Well said.

I think there have been some valid points offered in this thread. So in summary, here is the letter we propose/:

"Dear Aston, we all agree that Aston wins best in class in the most elegant GT. In the future, please make the following changes: avant garde design with continued elegance, a wee bit more HP, updated technology (especially the crappy Nav)....in order to live up to 'power, beauty, and soul.'"

 

A propos of this discussion:

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/in...martins-future

 

It seems this article is right on. Aston needs a technology partner for engines that it cannot afford to develop itself. It also needs the last transmission approaches. An Audi S8 for example has an 8 speed at least. A sound, well turned out DSG is essential for the product line.

It seems strange that Aston doesn't act on these items and just focuses on marketing.

Lastly, the evolutionary approach to styling has limits. The Vantage is hard to top, but Aston has to do something in this department to keep the line fresh.

 

Very interesting article....true about the comment of the "10 year old V12" - which pretty sums up how old Aston's engineering performance is.

Also, very interesting to see Ferrari sales rise significantly most recently...they are doing something right where Aston is missing something badly - performance. F12 NA V12 with 730 hp??? are you kidding me?
Aston can't rely on looks alone.

 

I believe we break the judgment of AM’s Product into 4 Categories, and 2 types of affluent drivers: Performance driver & Luxury sportscar owner.
1. LOOKS. “A-“ (riding coat tails of former A+)

2. PERFORMANCE. “B-C”
I’m a street/highway driver, and the car does all that I ever need it to, but I’m one half of a buying segment, the other half may grade this a “D” versus competition in the price point, and I certainly understand why.

3. PANACHE. Formerly "A+", today debatable "A-C" depending upon the age & sex segment.

Without 007, I may not be here. The most attention I get to my car seems to come from 40-65 year-old men. Teenagers notice, but ask what kind of car it is! I got pulled over the other day from a younger looking Highway Patrolman and he asked my what the make of the car (DB9) was, becuase he didn't know....and this is Southern California!....and that’s not good for the future of the brand.
I have younger kids and can get Lego models & other toys for seemingly all supercars but AM....which is emblematic of a lack of presence or any perception- good or bad. Obscurity is no bueno for AM's future.
We need more product placement in high end & well respected media. Thank goodness for Entourage…which is now over…and I imagine they decided on AM versus proactive product placement by the company. Same goes for Pixar’s Nigel Gearsley & occasional Hotwheels cars. Conversely, the Transformer Bumblebee is still doing wonders for the Chevy Camaro 6 years later. Can you imagine if BumbleBee was a new Vantage in 2006/7?
Since media is how most will see & percieve & fall in love with the brand, which is all important for relevance & sales…if you disagree, imagine for a moment AM without 007...shouldn’t AM be doing a better job with Media Product Placement? With all that is spent on racing that most never see, shouldn't PP be someone’s full-time job?

4. LUXURY. “C+” Workmanship is beautiful “A”, comfort & safety technology is poor “F” versus competition.
I realize this may be going off the reservation for some...but remember, this is about AM selling more units. If you worry about weight…why not do a really expensive & corporately profitable luxury trim for me, and a scaled back track trim for others…or even a more expensive track trim if it offers more power & better transmission options?...good idea, huh?
It always bears repeating: There are some amazing Nav systems out there, and ours was and is woeful.
Ford Sync & similar technology that takes touch screen Nav with advanced capabilities & integrates with Mobile, usb, entertainment, hard drive, sound etc is the new practical.
Lane Departure, Blind Spot detection, Night Vision, Heads up Windshield Display and other safety systems found in other leading luxury brands are missing in ours.
Comfort features such as cooled seats, massage seats, more ergonomically comfortable seats, integrated garage door opener, lighted sunshield mirror, ambiance lighting, better cup holders, etc. I want to drive my Grand Tourer for long distances with amazing performance…and luxurious comfort. Is it really “all that” to demand it at this price point…especially since others have it? I think having these options would sell more cars.


We all arrived here for different reasons. Mine was an adolescent dream combined with a love for the look and attraction to the exclusivity & image (yes, I admit it) that come with an AM versus other supercars. I'm now 36, and I don't know if those 15 years younger will generate as many new buyers for the brand. Although I'm in love with my DB9 and at this point may never get rid of it, I'm not sure that I'll be a repeat buyer either.

 

^^^ nice post, well thought out

 

This is EXACTLY why I bought an Aston. Having people trying to figure out what kind of car it is, is perfect for the brand.

 

My report card

 

Agree with XJRS ^^ If I wanted everyone to know, I would have a red Ferrari or a yellow Lambo....or any color/model Porsche. There are many different opinions on what exotic means, but I enjoy it when most do not even know the make of what I am driving.

I had an older gentlemen and his wife pull up to me and ask if it was a Bentley yesterday!

 

Great responses!

mfrankel, IMHO a lot of the 'luxury' features you mention either are: 1. useless addenda that reinforce the idea that it is OK to unplug your brain behind the wheel (lane departure warning), or 2. things that have no place in a sports coupe or compact GT (massaging seats). That being said, I agree that better seat designs are needed. I have never found Aston seats particularly comfortable, and I notice that the Vanquish has gotten a fair bit of criticism for its unsupportive seats (Evo really harped on this).

The more I see of the revised DB9 and 'new' Vanquish, the more I like them. IMO the biggest thing Aston could do to improve them would be to fit a DSG transmission. But reworking and improving on the same theme will only go so far, and as the Autocar writer opines, Aston needs a sugar daddy soon.

 

Aston Martin have the most beutifull cars builded today and have a totally halo of glamour and tradition in part gained with the films of James Bond. I think racing is a important part too but less important than glamour an 007 facts. The problem is they have no idea of the costumers they reached with the introduction of the V8 Vantage and the acces of young people to the brand. I mean the car have in mind the old costumer, not the young. Many of the members of this forum are looking to improve his car and personality it and as you can see in all the last models introduced after V8V are almost the same. For me tradition and continiuty is perfect and the best example is the porsche 911, no one can beat it in continuity, but the problem is about one thing, you want that car but dont want yours to be same as others and in Aston Martin can understand this simple fact. They are loosing one of the biggest potential of any brand, post-market, just because they think costumer will go like stupids to his dealers and spend a lot of money in simple mechanical questions, hey man! I like cars, I like performance, I like about personalitation and have internet and I dont want your expensive and conservative workshop for old and conservative costumers. I think big post-market makers of personalitation and performance are gained a huge amount of money because of that and this grows and grows everyday. Are brands are suffering this but they still focus in just sell cars and give traditional post market assist but in the future if you dont give your costumer the possiblity of improve or personalite your car you are gonna get in problems unless you sell big hits like the V8V. In the other hand we see the totally disaster of responsability of the brands in his faults like the sportshift clucht of the Sportshift version, they make a big error and didnt care about it and didnt offer any solution just thread you like an idiot. Well your errors are oportunities for others and you will pay for that. For me Aston Martin is over, Im gonna keep the car for the rest of my life and I love it but never gonna buy other again, I will improve in all aspects mine, solute by my own the problems AM refuse to solute and thats all. Next car a new Maseratti GT

 

I've read this in many articles and thought it quite a few times as well. However, a strong rebuttal to this position is Porsche. They have literally made a business of simply reworking and improving the 911 for the last 50 years. Hard to argue with their success.

 

Good point Racer_X. Look back at Aston's history -- they make beautiful (sometimes iconic) front-engined rear drive GTs that are a joy to drive. The DB series has been evolving for 60 or 70 years, and every iteration is better than the last.

 

My reportcard for Aston:

1) Looks - A (best feature - and timeless design cues, excellent pedigree, history, and lineage)
2) Performance - B- (we all know the deal here - comparing to cars in same class and price brackets)
3) Pinache - A- (rare, exclusive, classy, and refined whilst still drawing in the discerning eye nicely)
4) Luxury - B- (great materials, details, and workmanship, but tech and Sat nav and other features need improvment)

Overall not a very bad student at all

 

I agree that the transmission problem is key and inexcusable for Aston. The earlier Vanquish had a terrible sequential manual that just burned clutches and was a real pieces of junk. It was so bad Aston still offers a manual conversion.

The One-77 also was criticized for its transmission. It is just unfathomable they would not use this car's development to arrive at a great DSG that they could then move into the rest of the line.

My V8V has an excellent manual that I love to drive, but for cars in the $200K and up class these days a DSG is de rigueur. My personal view is that there two options should be offered on all their cars, but hey, YMMV.