[10x07] November 25th, 2007

[LoneWolf]

Yes the Aston's are getting annoying but im also getting sick of seeing all the various Porsche's as they all look the same and Top Gear review them far to often. It would be great to see afew more beamers, Volkswagens, Vauxhall's, Fords, Mazda's, Toyota etc as some of Top Gear's best reviews come from the cheaper cars.

Have to agree with you there about Porsche's, more specifically 911's. Anything below a Turbo, GT2/3 and RS simply bore me and TG's featured them too often.

 

[drmchsraj]

i might have missed it but what was the laptime of the Vauxhall again?

 

[boriszima]

One of the funniest if not the funniest episode I seen. I am surprised those doors felt apart during the challenges and not when the car was bought. those cars must be rubbish if all of those trim pieces kept felling off.

 

[Roberto]

Are you insane man?! I don't think there's been a single series of current TG where they haven't featured an Aston, whilst I think the M3 has been has had a sum total appearance of......twice?

If there's any change we need, it's less Astons and more M3's 8)

But that's just my opinion

I see too many "wanna-be" cool people in bmws, Toyotas, Porsches etc. They are boring and crap! If you buy cars like that what you are saying is "I have no taste.. I am a sheep"! With an Aston you are perceived to understand beauty and art, and not a common accountant/ business executive who wears four layers of make-up.

I don't want to see more reviews of those cars, I read them in Autocar (the love-in with Porsche and BMW is nauseating). I'm glad they have more Astons. I love the sound they make, the looks, the fact they are English and James Bond drives one.

You want more mundane/ common car reviews I suggest you read TG Mag or Autocar/express!

 

[worxman02]

This was a great episode. I could not stop laughing during the 2nd part of the "BL Monster" segment. I like that they used the water test which Jeremy used way back in one of his videos.

 

[worxman02]

I see too many "wanna-be" cool people in bmws, Toyotas, Porsches etc. They are boring and crap! If you buy cars like that what you are saying is "I have no taste.. I am a sheep"! With an Aston you are perceived to understand beauty and art, and not a common accountant/ business executive who wears four layers of make-up.

I don't want to see more reviews of those cars, I read them in Autocar (the love-in with Porsche and BMW is nauseating). I'm glad they have more Astons. I love the sound they make, the looks, the fact they are English and James Bond drives one.

You want more mundane/ common car reviews I suggest you read TG Mag or Autocar/express!

TG reviews Astons because they are a great british car, and the boys are very patriotic, especially James who's house is full of pictures of HM the Queen. Like you said, buying an aston is about "Power, Beauty, and Soul"

 

[Peter3hg]

I didn't mind them reviewing the DBS. If they left it until next year you would have everyone complaining that "everyone else did it ages ago". It is also the last significant Aston for a number of years to come until the Rapide probably so we will have far fewer in the next few years.

 

[scorseze]

As for the mysterious car in front of the white DB9 Volante, I think it could be a standard DB9.

 

[LoneWolf]

I see too many "wanna-be" cool people in bmws, Toyotas, Porsches etc. They are boring and crap! If you buy cars like that what you are saying is "I have no taste.. I am a sheep"! With an Aston you are perceived to understand beauty and art, and not a common accountant/ business executive who wears four layers of make-up.

I don't want to see more reviews of those cars, I read them in Autocar (the love-in with Porsche and BMW is nauseating). I'm glad they have more Astons. I love the sound they make, the looks, the fact they are English and James Bond drives one.

You want more mundane/ common car reviews I suggest you read TG Mag or Autocar/express!

ROFLMAO! :lol:

You criticise beemers and Porche's, yet don't have a problem with a badge which is perhaps the ultimate show-off/posers car?

No comment necessary me thinks

 

[amq65]

Highly enjoyable episode IMO, let down only by yet another Aston Martin review, pretty cars but even they can get boring.

 

[maximus]

ROFLMAO! :lol:

You criticise beemers and Porche's, yet don't have a problem with a badge which is perhaps the ultimate show-off/posers car?

No comment necessary me thinks

I don't agree with his post, but I would put BMWs, Porsches, Ferraris higher on the posers list before Aston.

 

[LoneWolf]

I don't agree with his post, but I would put BMWs, Porsches, Ferraris higher on the posers list before Aston.

To each his own, but all Aston's have is their beauty, that's it. At least Ferrari's and BMW M cars have good performance and decent (if not great) racing pedigree.

 

[Austere]

To each his own, but all Aston's have is their beauty, that's it. At least Ferrari's and BMW M cars have good performance and decent (if not great) racing pedigree.

I agree. Aston Martin has to be the number one posers car right now. Their cars just aren't as good as their nearest rivals cars but for some reason there is a lot of myth and awe surrounding them and people just want them. Maybe it's just because the name - Aston-Martin - sounds god damn so cool or maybe it's just a British thing but these cars seem to get more praise than they deserve. Don't even get me started on the V8 Vantage... The only thing that car has going for it is the badge.

 

[LoneWolf]

I agree. Aston Martin has to be the number one posers car right now. Their cars just aren't as good as their nearest rivals cars but for some reason there is a lot of myth and awe surrounding them and people just want them. Maybe it's just because the name - Aston-Martin - sounds god damn so cool or maybe it's just a British thing but these cars seem to get more praise than they deserve. Don't even get me started on the V8 Vantage... The only thing that car has going for it is the badge.

Yeah, I think James summed it up well when he reviewed that Lagonda a while back. When Ferrari build their cars they put at least 50% effort into performance, with an eye on how well it will perform and how fast it'll go round a test track. Even something which is supposed to be a relatively 'civilised' four seater cruiser like the 612 is built to go as fast as it possibly can round a test track. Performance comes first, and driver comforts come second. Aston Marton have traditionally (and still at present I'd argue) taken a front engined, fairly comfortable, pretty looking car and put a big engine in it. In short, historically they've been more at home pottering around Monte Carlo rather then thrashing around the Nurburgring.

Maybe some people like that, but I have more respect for cars which perform better on a track.

 

[marcos_eirik]

No, you're all wrong. Aston Martins performs every bit as well as it's competitors. How then, do you explain that the V8 Vantage has outperformed both the C6 Corvette, 997 Carrera S and the Audi R8 (the latter two by just a tiny bit, but still proving my point) in Sport Auto's "Supertest" on the Nordscleife...?

Corvette C6 8:15
997 Carrera S 8:05
Audi R8 8:04
V8 Vantage 8:03

And, no... I'm not pulling those numbers out of my ass... All of those are done by the same driver in the same conditions and with no traffic.

 

[Austere]

Looking at these times:

Corvette C6 8:15
997 Carrera S 8:05
Audi R8 8:04
V8 Vantage 8:03

They're pretty evenly split considering it's the Nurburgring we're talking about... Maybe the Corvette is trailing slightly but 1 or 2 seconds is (in my opinion) literally nothing on that track.

I don't deny the Vantage is quick around a track - It is and I know it is but it's still not as good overall as, say, a 911. A 911 isn't cobbled together from old bits of Volvo. A 911 doesn't need a trick exhaust to get everybody to look at it. A 911 doesn't have a rubbish interior and it's not likely to ever break down or malfunction.

Here in Australia the Vantage goes on sale for a quarter of a million dollars.

In my opinion a car needs to be virtually flawless to be worth that kind of money. For all the flaws and shortcomings of the Vantage like it's boring engine, boring looks, Ford Mondeo dipped in pimp juice interior and its suspect build quality it feels like a car that should cost at least half of that. So when I think about it I see it as just the cheapest way of buying a new Aston Martin badge and not much more.

 

[LoneWolf]

Looking at these times:



They're pretty evenly split considering it's the Nurburgring we're talking about... Maybe the Corvette is trailing slightly but 1 or 2 seconds is (in my opinion) literally nothing on that track.

I don't deny the Vantage is quick around a track - It is and I know it is but it's still not as good overall as, say, a 911. A 911 isn't cobbled together from old bits of Volvo. A 911 doesn't need a trick exhaust to get everybody to look at it. A 911 doesn't have a rubbish interior and it's not likely to ever break down or malfunction.

Here in Australia the Vantage goes on sale for a quarter of a million dollars.

In my opinion a car needs to be virtually flawless to be worth that kind of money. For all the flaws and shortcomings of the Vantage like it's boring engine, boring looks, Ford Mondeo dipped in pimp juice interior and its suspect build quality it feels like a car that should cost at least half of that. So when I think about it I see it as just the cheapest way of buying a new Aston Martin badge and not much more.

Well said mate

I'd also be interested to see if that V8 Vantage was truly stock and whether Aston made any 'modficiations' to it, and to what extent.

And even if it is stock, one car really doesn't make up for a whole family of cars through the decades which look pretty, cost an arm and a leg but are useless at performance.

 

[marcos_eirik]

A 911 isn't cobbled together from old bits of Volvo. A 911 doesn't need a trick exhaust to get everybody to look at it. A 911 doesn't have a rubbish interior and it's not likely to ever break down or malfunction.

Here in Australia the Vantage goes on sale for a quarter of a million dollars.

In my opinion a car needs to be virtually flawless to be worth that kind of money. For all the flaws and shortcomings of the Vantage like it's boring engine, boring looks, Ford Mondeo dipped in pimp juice interior and its suspect build quality it feels like a car that should cost at least half of that. So when I think about it I see it as just the cheapest way of buying a new Aston Martin badge and not much more.

Holy arrogance batman...

Just cobbled together...? Rubbish interor...? :lol:

Firstly it's not exactly cobbled together, Aston Martin are using some of the most sophisticated production techniques there is making this car. As for the rubbish interor, after having spent some time inside one I think it makes ANYTHING else look and feel rubbish in comparison, and yes' I've been inside several 911s including the 997.

Secondly the fact that it sells for quite a bit over it's price isn't really proving your point. In fact it does the contrary. Goes to show that this car is something special.

Thirdly, "Ford Mondeo dipped in pimp juice"...? Get your head out of your ass... As for suspect build quality, Clarkson should know, doesn't he? Considering his wife has one, and according to him it's been a model of reliability. Lastly, the chapest way of getting the Aston Martin badge? Well, in the same way that a Gallardo is the chapest way to get a Lambo, or an F430 is the chapest way to get a new Ferrari, seriously that's pointless.

I'd also be interested to see if that V8 Vantage was truly stock and whether Aston made any 'modficiations' to it, and to what extent.

And even if it is stock, one car really doesn't make up for a whole family of cars through the decades which look pretty, cost an arm and a leg but are useless at performance.

Yes it's a stock one as it's Sport Auto's policy to test the cars just the way they come from the factory.

What? A lack of perfomance has hardly been an issue with Aston Martins. They have always perfomed very well for what they are. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the price either. The fact that the order book is full and second hand ones are sold for a premium over the asking price proves this.

 

[LoneWolf]

Thirdly, "Ford Mondeo dipped in pimp juice"...? Get your head out of your ass... As for suspect build quality, Clarkson should know, doesn't he? Considering his wife has one, and according to him it's been a model of reliability.

LOL :lol:

You trust Jezza opinion and take it as fact? As much as I love the guy, the simple fact is more often then not he is highly biased, and the badge he is most biased with is AM. If you can't see this then I'm afriad it might be you who needs to get their head out of their ass my friend.

What? A lack of perfomance has hardly been an issue with Aston Martins. They have always perfomed very well for what they are. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the price either. The fact that the order book is full and second hand ones are sold for a premium over the asking price proves this.

Yeah, of course, AM has rich racing hertitage, hasn't it? And cars like the DB7, which were so old and being sold well past their sell by date, really managed to hammer the competition didn't they?

What's more, you using sale volume numbers to somehow 'prove' Aston Martin's are reasonably priced is just plain ridiculous and laughable.

 

[marcos_eirik]

LOL :lol:

You trust Jezza opinion and take it as fact? As much as I love the guy, the simple fact is more often then not he is highly biased, and the badge he is most biased with is AM. If you can't see this then I'm afriad it might be you who needs to get their head out of their ass my friend..

Well, his wife has one so he should know if it's reliable or not. He said it in his latest DVD and has written it in a couple of columns. This isn't an opinion, it's a fact that it has been reliable, but of course all Clarkson does is lying, right?

No really, the one who calls an Aston Martin a "Ford Mondeo in pimp juice" is the one who needs to get his head out of his ass... That's like saying that an Audi R8 is a "VW Passat dipped in pimp juice" Either way, it's silly...

Yeah, of course, AM has rich racing hertitage, hasn't it? And cars like the DB7, which were so old and being sold well past their sell by date, really managed to hammer the competition didn't they? Aston Martin actually has a racing heritage, as the brand was found in racing before WW2, after that they won Le Mans with the DBR1 in 1959 , and the DBR9 won it's class at Le Mans this year. A lack of racing haritage shouldn't do much anyway, as Lamborghini doesn't have one and nobody has ever complined about that...

What's more, you using sale volume numbers to somehow 'prove' Aston Martin's are reasonably priced is just plain ridiculous and laughable.

The DB7 was a excellent GT car, and it was at the same time way more sporty than it's closest competitor, the Mercedes SL.

Anyway the fact that they sell so well, really proves that they certainly aren't overpriced... Which is my point.