that a fair proportion of those on these forums are indeed Aston owners, so they can't hate the brand that much! I'm new to Aston Martin, having recently bought my first one. There are, of course, nuances that need a little getting used to, but I am officially over the moon with the most important factor....how it makes ME feel. Nobody else. So by all means, read others opinions, but don't let them change yours.....
Well said Bincenzo, couldn't have put it better myself! 
Try reading my second Vantage ownership thread to see why I think they can improve and deserve a bashing to encourage them!
http://pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&f...
First ownership experience was very similar.
Not the sort of experience you expect of a car at that price!
I still bought two and thoroughly enjoyed driving and owning both!
http://pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&f...
First ownership experience was very similar.
Not the sort of experience you expect of a car at that price!
I still bought two and thoroughly enjoyed driving and owning both!
Edited by mikey k on Tuesday 16th October 13:39
mikey k said:
Try reading my second Vantage ownership thread to see why I think they can improve and deserve a bashing to encourage them!
http://pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&f...
First ownership experience was very similar.
Not the sort of experience you expect of a car at that price!
Just read your thread on issues....I also have a rattle but figured out it's the sat nav whilst closed (held it down and it stops). Doesn't really bother me though as the windows are down or music loud http://pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&f...
First ownership experience was very similar.
Not the sort of experience you expect of a car at that price!
Edited by sukh_m on Tuesday 16th October 13:46
sukh_m said:
Just read your thread on issues....I also have a rattle but figured out it's the sat nav whilst closed (held it down and it stops). Doesn't really bother me though as the windows are down or music loud
That's actually quite common, I had that on my vantage and experienced it again on a V8S. Easily fixed though. Edited by sukh_m on Tuesday 16th October 13:46
bananarob said:
That's actually quite common, I had that on my vantage and experienced it again on a V8S. Easily fixed though.
Real timely comment as mine is booked in for a rattle from the sat nav when closed (but not when opens) Booked in for next week - what is the fix please so I can prompt if required?The negative comments always seem to come from owners of rival cars who want to reassure themselves that they've made the right purchase or people with no reasonable expectation of ever owning such a car.
This one in today's thread is typical:
This one in today's thread is typical:
The Crack Fox said:
I should love AM's, but dashboard gimmickry like 'Power, Beauty, Soul', and calling a key an 'Emotional Control Unit' makes me think they're aiming at Footballers instead of the likes of me. 
I don't think they're aiming at him at all somehow.OP - good point, but it also demonstrates how actual owners are passionate about their cars and the marque. I recently read a thread on the Porsche forum where it was highlighted AM were doing interest free credit for a month. One of the commentators labeled all AM's as crap, and stated they were below average reliabilty and difficult to drive. I held back from responding but when looking for evidence of the below average reliability comment, all I could find was that AM Vantage was the car with the least faults at 3 year MOT out of ALL cars, and that Porsche was listed as the 36th most unreliable car out of a field of 37 being looked at (a Jeep was 37th) in a particular series (probably down the serious engine issues they faced for a period of time)
So as stated, views about cars are very subjective, and I believe the comments on this forum are made out of a genuine passion for the cars and the desire to see AM survive. My own experience was tainted by minor finish and fit issues over the 3 years, an area I think AM could concentrate on now without a strategic partner. But they've all (nearly) been put right and do I love the car? Absolutely. Do I still get a buzz looking at it on the drive? Absolutely. Do I regret buying it? Not one bit. To sum up, I've ordered a new Boxster for my wife, the cars are being acclaimed in all reviews but I don't think it will feature anywhere close to the Vantage on my sense of occasion scale!
So as stated, views about cars are very subjective, and I believe the comments on this forum are made out of a genuine passion for the cars and the desire to see AM survive. My own experience was tainted by minor finish and fit issues over the 3 years, an area I think AM could concentrate on now without a strategic partner. But they've all (nearly) been put right and do I love the car? Absolutely. Do I still get a buzz looking at it on the drive? Absolutely. Do I regret buying it? Not one bit. To sum up, I've ordered a new Boxster for my wife, the cars are being acclaimed in all reviews but I don't think it will feature anywhere close to the Vantage on my sense of occasion scale!
Zod said:
The negative comments always seem to come from owners of rival cars who want to reassure themselves that they've made the right purchase or people with no reasonable expectation of ever owning such a car.
This one in today's thread is typical:
There's a reason why we are cool and he/she isn't This one in today's thread is typical:
The Crack Fox said:
I should love AM's, but dashboard gimmickry like 'Power, Beauty, Soul', and calling a key an 'Emotional Control Unit' makes me think they're aiming at Footballers instead of the likes of me.
I don't think they're aiming at him at all somehow.
steveatesh said:
Real timely comment as mine is booked in for a rattle from the sat nav when closed (but not when opens) Booked in for next week - what is the fix please so I can prompt if required?
Can't tell you personally, took it in with rattle, came out without! Dealers service must be familiar! Vantagefan said:
...
Or do the ill-informed want this company to go the direction of TVR - or even Bentley and Rolls Royce, former British companies that get absorbed etc?...
From the people in here I suspect it's *because* they don't want Aston to go the same way (as TVR at least) that they are as critical as they are (certainly is from my perspective).Or do the ill-informed want this company to go the direction of TVR - or even Bentley and Rolls Royce, former British companies that get absorbed etc?...
I've loved the Aston experience. I'll have spent a fortune experiencing it (have had the car from new in 2007 and done the thick end of 50k miles in it) and not regretted it.
But Aston need to do more with their latest offerings to persuade me to spend a similar sum in my next car. And looking at sales figures I'm not sure I'm alone.
FWIW I see no issue with being owned by a bigger company. If it means survival, so be it. Ferrari make thrilling cars despite the Fiat link. Lambo do despite VAG. Rolls and Bentley still make lovely cars. Without the injections of technology and money that these ownerships endow, I can't see anything other than a struggle for Aston.
I desperately want the Vantage replacement to excite me the way the original did 7yrs ago. But I suspect by the time it comes out I may already be in something else.
Zod said:
The negative comments always seem to come from owners of rival cars who want to reassure themselves that they've made the right purchase or people with no reasonable expectation of ever owning such a car.
This one in today's thread is typical:
I concur. Plus people seem to just watch Top Gear and think they're an expert. It's 'Pure Aston Martin' now on newer cars. This one in today's thread is typical:
The Crack Fox said:
I should love AM's, but dashboard gimmickry like 'Power, Beauty, Soul', and calling a key an 'Emotional Control Unit' makes me think they're aiming at Footballers instead of the likes of me.
I don't think they're aiming at him at all somehow.Gassing Station | Aston Martin | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff