New Vantage?

[pbe624]

H all,

saw the DB11 volante and the new vantage in Frankfurt 2 weeks ago. Just some points:

- I was told a 7 speed manual would be available, not clear if from the start or later
- I did not see any interior details, interior was covered up
- exterior design has already been discussed before, and I was asked not to give any details :-)
- I got invitation through my -Belgian- dealer. (I currently have a db9 and no plans to buy a new one)

Cheers,
Frank

[FrankieMac]

IanV12VR said:

The majority of those attending the previews are people who have placed a refundable deposit on the car and that gets you on the list. I have been told by a few people that they are unlikely to buy the car but have deposits down as it guarantees getting on the invite list. I guess if your dealer is struggling for numbers they will then approach people who they think would be interested. I did think of putting down a deposit but knew I wouldn’t be buying so didn’t want to waste anyone’s time. I will just have to be patient, not easy, and wait for the public announcement - can’t wait to see what it looks like. Hope it is as good as I am expecting

Ah correct Ian. I’ve been invited as a now non AM owner. I assume on the premise I may want to buy one. Going on 1st Nov so clearly down the list from those that have deposits down and quite rightly so. I hope it tempts me back...but we’ll see

[jonby]

Bincenzo said:

Buster73 said:

M5MarkM said:

Looks like the right one.... new one is beautiful, I'm sure it wont be long before photos are released as they've let a lot of us into the factory now. Good marketing plan doing it this way to build anticipation

They need to have drive able demonstrator vehicles in dealerships the same day they launch the car , seems wrong to me to release details to the press and public domain then make folk wait an age for a drive.

I'm not alone in the thought of buying a car without a decent test drive just goes against my principles.

I hate to break it to you, but the car has not been launched yet. So why on earth would AM provide a driveable demo when the company is way off launching the car? Those that have seen the car have expressed a real interest, via the dealerships, to buy the car. It’s very simple. I love the fact that you sit there criticisising AM for not inviting you to the inner circle, yet say in the same breath, I’m not interested in a turbo charged V8.
The car will be launched when it is, there will be a drivable demo, and you can all then bemoan the fact that AM didn’t treat people to a free condominium in Miami with the car.
Get a grip.

There are indeed some very strange comments on this issue

Dealers get a certain number of slots to these events, which it doesn't take much research to learn have followed a similar pattern with Vanquish, DB11, DB11 Volante and now, new Vantage. Those who attend are given the opportunity to get an early slot, which means you need to be prepared to put in a firm order without having driven the car (and of course, before journos have driven the car, let alone published reviews on it). That's understandably not for everyone, but how can people criticise Aston for not getting an invite to the preview but in the same breath, say they won't order without having driven one first ?

Everyone has known this car was coming for some while now and if you had gone into a dealership and made a genuine effort to build up a relationship, or put down a deposit, you would have an invite. Someone, somewhere, at some stage, has to make a decision on who to allocate to, invite to a preview, make a phone call to, etc. A human being, making a judgement call. So those who make the effort to build up a relationship with their dealer invest time and loyalty and hopefully get something back in return. Is that not just the way the world works ? You must have been living in a cave for the last 20 years if you don't know it's commonplace to place refundable deposits with dealers of all top end marques, for models that are at the time purely speculative, in the hope you get priority when (and if) the car is released. Understandably, again that's not for everyone but you pays your money and takes your choice - some people seem to expect one way traffic

[Ex Boy Racer]

Hmmmm. Not sure you are right.
I had a Ferrari 458 and was invited to one of the very early test drives of the 488.
Audi have invited me to everything since I had my R8.
Maserati, Alfa Romeo, BMW. You name it.
They know I'm daft for buying cars!
Surely in this day and age if you're selling something you are the one that puts the effort in.
Particularly if you haven't been doing that well in recent years
Don't get me wrong. I'm really not bothered.
But if a single potential buyer has been put off in this rarified atmosphere surely they have done something wrong?

[RobDown]

It just feels like a strange way to do things. I'm sure someone in marketing can give a more expert view, but AML do sometimes seem to make life much harder for themselves than it needs to be

Old Vantage production is drawing to a close. Presumably AML want a full order book of new Vantages lined up for early 2018 production. Or have they just decided they're going to build 500 standard launch edition cars in Silver and flood the dealerships with them?

If the car is ready to show to prospective buyers why not "leak" some photos to the motoring press at this stage? Whet the appetite? Surely that's the way to get non-cognoscenti going into the dealerships and making enquiries about the new car and its those people that should be going to these events? How many of those non-Aston Martin experts are going to be in the dealerships of Porsche and McLaren over the next couple of months placing orders for rival cars because they weren't aware of a new Vantage

But hey, what do I know

[Jon39]

Yet another guess picture.

[Composer62]

I really hope that's not it. the grille is just too .. how do I put it ... "down of mouth"

I wouldn't be looking for an MX5 "cartoon" smile but the AM grille is an iconic feature that needs to be in there somehow.

[CPBRI]

RobDown said:

If the car is ready to show to prospective buyers why not "leak" some photos to the motoring press at this stage? Whet the appetite?

Agreed. Get so tired of the absolute secrecy. It's just a car. A car we want to buy. Show us a little something.

[C997]

RobDown said:

AML do sometimes seem to make life much harder for themselves than it needs to be

That statement there sums up Aston Martin in every respect!

[DB9VolanteDriver]

Does it look like this?

https://forum.amoc.org/post/show_single_post?pid=1...

[Venturist]

DB9VolanteDriver said:

Does it look like this?

https://forum.amoc.org/post/show_single_post?pid=1...

Link doesn’t work unless you’re a member of that forum.

[V8LM]

It's a photoshopped photo of the DB11 V8:

Edited by V8LM on Sunday 15th October 08:32

[jonby]

RobDown said:

If the car is ready to show to prospective buyers why not "leak" some photos to the motoring press at this stage? Whet the appetite? Surely that's the way to get non-cognoscenti going into the dealerships and making enquiries about the new car and its those people that should be going to these events? How many of those non-Aston Martin experts are going to be in the dealerships of Porsche and McLaren over the next couple of months placing orders for rival cars because they weren't aware of a new Vantage

But surely Rob, that's exactly what they have done with the so called 'spy shot cars' which have sponsor style stickers on ? There are some people who will essentially never pay attention to new cars until the official launch - one assumes the official launch/press shots can't be more than weeks away if the timing follows a similar pattern to the other cars Aston has held these 'preview days' for ? And for those that do read the online magazines and follow forums more closely, there have been loads of spy shots of the new Vantage in mule form, to give the impetus for those people to act on and pay a visit to their dealer

Ex Boy Racer said:

Hmmmm. Not sure you are right.
I had a Ferrari 458 and was invited to one of the very early test drives of the 488.
Audi have invited me to everything since I had my R8.
Maserati, Alfa Romeo, BMW. You name it.
They know I'm daft for buying cars!
Surely in this day and age if you're selling something you are the one that puts the effort in.
Particularly if you haven't been doing that well in recent years
Don't get me wrong. I'm really not bothered.
But if a single potential buyer has been put off in this rarified atmosphere surely they have done something wrong?

I'm not quite sure why someone might be put off ? Presumably most of the examples you give above are dealer led ? In which instance, your beef should be with whichever Aston dealer you have a relationship with. Some of whom are better than others. Also, presumably you didn't get to drive a 488 before the journos did or for that matter, before there were official shots in the car mags ?




I am quick to criticise Aston at times and there is no question in my mind, though I've never had the conversation, that new vantage (and DB11, which the timing of new Vantage is surely linked to ?), are being launched at least 12 months later than perhaps was hoped for by Aston a few years ago. But that timing is what it is and once they have a launch date, it appears they can't win.

If a manufacturer releases close to finished photos way ahead of time, people get fatigue - Mclaren 12C is a great example of that and Alpine A110 is getting close to that - it seemed such an age between seeing full photos and customer cars hitting the road, it lost impact. If alternatively, they completely surprise you with a new model in full press shots with no advance rumours whatsoever, it has maximum impact, but some are upset as they have bought a soon to be old car without realising there is a new one in the offing. The ideal is somewhere in the middle, which appears to be what Aston have done - plenty of knowledge a new model is coming, but not much detail to help the impact when it is launched

Again though, it is surely going to be between say 2 and 6 weeks from now before the full press launch ? Meanwhile, without wanting to get into confidential areas, it seems reasonable to assume we are talking first deliveries being no earlier than Feb and no later than April/May. So at least 3 months and perhaps as many as 6 between full press shots and first deliveries - that seems about right to me

I can imagine there being a 6-12 month waiting list for a new Vantage from when the first cars are delivered, for at least the first year. If so, within Aston, I can't see how they will see that as anything other than a success. If the waiting list is any longer, that too upsets people - plenty of anecdotal evidence of people moving from Ferrari to lamborghini because they are tired of having to wait 2 years for a mainstream model soon after it launches or alternatively, having to buy a less popular model to get higher up the list for a popular one

I have an awful lot of sympathy with Rob over some other 'issues' he has had with Aston buying recently, but on the way they are launching Vantage, from a factory perspective, I don't quite see it.

I also think you have to appreciate that showing a car to potential customers before shots are official is a risky business that needs careful control. Showing cars to customers before journos is always going to be seen as a privilege, which by definition can't just be an open invite

The main gripes on here appear to be from those who haven't been invited, which means either they haven't cultivated a relationship with their dealer, haven't followed the online sites closely enough, or their individual dealer hasn't approached the right people, in which case again, surely that should be a dealer gripe not a factory gripe.

Of course ultimately, however well you manage all these things, how good the car looks & drives will be the main determinant of it's success. We haven't got long to wait to see that.

[Jon39]

Interesting too Jonby after reading your comments, that there has recently been a surge of people on this forum, who have bought new Mk1 Vantages. Clearly they all must have known about the successor model, so the point you mention about 'bought a soon to be old car' has not put people off. That could be because the Mk1 is likely to remain, being considered a stunning design.

My view about who is invited to the pre-launch viewings, is AML obviously only want people who a likely to 'pull out the cheque book'. They are not operating to offer entertainment, they are aiming to create a viable manufacturing business.

Car customers I think must fit various groups. Many want the latest model as soon as possible. Others like me, hang back and wait for the improved version, which arrives two or three years after the launch. It makes sense to only invite the first group to viewings. I am happy to wait and will be having my glass of wine at a dealer launch.

In a few weeks the conversation on here will abruptly change to; I like that part, I don't like that.

Edited by Jon39 on Sunday 15th October 10:27

[RobDown]

My primary concern Jonby is the comment from someone above that there seems to be a lot of spare spaces on these visits (indeed all bar one in Upperworks session).

That's fine if it's a limited edition car. But this is going to be one of AMLs mass production vehicles so the more pre-orders the better and it just feels like this particular soft launch could have been handled better

I'm not buying a new Vantage. I know that, my dealer knows that (I'm buying an AMR at the moment and he knows what I'm after after that one). While we have a number of "communication" issues I really don't blame him for not inviting me!

[jonby]

RobDown said:

My primary concern Jonby is the comment from someone above that there seems to be a lot of spare spaces on these visits (indeed all bar one in Upperworks session).

The spare spaces point a few have raised is indeed concerning & somewhat odd, but in the absence of more info about the reasons why and how widespread that is, it's difficult to comment conclusively. The no shows someone mentioned for instance is really strange

[jonby]

Jon39 said:

Interesting too Jonby after reading your comments, that there has recently been a surge of people on this forum, who have bought new Mk1 Vantages. Clearly they all must have known about the successor model, so the point you mention about 'bought a soon to be old car' has not put people off. That could be because the Mk1 is likely to remain, being considered a stunning design.

My view about who is invited to the pre-launch viewings, is AML obviously only want people who a likely to 'pull out the cheque book'. They are not operating to offer entertainment, they are aiming to create a viable manufacturing business.

Car customers I think must fit various groups. Many want the latest model as soon as possible. Others like me, hang back and wait for the improved version, which arrives two or three years after the launch. It makes sense to only invite the first group to viewings. I am happy to wait and will be having my glass of wine at a dealer launch.

In a few weeks the conversation on here will abruptly change to; I like that part, I don't like that.

Edited by Jon39 on Sunday 15th October 10:27

Well put

On the people buying Mk1 Vantage, a couple of points. Firstly, some are buying Mk1 because the new one is coming - they see it as the end of an era and here is the chance to buy, possible before prices rise. But for those who have been buying V12VS simply because it's current, particularly in flappy paddle form, will at least do so in the knowledge that a new car is coming and I don't know, but I suspect sales of new V8 Vantages have been pretty slow in recent months, because the market knows a new car is coming. The point being at least people can make a decision in full knowledge of a replacement being not far away

But yes, people are buying partly because it's a stunning design. I've bought a V12AMR in full knowledge of the new car coming and mine will presumably be delivered after journo reviews are published as mine is looking like late March delivery. I am well aware my car will look immediately ancient when the new car is launched, regardless of it's perceived 'beauty'. Like you, I probably won't be interested in new Vantage until some of the more souped up versions are launched and even then, it would be to add to, not replace AMR, which I see as a proper keeper

[Jon39]

Rob and Jonby,

Your comments about the vacant places.

I presume that you must have understood, who it was that was told to cancel their visit.


A keeper eh Jonby? A phrase said by many. Time will tell.
( I am allowed to say that. Still own my very first car. )

[chesby]

Jon39 said:

Rob and Jonby,


A keeper eh Jonby? A phrase said by many. Time will tell.
( I am allowed to say that. Still own my very first car. )

But are you still with your first girlfriend?

[Jon39]

chesby said:

Jon39 said:

Rob and Jonby,


A keeper eh Jonby? A phrase said by many. Time will tell.
( I am allowed to say that. Still own my very first car. )

But are you still with your first girlfriend?

Thank you for not asking how long I have owned the car. You are very polite.