Just another mall display car? Aston Martin

Phipps Plazza here in Atlanta also has an Aston Martin V8V and a Bentley GTC in the inside mall.

Across the street at Lenox Mall, there is a Maserati display, which has had several different Quattroportes (currently the GT-S) and a Gran Sport before that

 

i have nothing i can contribute to provide a different position. i am saddened about the commonality of what used to be exotics. seeing these machines in the wild was a treat. they are really just a car now.

glad i don't see boxers at the mall!!!

 

I have seen Ferraris and Lambos as mall display cars, I don't think that kills the brand.

However, I do think certain "exotics" have been overbuilt, and the AMV8 is one of them. Its a shame, seeing an Aston on the street used to be a once-in-a-blue-moon occurance, now I see at least one a week (inlcuding seeing one today). Time will tell what this does to brand image, but I don't see it helping much.

 

You betcha. I couldn't agree more.

But, the AM's sure are pretty. In a few years they will be great values, but sad to say, as with Porsche, it will just be another........ AM.



Darrell.

 

Yeah, we had Aston Martins at my local mall. AMV8 and a DB9 promoting something about a test drive offer that my friends dad went to.

 

your kidding right...

this is a business too. ferrari has a unique position in the market in that they sell themselves and they make huge royalties off their brand.

aston martin, lamborghini, all of the smaller exotic manufacturers have to sell their brand and position themselves as the ultimate automobile. Porsche makes money by their boxter, cayman, and cayenne... glad am hasnt gone that route. R&D on these cars is not cheap, and running a car company profitably is also very difficult (just ask gm) so they sell their brands too. Granted the AM V8 is priced at 120k and several thousand are made a year... call that "just another car" and your out of your mind. if you live in an extremely wealthy area, then they may be more common, but they are no where close to being common.

Drive one and tell me how it compares to the saturn at "just another" car dealership.

 

IMHO, the more wonderful cars made, the merrier. If Aston Martin can make and sell lots of vantages, they will be available at reasonable prices soon. I don't care about exclusivity but I'd love to be able to afford a supercar and enjoy it without a second mortgage.

 

+1

 

Havent driven a AM V8, but for the same $$, a 550 is a much better choice. Actually, the 550 is probably the best car for the $ . If winter wasnt so ****ing long here ...

 

Bullfighter, you called me a hopeless romantic on another thread I did on the loss of style of Ferrari's today. Maybe I am, but I like this new V8 Aston as much as you do. And 200% more than any Ferrari, Lambo, or Porsche of our day. I actually considered going to see about trading the ZR-1 and the 993 Targa on one of these for a daily driver, but Zuzu Ormando told my GF to not let me do this. I will wait for it to take the depreciation slide and get a good one in a few years.

No, I actually think that more market acceptance and the great style of this car may actually improve the lot of A-M in the market and depreciation realms. Ferrari's for a long time were made in greater numbers than any Aston, and always held their value far far better. Probably only a big Jaguar sedan could top a new Aston 12 for quick depreciation.

 

But wouldn't that just drive up the price and demand, and then only the greedy flippers of this world could get into one? This would effectively deny most of us the chance to have one of these in three or four years...and I don't think that Aston Martin itself could survive on 300 cars per year, like Alfa is trying to do with the 8C.

 

Since Vantage is in the price range of the very common 911 ,it was a given it would lose the "exclusivity" very quick.
More and more are showing on the secondary market,with prices well below $100k,so the image gets tarnished plenty quick...

 

well two things can happen. As the population goes up there will be more cars made or the price per car will increase, unless of course they make more cars.

 

Can you blame AM for wanting to be profitable? AFAIK, AM is actually selling about as many cars as Ferrari is these days (5-6k units/yr). As you know, they are marketed as more of a daily-driveable GT than a Ferrari.

Maybe your local dealer's sales staff is top-notch and really moving units in your area. It is probably more likely that you live in a fairly nice area, and people are driving their AM daily (or, more often). Says something about the car though, which IMO is not negative.