Germancar1

An Aston-Martin is just a different kind of car. They're gorgeous to look at and enthralling to listen too. There is one car in the world that looks better than all the rest, the DB9. On that alone I'd have one if I were as rich as some of you guys around here. The car looks and sounds like nothing else, a British Ferrari if you will. The Volante version is just even sicker. I didn't like the V8 Vantage when it first arrived and I still haven't seen one on the street, but the roadster version I think I like just based on the pics. Astons are exotic and unlike all these new VW-based Bentleys, Astons are still "exclusive". You don't see an Aston-Martin on every corner or in every music video. The new DBS is going to be a tweaked version of the DB9 with 550hp hp to take the place of the Vanquish which has been retired for 2007.

So what do we have here? An Aston is better looking, more exotic, and more exclusive than a Mercedes thats for sure. A Mercedes is going to be the better daily driver and all those practical things, but that might not matter when looking and listening to an Aston-Martin. I haven't driven an Aston so I can't comment on how it drives.

M

mannnu81

AM is another choice rather than THE choice. and this is only because of their performance and maybe reliability.

absent

A DB9 is also an inferior performer to a lot of family sedans (AMGs,Ms etc),interior although heavens better then DB7,still has creaks and rattles and handling is not a World class either.
Mine was in service 4 times in 1800 miles and that is just average for these cars.
It's like a gorgeus girl that wants to sleep with you only once in a while and when it happens it's not what you expected anyway.
No wonder,they are desirable for guys who never had 'em ,those that did,dumped them pretty quick and with a loss of $$ incomparable to any other car in it's class (with the exception of 65s).
Phaeton would be a "great" car if not named a VW ,totally bespoke and well built design with nothing to share with the rest of Volkswagen lineup.
Nothing wrong with using its excellent floorpan,AC or Nav in the Bentley,nothing wrong with turbocharging it's W12 and putting it in the Continental.
These cars are bespoke,run circles around Arnages in every department and are truly a good deal for the money.
Only guys with no first hand experience "put" these cars "down" and make fun of their supposed VW origin.
Get used to component sharing in all the "luxury" cars,they all have either MB Sclass (Maybach) 7 series(Phantom) origin.
Make fun of the Veyron,after all it also has a VW engine,just expanded by 4 more cylinders and 4 turbos.
Still,just a VW based car.....

Germancar1

Sure the new VW-based Bentleys are good cars, but they aren't exclusive and they are indeed based on a big ole VW. Whether or not the Phaeton should have been called a VW or not is irrelevant, it is. The new Bentleys are superior to the Arnage in many areas as you correctly point out, but they aren't bespoke, exclusive or anything like that when I see VW switchgear poking through in their interiors or VW steering wheels. Bentleys are supposed to be "bespoke" and unique and the Continental family isn't and the VW Nav systems sucks. Who cares where or who the A/C and what not comes from. I certainly don't, I'm talking about the parts that I see and touch in a 160K car that come from a 65K VW, that is where they got it wrong.

I have to take your word as far how Astons drive, I've never driven one and yes Aston's performance isn't anything special in this day of 500 and 600hp BMW and Mercedes-Benzes.

Basing a car on the same chassis is called platform sharing not compenent sharing. NO current Rolls-Royce is based on a 7-Series BMW. The Maybach was to be a Mercedes at first, but they changed their minds and went with the decison to make Maybach a whole seperate brand. The Maybachs are based on the W140 S-Class, not the W220 or W221 hence the chassis code W240.

I have no problem with platform or component sharing, but VW needs to do a better job with Bentley if they're going to continue to base everything on VW chassis. If you're going to use a VW as the base for the hardware then there should be enough money saved to come up with a different interior, not a rehash of of a VW interior with Bentley's leather and wood and some different seats.

M

mannnu81

i knew it wasnt good, but i didnt know it was THIS bad. pity, they look good. so i guess your analogy is right on- hot chick but dumb. pity indeed

Germancar1

I hope you don't allow this thread make your decision on an Aston-Martin. Such a car might be worth the trouble if fall hard enough for the look, sound and feel of it all. Either way I'd still check them out in person.

M

absent

It did not help the image of the car when a hot (but dumb) chick from "Desperate Wives" started driving it....

seattlecarfreak

I didn't buy my SL to be "more" exclusive.. I bought it because it was the most all-around enjoyable and comfortable two seat roadster i've ever been in.

It sounds like you are basing your opinion of the aston on "prestige", and while that may be of some individuals interest, such as yourself, that definately isn't the case for everyone. I don't think by any means the SL is any less qualified than the aston by any means, other than exclusivity. (which for me and most others on this forum, I doubt matters much at all.)

And if one is buying a car for exclusivity only, then they have other issues to deal with imho... . Been in the aston, nice car, but as many have commented.. it's a beautiful car, but I just don't feel it is anything special.. it's like a designer luggage.. nice to look at.. but is it really worth the extra money? debatable..

Juice it

Who gives a crap if Bentley uses some parts from the Phaeton. This is the new age of cars and the old hand built days of selling 200 units a year are done. The new lambos have audi parts and nav's and switching and yes they are not as "bespoke" as they once were but they are all much better, much more reliable cars. They need to sell way more to exist these days but to say they are no longer exclusive is ignorant. Sure you will see more Bentleys and Lambos than you used to but they are still a small fraction of cars sold and are still very special cars.Most people that own a Continental probably have not spent any time studying the interior of a VW and could care less what parts are similar. The people that it bothers don't ever seem to own a Bentley either.

CY

In the end, even thought it would be hard to turn down the Bond factor etc, I would probably take the Bentley GT over the DB9.

Germancar1

I'm really not disagreeing you and why you bought an SL. I too think that it is the best luxury/sport roadster going, has been for years and years.

You have your experiences and opinion on Aston-Martin and I have mine, we just have to agree to disagree, or at least until I can experience/own one. Maybe then I'd think a lot less of them.

M

Germancar1

Likewise most people harping about the Continental family never had a Bentley before either and they don't know squat about the brand other than the name and that they're expensive.

Lamborghinis are not bought for the interiors, Bentleys are. Big difference. As long as a Lambo is fast, alluring to look at and listen too no one cares that the interior bits are from an A4 or A8. Bentley on the other hand made part of their name and mystic on having truly handcrafted and bespoke interiors. With all the money saved on using the VW foundation they should have had some to do a more unique interior.

Your sig says you have an Arnage, so you should know what I'm talking about here.

M

absent

I had a Red Label before,had driven Arnage T extensively,most people I know who now have some variation of Conti,also owned or still do own some older gen Bentley (Arnage/Azure/Continental T) and everyone shares the same opinion as I do.
I really don't understand where your animosity toward newer,VW engineers infuenced design comes from,where do you come from with your strong and so definitive statements?
Did you really have such a negative , personal experience ,with one of the new Continentals?
How much time did you spend in one?

Juice it

Personally I like the interior of my GTC better than my Arnage and the interior of the Continental is still hand stitched and beautiful. Also, a little tidbit you don't mention is the fact that the cont. has a base of 160 and the Arnage is still 220 Plus so to put up with a few shared parts people are saving a ton of money and getting a way more advanced product. As far as the Lambo, you a wrong to think that people that buy them don't care about the interiors. I have had Ferraris in the past and know a few people with lambos and the interior of the Murci being so plain is a big topic of discussion and the Gallardo actually gets praise for its audi based interior. If people just wanted to go fast they buy a Z06 and even they complain about that interior for 70k.

absent

Most recently,people choose the Continentals because they like them better,not because of any significant price advantage.
A loaded Spur with Mulliner pkge is very,very close to heavily (lately) discounted Arnage,as to make the price difference totally irrelevant (a Ford Focus difference at best).
As far as Lambo interiors,the plain and totally unremarkable Gallardo's made me get rid of the thing after just a few weeks.(performance was also nothing to rave about).

seattlecarfreak

i think interior does indeed matter "very much".. people don't pay $200k to drive around in a plastic interior with a seat as comfortable as a wooden box to sit on.

the aston is a perfect example... pretty to look at.. but realistically.. for everyday driving.. month in and month out.. the interior layout.. simply is not very comfortable.. it's all "bling"... (imho of course)

I think the biggest disappointing interior of any exotic interior has got to be the ferarri 348TS..

the car looked ok on the outside... (speed.. neglibible.. but pretty bad..)
but open the door on that thing... hideous. does it get any worse than that?

and of course the previous generation aston db7 had the interior in competition with a ford crown victoria ltd. (little bit of an exageration maybe..)

if the 348TS had a decent interior.. it might not have been such a pile.. and people may have bought it... but ferarri screwed up big time on that model.. luckily the 355 saved the company when they redesigned it..

i think many cars have come a long way.. but unless you are buying a car for exclusivity.. i think interior is very important..

if people like the db9 so much, why not just get the fisker sl? looks like an aston, designed by an ex-aston designer.. and has everything the SL has, with more exclusivity than any car on the road.. problem solved :>

Juice it

How did your Gallardo compare to your SL65?

absent

Better handling,everyone was staring at it at lights,way more bling then my debadged SL.
SL would destroy it at any speed of course,much more comfortable,does not feel like a kit car put together with bits and pieces from various Audi A4s.
Much more practical daily driver,top down a bonus and does not attract any attention whatsoever from anyone,ever.
Sls here are a dime a dozen and this anonymity suits me fine.

IngenereAMG

Ah..another armchair racer. Its not about, "What you read". Its all BS. Its what you personally can do, in a given car.

Again I have to ask, have you personally experienced sub 4 or 4 sec 0-60?

Have you ever done 4.8 in an M3? Probably not. At the track I have chased down and passed Porsches, and kept pace with Gallardos with it. It is a unique car and so well balanced. A great package.

With the Vantage at the track, I have had no problem leaving Porsche, 997s, 996, GT3 and turbos in the corners...as well as various and sundry suposedly superior performance cars. Again....a great package, and very well done.

The SL has been a shock to most people that I have encountered at the track...keeping pace with Z06s (C6), and leaving virtually everything else in its wake...and not just in a straight line.

My lowly 348 has left 430s, 360s, 355s, 575s and a Diablo or 3 on club drives through the mountains.

Your time might be better spent not worrying about what some magazine says, and actually driving. All this nonsense is about 'driving'...not bragging rights about which magazine listed which car as faster than another. Perhaps its because more people spend more time in front of a screen, than actually experiencing.

Ted Baldwin

.........interesting finding this thread. I usually spend NYE in Sobe. Yesterday while walking around my friend and I both noticed how many Astons there were. Granted this is an area that has a lot of nice cars, but I did not expect to see so many of them. Honestly, after seeing 5 or 6 in a day, they really do begin to look quite ordinary. If you are buying one just because it is an Aston Martin, the novelty may wear off pretty quickly if there is nothing alse under the hood to back it up. Something to consider.

Ted

seattlecarfreak

I'm just curious, doesn't essentially the DB9 have the same qualifications of the XKR at $100,000 less? Not trying to say, they are the same cars by any means (albeit have their similarities for obvious reasons.).. but I'm curious as to what the new DB9 offers that the new Jaguar XKR doesn't for $100k less?

Germancar1

I'm sure the interior of the GTC is more modern, but it didn't feel or look the same to me. I mentioned that the Bentley Conti family is much cheaper because of the VW connection so I didn't forget that. How else did everyone and their brother get a "Bentley" over the last few years?

I didn't say that people didn't care about Lambo interiors. Please go back and read that post again. I said that people don't buy Lambos for their interiors (i.e. the leather, wood, craftsmanship) like they do for Bentleys. Big, huge difference there. I'm sure the Audi bits work better than anything Lambo would have designed, but again the interior isn't the focus when one is eyeing a Lamborghini, the look, sound and performance is. Bentley made their name partly due to bespoke interiors, Lamborghini didn't.

M

Juice it

And Bentley still has some of the best interiors in the business so I don't see your point. If you don't like them, don't buy one. I would think one of the reasons people bought Mercedes was the interior as well and it didn't stop you from buying a clk with its cheap plastic bits all over the place.

david_101

funny, i saw a california-plate G500 cabrio in the lot the other day. small world.

Juice it

I sold that and replaced it with the 65. Great financial decision! I wish I had it back. I have never seen another one on the road yet. MBUSA should be selling them. At 75k they would be a steal. At 130k and the pain to get it here I wouldn't do it again.