Two new Aston Martin books coming

[carz92]

I would like to draw attention to two new books that are coming in Q3 of the year.

First one, Aston Martin Centenary book. Nice photography as it seems.
Link: http://www.ambientlife.co.uk/articles_261439.html and http://www.ambientlife.co.uk/articles_252744.html

Second one, Making Aston Martin by Ulrich Bez. Could be an very interesting read.
Link: http://www.teneues.com/shop-int/books/design/makin...

What do you guys think of these books?

[Guycord]

Or the follow-on book of fiction:-

Cygnet - From Swan to Guano in one easy PR stunt

[V8LM]

"Bez also shares his thoughts on the future of the automobile—and his plans for Aston Martin."

[mikey k]

carz92 said:

Second one, Making Aston Martin by Ulrich Bez. Could be an very interesting read.
Link: http://www.teneues.com/shop-int/books/design/makin...

Why the hell does he feel he "made" Aston Martin

[Jockman]

mikey k said:

Why the hell does he feel he "made" Aston Martin

Have there been any strikes during his tenure?

Has it gone bankrupt again during his tenure?

I suppose he has a right to say he has contributed to modern day Aston, but as always it's a team effort

[yeti]

mikey k said:

Why the hell does he feel he "made" Aston Martin

Because he's an out-of-touch megalomaniac..?

'Mr Aston Martin'

[mikey k]

Jockman said:

mikey k said:

Why the hell does he feel he "made" Aston Martin

Have there been any strikes during his tenure?

Has it gone bankrupt again during his tenure?

I suppose he has a right to say he has contributed to modern day Aston, but as always it's a team effort

Yep but there is a big difference between making and contributing
Maybe I'm being unfair to him, I just really dislike the way he pops up all over the place telling everyone how everything he does is great, wasting money (that ought to go in to R&D) on self promotion for him and his "crew"
You don't see the Jaguar directors doing it

[Jockman]

mikey k said:

Yep but there is a big difference between making and contributing
Maybe I'm being unfair to him, I just really dislike the way he pops up all over the place telling everyone how everything he does is great, wasting money (that ought to go in to R&D) on self promotion for him and his "crew"
You don't see the Jaguar directors doing it

The cult of personality pervades all, matey.

And yes....I did run a spell check

[mikey k]

Apt word pervades

[KarlFranz]

The first one is Tim's book. I had the pleasure of having him be my car photography mentor. Great guy. Amazing photographer.

[carz92]

KarlFranz said:

The first one is Tim's book. I had the pleasure of having him be my car photography mentor. Great guy. Amazing photographer.

That sounds good. Some photographs look absolutely stunning! Do you have any more information on that book?

[jj525]

mikey k said:

Why the hell does he feel he "made" Aston Martin

Review what the situation was prior to the Gaydon era and it is clear its a different company. By the way, the title is "Making Aston Martin" not "I made Aston Martin". Bez's passion has served all Aston owners, you may not agree with every decision but he leaves it far better than he found it.

[williamp]

jj525 said:

mikey k said:

Why the hell does he feel he "made" Aston Martin

Review what the situation was prior to the Gaydon era and it is clear its a different company. By the way, the title is "Making Aston Martin" not "I made Aston Martin". Bez's passion has served all Aston owners, you may not agree with every decision but he leaves it far better than he found it.

Gaydon and the VH platfirm was funded by Ford. Bez left the happy mondays and gave us the Cygnet

[mikey k]

williamp said:

jj525 said:

mikey k said:

Why the hell does he feel he "made" Aston Martin

Review what the situation was prior to the Gaydon era and it is clear its a different company. By the way, the title is "Making Aston Martin" not "I made Aston Martin". Bez's passion has served all Aston owners, you may not agree with every decision but he leaves it far better than he found it.

Gaydon and the VH platfirm was funded by Ford. Bez left the happy mondays and gave us the Cygnet

Whilst accept he made a contribution he certainly isn't their messiah and I disagree with a lot of his decisions (it would be longer than MG's list )
But that's just my opinion

[pilgrim7777]

Whilst I agree with the impression Bez feels his contribution is manifold. I think everybody forgets the massive investment and the influence on production and associated costs reduction that Ford made. I know many here feel that influence was negative and degraded the brand. That is an emotional reaction and we would not have the cars we today without that influence.
I personally, am delighted that the continuity with Ford and the engines continues.
I just hope the current investors take a similar view.

Edited by pilgrim7777 on Thursday 27th June 08:29

[mikey k]

pilgrim7777 said:

Whilst I agree with the impression Bez feels his contribution is manifold. I think everybody forgets the massive investment and the influence on production and associated costs reduction that Ford made. I know many here feel that influence was negative and degraded the brand. That is an emotional reaction and we would not have the cars we today without that influence.
I personally, am delighted that the continuity with Ford continues.

Correct & Volvo

[pilgrim7777]

Volvo is Ford....

[Jockman]

pilgrim7777 said:

Whilst I agree with the impression Bez feels his contribution is manifold. I think everybody forgets the massive investment and the influence on production and associated costs reduction that Ford made. I know many here feel that influence was negative and degraded the brand. That is an emotional reaction and we would not have the cars we today without that influence.
I personally, am delighted that the continuity with Ford and the engines continues.
I just hope the current investors take a similar view.

Edited by pilgrim7777 on Thursday 27th June 08:29

Actually Terry.....that's one thing you rarely hear on this forum.

A bad word about Ford

[carz92]

pilgrim7777 said:

Whilst I agree with the impression Bez feels his contribution is manifold. I think everybody forgets the massive investment and the influence on production and associated costs reduction that Ford made. I know many here feel that influence was negative and degraded the brand. That is an emotional reaction and we would not have the cars we today without that influence.
I personally, am delighted that the continuity with Ford and the engines continues.
I just hope the current investors take a similar view.

Edited by pilgrim7777 on Thursday 27th June 08:29

Why? I agree with you that the coorperation with Ford was very positive to the brand Aston Martin. However, the Ford engines are quite old right now and are not at the same level as the engines of their competitors.

[yeti]

carz92 said:

Why? I agree with you that the coorperation with Ford was very positive to the brand Aston Martin. However, the Ford engines are quite old right now and are not at the same level as the engines of their competitors.

The engines of thir competitors are not available, Ford units are. And beggars cannot be choosers. Their competitors have huge parent companies (FIAT, VW), Aston have no-one, just their wits. And Bez has lost his.

Terry is spot on there, Ford 'Made Aston Martin', not Bez although he was a good figurehead in his day. Speak to those who worked with him and don't anymore and you'll understand that he was a megalomaniacal control freak who became obsessed with cutting costs and compromising engineering (the no-one will notice type stuff like removing the oil cooler from ASMII or the rear ARB from the DB9 Volante) while living the aspirational lifestyle and working on the 'coolest brand'.

Yes he leaves Aston better than when he arrived. But Ford and the DB7 saved the company, which led to some fantastic engineering in the DB9 and Vantage.

jj25... are you actually Bez?