Aston Martin of New England & Lotus Motorsports Inc.

Showroom closed today for the Wheels of Wellesley Car Show 5-18-13

Please come join us @ 219 Washington Street Wellesley MA 9 - 3:00 Today

Track Tech Inspection – Preparation Special Offer 2013

Track Tech Inspection – Preparation Special Offer 2013

Going to a track day this year?...FCA, PCA, BMW, SCDA, ANY track event?

We are offering a Track event pre-track tech inspection and preparation special for the complete 2013 season for ANY track event!…ANY make/model!

· Pre-Track tech inspection per the specific event tech form: $49.95

· Brake fluid flush: $165.00… FREE tech inspection!

· Discounted pricing on any performance/suspension upgrade, brake pads, tires, safety gear, track alignment, etc.

Please contact me with any questions and to setup your appointment.

Best,

Steve

Performance & Styling Enhancements - Annoucing New Products and Services

Aston Martins aren’t all we do… We offer restoration, preservation, maintenance and sales of Aston Martin, Lotus, Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche and other fine European Marques.

Performance & Styling Enhancements We’ve partnered with well-known manufactures to offer the best products & services. These products can be installed in our workshop or supplied as parts only.

We are Authorized Dealers for the following products:

· Quicksilver Exhaust: www.quicksilverexhausts.com

· Capristo Exhaust: www.capristo-usa.com

· Taurino Racing - Products for Ferrari Street & Challenge Race Cars

· Tubi Style Exhaust: www.tubistylena.com

· Sector 111: www.sector111.com

· Formula Dynamics: www.formuladynamics.com

Services offered Any Make/Model

· Maintenance - Scheduled Services, Repairs, and Restoration*Specializing in AM/Lotus/Ferrari/Maserati/Porsche

· Chrome Plating, Nickel/Cad/Anodized Plating, & Powder Coating services

· Upholstery/Leather/Conv Top Restoration or Repair

· Instrument Restoration/Repair

· Suspension Geometry Alignments and Performance/Track suspension setup

· Tires at competitive pricing, in-house Mounting and Road-force Balancing

· Wheel Refinishing and Straightening

· 3M Paint Protection Film Installation

· Window Tinting

· In-house Detailing, Paint correction/wet-sanding Services

· Preparing Award winning cars...Pebble Beach, Amelia Island, Cavallino Classic, FCA National Concours winners

· Escort/Passport Radar systems-supplied and installations available

· Sport/Performance Upgrades and Exhaust Systems…See product list.

Aston Martin

· Factory Performance and Styling Accessories: www.astonmartin.com/en/cars/aston-martin-accessories

· Aston Martin Heritage Specialist-1st appointed in USA, a distinction that recognizes our expertise in locating, servicing and restoring vintage Aston Martins.

· Rare and obsolete parts sourcing

· Factory Extended Service Contracts…Coverage available for cars up to 10 years old

Lotus

· Factory Performance and Styling Accessories

· Lotus Sport Exhaust

· Lotus Supercharger Upgrade

· Lotus Brake & Suspension Upgrades

· Sector 111 Dealer… www.sector111.com

Ferrari/Maserati

· Sales, acquisition and brokering of significant Ferrari motorcars

· Factory trained technical staff with over 20yrs of Ferrari/Maserati experience

· Leonardo™ Ferrari / Maserati Diagnostic System

· OEM Parts at a very competitive price

· Maserati MC Sportline Upgrades

· Ricambi & Hill Engineering Parts

· Sport/Performance Upgrades and Exhaust Systems…See product list.

Porsche

· Acquisition and Restoration services specializing in 356 models

· Maintenance of all Porsches from 356 to late model Porsches

· Stoddard & Factory Porsche parts

· Sport/Performance Upgrades and Exhaust Systems…See product list.

Keep up to date with our latest projects, special offers and events by following us on Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aston-Martin-of-New-EnglandLotus-Motorsports-Inc/139952508436

Ebay Store: http://stores.ebay.com/Aston-Martin-NE-Lotus-Motorsports Aston Martin of New

Contact Steve Oldford in Service to inquire about your specific needs

THE NEW VANQUISH-

This week Aston Martin will be sharing its first public viewing of the New Vanquish durring the Pebble Beach festivities. By all accounts this car is amazing and has taken the design of Aston Martin to a new level. Please contact us to find out more about how to be the first one in the neighborhood to get one.

Best,

Matt

EXIGE V6 is coming!

Information now available on the New Lotus Exige V6! Please contact us today to find out more!

Ferrari / Maserati Service & Parts at AMNE

We offer maintenance and restoration services for all European or American Classic and Sports Cars including Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Jaguar, Bentley, Corvette, AC Cobra, Etc. We also offer on premise year-round storage...inquire. 781-547-5959 ext226

Our service director, Steve Oldford, worked for Ferrari for 11 years and Brian Walsh, our Ferrari/Maserati certified technician with over 10 years of factory training will take great care of you! We have just added a full Ferrari / Maserati diagnostic tool for early Ferraris up to the latest F/M cars.

We are New England's premier sports car dealership, offering the finest new cars, as well as some of the world's most significant vintage vehicles. AMNE is Aston Martin's original Heritage dealer for North America, a distinction that recognizes our expertise in locati...ng, preparing, and servicing vintage Aston Martins. We bring this knowledge to bear by offering examples of other fine European marques as well.

LOTUS EVORA 36 and 48 Month Lease SPECIAL!!!!

Lotus and Premeir Financial have just put togeter an amazing Lease program for the Lotus Evora with monthly payments starting @ $960 monthly for a Closed end lease... Please call Matt Nolan for details.

Lease a Rapide $2921 mo.

60 Month Leas deal on NEW Rapide $2921 per Month.

24 Month Closed end Lease Special offer

Check out the Special 24 month closed end lease offer for available 2011 V8 Vantage. Lease as low as $2,227.00! Contact- matt.nolan@astonmartin-lotus.com for details.

Winter Storage available

Aston Martin of New England/Lotus Motorsports, Inc.

Our winter storage is filling up fast...Reserve your spot for just $275.00 per month!

Tutto Italiano at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum...Part 2

· Join us this Sunday 10/16 at the Larz Anderson Auto Musuem in Brookline, MA to celebrate everything Italian.
As many of you already know we're not only a dealership for British car enthusiasts but we sell & service many European marques such as Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche, BMW. Please stop by our display at Tutto Italiano.

http://www.larzanderson.org/To��‹pics/Topic.cfm?TopicName=Show+��‹Event&CalendarEventId=167

Larz Anderson Auto Museum - Show Event

BOLDFACERS...AMNE article just released.

http://boldfacers.com/index.cfm?page=profile&profile_id=302

Follow us on Facebook

Like our Facebook page and stay up to date with what's happening in the world of Aston Martin and Lotus. You'll get news about new cars as they arrive before they hit the streets, the latest collector cars for sale...new and old, and cool pics of projects that are in our workshop.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Aston-Martin-of-New-EnglandLotus-Motorsports-Inc/139952508436

Virage and Vantage S Tour coming to Boston!

Aston Martin will be sending their new Virage, and Vantage S models to our dealership in Waltham. We will proudly have the latest from Aston Martin here at our showroom, May 26, and 27th.

Please call Matt Nolan for more details. 781-547-5959 ex 231

Cheers!

Feel the City Shake! May 19th Grand-Am race cars hit the streets of Boston

Feel the city shake May 19th when Grand-Am racecars hit the streets of Boston to raise money for children’s charities prior to next week's GRAND-Am series race at Lime Rock Park. The parade starts at 3PM. Race cars will be touring the streets of Boston ending at Anthony’s Pier 4 restaurant who will host the cocktail party and exotic car corral from 4:30-7pm. Check out this link for more info and please donate from the heart :)

http://www.guardianangelmotorsports.com/blog/2011/05/03/feel-city-shake-event-details

Join AMNE to support Guardian Angel Motorsports and help a great cause!

See you there!

Steve

Cars and Coffee Open House, April 9th 2011

Thank you to everyone who came out to our Open House/Cars and Coffee event on Saturday. Great weather, great cars, great people. Looking forward to our next event! Stay tuned.

See pictures at our Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aston-Martin-of-New-EnglandLotus-Motorsports-Inc/139952508436

Cheers!

A nice winter story about our Dealership, from Classic Driver

http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/magazine/3200.asp?id=14936

Stop by and see the new OLD guy.

As some of you already know, we have a new member of our team Stephen Oldford. While we are very excited to bring Mr. Oldford aboard, most of you guys and gals, probably already know Steve well.

We here at Aston Martin of New England, have known and worked with Steve for a very long time and we feel fortunate that he is now a part of our team.

Steve brings with him15 years of experience in the automotive industry, with a strong focus on high end luxury, and exotic sports cars. Steve has been the Service Manager over at Ferrari, and Maserati of New England, and will be helping Kirk McNeil and our service team.

If you’re in the area, please feel free to stop by and say hello.

Oh this delightful New England weather

Will this snow ever stop!? Actually I hope not. Sorry if you are one of those who hates the stuff but still lives here, no sympathy from me here. Snowboarding, sledding, I love it all. Here at Aston Martin of New England and Lotus Motorsports Inc. we are still humming away on our winter projects and regular services too. The two major projects are a complete engine rebuild on a 1963 DB4 convertible and a frame up restoration of a 1953 DB2, the DB2 is more of an all season restoration. Big or small we will tackle any project you want to throw at us.

Also our third floor is packed full of hibernating Astons, Lotus, Ferraris, Bristols, and even a late 60’s T-Bird. Just this past Tuesday I pulled an 88,000 mile Lotus Elise into the shop for service. Yea, it actually made it through the snow, it had a good set of Bridgestone Blizzacks and it just moved right along. I have the same snow tires on my car and they have never let me down. Believe it or not, Astons also move in snow with snow tires; we have sold plenty of winter wheel and tire packages so if you are like me and love to play in the white stuff we can make your motorcar love the white stuff too.

One inch of snow or one foot of snow, we are here ready to work for you.

Drive safe and spirited -

Tom

Happy Holidays everyone!

I know this is late but I just wanted to wish all our great customers and friends a great holiday season. Our 3rd floor is just about full for storage so if you are thinking of it now is the time to get your prized motorcar in here for a safe and comfortable winter nap. Or, hit us up for some snow tires to enjoy the upcoming snow in style.

We do have some new ideas and services coming from Aston Martin of New England for 2011 and beyond so please keep checking back. We are looking to improve our website and its services as well. If you haven’t already check out our Facebook page we post most of our cool photos of what goes on inside the shop there for now;

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aston-Martin-of-New-EnglandLotus-Motorsports-Inc/139952508436

Thanks for a great year and hope to see you all soon. Stay tuned for details on our annual spring clinic; hopefully those warm thoughts will get you through this crazy bitter cold.

Drive safe and spirited -

Tom

Tech review - Power Upgrade

Getting more power out of a motorcar these days is rather easy with all the technology and software available. I have just recently installed my first Power Upgrade to a ’07 4.3 liter V8 Vantage and I must say it was just what the car needed. The kit comes with about a half dozen parts to upgrade and of course some engine computer software but on this particular car I also installed an Aston Martin Sport Exhaust, which to me completed the upgrade kit. The kit bumps up horsepower to 400 and brings down the peak torque to a more usable level so the fun and smiles just get bigger and better. The exhaust note is so crisp and menacing that it has you searching the area for tunnels and bridge underpasses.

First the exhaust; it comes with smoked chrome tips that are a subtle but very attractive statement to the rear bumper that say this car has a little something extra. Once you hear that exhaust note for the first time, all you want to do is get those revs up and let it sing. Believe it or not there is a software upgrade just for this exhaust to allow the baffles to operate in a tighter range of rpms. This means that in the city at low rpms and low speed you won’t deafen your neighbors but with a slight elevation in rpms on the highway the exhaust just growls its way to red line; what this means performance wise is less exhaust restriction.

The real power and torque of the kit comes from new air boxes, intake plenum and of course some engine management software. The air boxes have an extra intake hole that when rpms reach 3500 the extra intake opens for better overall breathing. To better aid the breathing the intake plenum is renewed along with a new black paint job to show everyone this is no ordinary 4.3 liter. With those bits installed along with a new fuse box and some wiring to the ECU, I downloaded the new engine management software. The entire install is straight forward so all that was left was the roadtest.

I drove about 6 miles in town before I was greeted by the highway on ramp to feel for the low end power increase; subtle but there. I feel the car urging me to hurry and get to the highway so it could be fully exercised. Through the town the exhaust note got me a lot of looks along with the great color, Merlot red with anthracite wheels and tinted glass, this car looked down right mean and now with an exhaust growl to match; I loved it. Once on the highway you could really feel the up in upgrade. The torque pulled harder and earlier and the horsepower, well, you just reach the triple digits quicker than you can say, is that a speed trap? I for one love keeping cars original but if a manufacturer offer upgrades I know I can trust them and have faith in installing them. This upgrade kit has been tested and designed specifically for this car and makes quite a difference.

Happy motoring indeed.

Tom

Great times, Thanks everyone!

Great Clinics Everyone! I just want to thank everyone that made it out to the Service Clinic this past Saturday. I think we all had a great informative time. It was great to converse with fellow enthusiasts on a more relaxed level, off the clock and not in uniform. A special thanks to Ilya Kagan for being an intricate part of the days events.

For those of you who couldn’t make it you were missed. I hope your motorcar is still giving you miles of smiles. Please do not hesitate to give us a call for any reason, service, parts, sales, or any type of general information; we would be more than happy to answer all your questions.

Please keep checking our blog for upcoming events, the next one is the Boston Auto show in early December, rumor has it there will be a V12 Vantage there. Stay tuned for updates and have a great holiday season.

Thanks and Drive safe and spirited -

Tom

Thanks Everyone and hope to see you next weekend

Great Clinic Everyone! I just want to thank everyone that made it out to the Service Clinic this past Saturday. I think we all had a great informative time. It was great to converse with fellow enthusiasts on a more relaxed level, off the clock and not in uniform. A special thanks to Lotus Cars FSE Mike Fisher for coming all the way from Virginia to give our devoted Lotus customers some inside information and support.

If some of you want to come back this coming Saturday November 13^th that’s fine too, although this clinic will be more focused on Aston Martin. For those of you with Aston’s our Field Service Engineer Ilya Kagan will be here from 10am to 3pm along with our expert paint-less dent removal technician Chuck Baker.

So bring your Aston or Lotus or whatever motorcar you love to apex through the corners and come down to get much needed storage, service, accessory, information.

Drive safe and spirited -

Tom

Lotus Service clinic just 5 days away

Just a quick reminder that our first of 2 clinics is this Saturday November 6^th 2010 from 10am to 3pm and that Mike Fisher from Lotus Cars NA will be on hand to give a short presentation of the future vehicles Lotus might have to offer.

Don’t have a Lotus, so what, come by anyway and talk some shop and hang with some fellow sports car enthusiasts. It should be a casual, fun, and informative day.

Drive safe and spirited -

Tom

Service Clinics to host service reps.

Its official, our Field Service Engineers from both brands, Aston Martin and Lotus Cars will be here for the clinics. Mike Fisher from Lotus Cars North America will be here Saturday November 6^th, 2010 only! Ilya Kagan from Aston Martin the Americas will be here Saturday November 13^th, 2010 only! Each Saturday will be geared toward a particular brand but please don’t let that discourage you from coming by just to see what we are up to and talk a little car talk. You are more than welcome to come by both Saturdays if you want.

Mike Fisher will be giving a short presentation of what is to come from Lotus in the not too distant future. Until then, check out their new website at www.lotuscars.com it has some pretty awesome videos, photos, and information of some seriously cool cars to come.

They will be on hand to answer any questions you might have about your vehicle. Also as we will not be servicing cars these 2 Saturdays but we will be happy to visually inspect your car and talk about any issues or concerns you might have.

Drive safe and spirited -

Tom

Fall Service Clinic Update 1.1

Great news Lotus fans, our most generous field service engineer Mike Fisher has been kind enough to attend our clinic on Saturday November 6^th 2010. He will be available most of the day (10am to 3pm) for general discussion and just to hang out at talk shop. We are ironing out the details of a Q&A session for about 20 to 30 minutes that day so all your Lotus questions get answered. Stay tuned for more on other happenings as well.

A bit of a side note but good either way, we just installed a sport exhaust to 1 of 2 Evoras we have in stock, it’s an awesome sound. Want more info. on the Evora, contact our sales team now or if you info. on more accessories for any car call our service department.

And for you Aston Martin fans, this just in, our field service engineer on this brand has expressed eager interest to attend our clinic on the following weekend, Saturday November 13, 2010. He has not given us a definite answer until he checks his schedule but I will relay any news of this, good or bad as soon as I get it.

Drive Safe and Spirited -

Tom

Fall & Winter Service Clinics Announced ! !

Don't know about you but I was freezing this morning, well at 5:45am anyway; so much so that my windscreen had a full coat of frost on it. I spent last weekend in Maine and the foliage was exquisite. The twisty roads of the mountains and bright sunshine were wishing I had more time and a fuller fuel tank. These are just a few signs that another great driving season is winding down. We here at Aston Martin of New England want to make sure your Aston Martin is up to the challenge of the rest of the this great driving season, making it look great doesn’t hurt either.

On two Saturdays this November, 6^th and 13^th 2010 we are putting on a service clinic to help you get your motor car ready for the final days of this awesome season.

We have our normal clinic activities along with our Lotus Motorcars Service representative on one of the two Saturdays, (he hasn’t committed to which day, but stay tuned).

I will be posting more on the specifics in the coming days so keep checking back.

I won’t sign off without telling you the best part, our demonstrator Rapide has arrived so book your appointment with our sales team now.

Kind Regards –

Tom

Accessories, accessories, accessories!

Dear customers and enthusiasts!

Please take time to view the latest parts, accessories and collection items we have added to our inventory. Over 50 items now available from power upgrades, carbon fiber splitters and diffusers, Exhaust systems, luggage, clothing and even those incredible bespoke skis that Dr Bez commissioned ! If we don’t have it in stock then it can be here in two business days, AND sent directly to your home.

Please use the contact us information and of course the direct line of 781 547 5959 and ext. 224 or 223

Next week we have a real thrill headed our way. The success of the V8 Vantage both as a 4.3LTR and the current version 4.7 LTR is just about to reach new heights with the arrival of the V12 Vantage. 510 BHP shoehorned into the engine bay of this already globally acclaimed sports car will be something to behold and yes I get my hands on one next week here in Boston! (not withstanding a fight with Pat and Steve on who gets the ECU)

When the V12 Vantage was first announced it was not planned to be available in the USA due to homologation issues; wel,l without the rhyme and reason behind that decision let’s just get to the point where the Aston Martin Engineering Director, Ian Minards and his Gaydon School of wizards made it all happen and God bless em!! So, be sure to check in next week when I write up my driving experience with the V12 Vantage and if you are in the area and want to see the car, as ever, all are welcome!

Safe motoring, John

Saturday was a blast !

Saturday was a blast ! Plenty of customers and future customers came by to hang out and enjoy the beautiful day. As ever our friends from AMOC were in full support and very cool to See Jim Hazen in his wonderful DB2. Even better when we managed to jump start the car after the battery died on him as he rolled up. A quick boost of electricity and it roared back to life. Thanks to Bob for bringing along his Vanquish, stunning car from the last of the Newport Pagnell super cars. 7 test drives kept Pat on his toes and only once did he have to shout at someone. There are speed limits for a reason people and whilst our local Police force are more than friendly, they have a severe lack of tolerance for stupidity. Quite right too! Three upcoming events that you should look out for one in Newport RI in August and later in September we will be holding a big event with Lotus, and cars and coffee again at the end of September.

City of Boston, office of the parking clerk

Every now and then someone performs an act of kindness that restores you faith in the good in human nature. Last month I attended a party on Dartmouth street to which the monies raised at the party would all go to The Jimmy Fund and the Dana Farber institute for cancer research.

I took along a DB9 Volante which was to be auctioned off for an overnight loan. The car was parked outside the house for the arriving guests to view on a meter although the owners of the house have a permanent parking permit. Now the permit wasn’t in the car and yes the meter did expire but one of the party planners was right outside the house next to the car. Along comes a meter maid and despite the explanation as to why the car was there, the purpose of the party and an offer to top up the meter, a ticket was promptly slapped on the windscreen of the $200k Aston.

Now strictly speaking the ticket was issued correctly. I don’t dispute that, but you kind of hope the charity inside the house might have blown across the meter maid and a little bit of leniency shown. Now it’s only 25 bucks, no big deal but it kind of, let’s say “disappointed” me that the ticket was issued so I wrote to the office of the parking clerk explaining the circumstances and asking for the ticket to be dismissed. But, I didn’t want my 25 bucks back. What I wrote was that if the clerk, in my opinion, did the right thing and dropped the ticket I would give the 25 to the charity, not only that but if the clerks generosity was forth coming then I would match it and add another 25 dollars. Deal or no deal ? Well on Monday I received an official letter from the Office of the parking clerk informing me that the ticket had indeed been dismissed! Awesome !!

Now I don’t know who the clerk is and haven’t been able to find out, but whoever he or she is, YOU ROCK !

I will be on the streets of Boston this weekend looking to hug a meter maid so they can pass it on to the clerk……..which will probably result in a much bigger fine than $25 !!

Happy motoring….and legal parking

John

Cars and Coffee, here at the Dealership.

This Saturday July 24^th, AMNE will be delighted if you and as many fellow car guys and gals, who can make it join us for cars, coffee, story telling (whether true or not) and the purchasing of fine automobiles, parts, and merchandise. We will be open for business from 9am till 2pm.

Our technicians will be on hand for free advice, or guidance

Spread the word amongst your flock and hope to see you on the day! Best as always John

Evora, so good its worth one to the bread basket!!

Sometimes in the wonderful world of automobiles, a car comes along that is just way more than your expectations dreamed of. You see pictures of the car and think “ that’s cool” and you move on. Then you see the car for real and how many times do you say “the pictures just don’t do it justice” Then if you are real lucky you get to drive it. Then, well you just don’t want to stop driving it. All of the above is so true with the Lotus Evora. Early pictures made for interesting thoughts just because it was a new Lotus, then as the cars were being unloaded at the dealership you get stopped in your tracks and say “the pictures didn’t do it justice” Then as I am real lucky, I did/have/still am, driving it !!! So far I have put 4000 miles on the first two demos that arrived with us 6 weeks ago. First was the Storm Titanium car and then Ardent Red. I’m not usually a fan of Red sports cars (except for a Ferrari of course) But a Lotus in Red, oh yes !! In Brief, the Evora is a mid engine 2+2 ( worlds only one) created in house by Lotus design. Aluminum front sub frame, aluminum central tub and galvanized welded rear sub frame make up the architecture of the car. The power train is Lotus tuned and Toyota-sourced 3.5 liter V6 engine with dual overhead cams and variable value timing. It generate 276 bhp and 258 lbs of torque and….only weighs in at a whisker over 3000 lbs !! The interior is a surprise and delight. Hand trimmed leather, aluminum instrument and center console with all the controls in easy access. Flat bottom steering wheel (love that) and Recaro adjustable seats which a very comfortable even on a 300 mile trip. Yep did that. At 6’ 2” I fit with ease and have plenty of head room which isn’t always the case with some designs. Room for a helmet if you feel the need for speed on a track. Driving the car really is a joy whether in the city, stuck on the 128 (which I am daily) or more to the purpose of the car, out and free on the highways and byways. Its beautifully balanced and the handling is a dream, no lift or roll and the point and squirt steering gives you exactly the right feel and feedback back through your hands. The 6 speed gearbox is short shift and easy to select. Bosch ventilated discs have AP Racing 4 piston Calipers and stop on a dime. Ok, yep did that too!! Plenty of gismos to enhance the performance, traction control, stability control, ABS, normal fruit these days, but turn it all off and WHOOO HOO BABY !! Although the back seats are compromised in terms of adult usage you can fit children back there are there are seat anchors for child seats, realistically what you have is a nice bench seat for appropriate sized luggage for a proper road trip. There is a rear trunk which has its uses for sure but well let’s not get carried away. The Evora comes with all the latest and greatest electrical gadgets so you can MP3 ipod blue tooth, blah blah til your hearts content. All of the cars we have ordered come with the full list of options and I’m glad we did. There are three option packages: Technology package, which includes Alpine portable Sat Nav, hi powered amp, 7” touch screen display, back up camera ( a must!) blue tooth cruise, cruise control, parking sensors.Sport package: switchable sport mode, sports traction control, sport diffuser, brake calipers, cross drilled brakes. Titanium tipped sports exhaust.Premium package: Full leather interior, center armrests, accent lighting. You can choose separate options but I would go with the packages, makes more sense. There are 20 different exterior colors, 4 interiors and 4 wheel choices. Fully loaded the car has an MSRP of 86k and change. But it’s really all about the driving and rarely have I been so impressed straight out of the gate. To live with, the Evora is everything you could want from a sports car, balanced handling, controlled speed and a lovely torque band. I really can’t find fault after 4000 miles and I can’t remember saying that before even back in my Aston days, and no gear heads I am not comparing it to an Aston Martin! I’m talking about the overall experience of an everyday drivable livable sports car. It’s a complete package. Are there quicker cars? of course, greater top speed? Definitely, more luxurious? absolutely, but the Lotus Evora isn’t trying to be those things. The Evora is just plain honest in what it is and what it does, it’s not offering you anymore than it says on the box before you take it out and won’t leave you hanging when you drive it. If your expectations are higher then you’ve missed the point or can’t afford it, or both, whatever. I am so taken with the car I even took one in the nuts for driving it so much, but that’s another story…. Happy motoring whatever you ride is ! John

Note: Both demo cars are now being offered at demo pricing. Call John or Pat for details.

Aston Martin New England free servicing Programme.

Aston Martin New England servicing Programme. Aston Martin of New England have launched a brand new initiative, the first of its kind for any Aston Martin dealership in North America.

All new car sales for V8 Vantage and DB9 Models will include free scheduled maintenance for the duration of the factory 3 year warranty period.The cost of ownership is more of a consideration than ever before. This initiative takes away the concern of servicing costs and the customers fear of expensive service bills.

The programme is only applicable to new cars bought from Aston Martin of New England after May 7^th 2010 and to cars that are serviced at our dealership. The programme is not transferable to other dealerships nor is it transferable should the car be sold during the 3 year warranty period.

The programme is specific to 2009 and 2010 model year cars and does not include dealership or factory demonstartors.

For further details and how this could benefit you, please contact John Walton or Pat Roussel at 781 547 5959

john.walton@astonmartin-lotusmotorsport.com pat.roussel@astonmartin-lotusmotorsport.com

Lotus Lease Program is finally here!!! Includes Evora, and Elise

The all new 2010 Lotus Evora is here finally, and with it came a great lease program!!

Basically in a nut-shell:

2009 MY Cars

2009 Elise Purist Edition ($46,115 MSRP, sale price $44,615): $2,999 down, $657/mo. For 42 months (5,000 mi/yr)
2009 Elise 190 ($51,465 MSRP, sale price $49,730): $2,999 down, $756/mo. for 42 months (5,000 mi/yr)

2010 MY Cars

2010 Elise Performance Value Package ($53,035 MSRP, Sale Price $52,535) $3,999 down, $893/mo for 36 months (5,000 mi/yr)

2010 Evora 2+2 (Launch edition, $83,925 MSRP, sale price $83,925) $4,999 down, $1,447/mo for 36 months (7,500 mi/yr)

Call us for more details.

Happy Motoring.

Spring Clinic THIS WEEKEND, I PROMISE !

Spring is definitely in the air this week. Temperatures are going to reach 80’s here and I know all of you will be anxious as ever to get out and exercise your motorcars, if you haven’t already.

Well, get started right with some quick tips from us at Aston Martin of New England and Lotus Motorsports Inc. and we will do our best to get your driving season started off right. We are putting on a Spring Clinic to get your vehicle out of hibernation and road ready with a demonstration on what to look for under the hood and how to wash everything around the hood.

So come join us Saturday April 10^th 2010 from 10am to 4pm for a little shop talk and good old fashion car care fun.

Happy Motoring –

Tom

LATEST REVELATIONS FROM ASTON MARTIN V12 VANTAGE

The much acclaimed and highly desirable Aston Martin V12 Vantage was never planned for the USA market much to the disappointment of all concerned. However… The wizards in engineering and product design back at Aston Martins state of the art factory in Gaydon England have been working behind closed doors to federalize this incredible incarnation of the Vantage and have now announced that the car will be available in North America for later this year!! The 6.0-litre V12 naturally aspirated engine produces 510 BHP and 420lbs of torque. Coupled with near perfect weight distribution and a revised suspension system, high performance Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires provide the V12 Vantage with outstanding handling capabilities while the standard carbon ceramic braking system delivers immense stopping power.

Although pricing and exact timing on deliveries are still to be determined, we are now accepting deposits to secure a soon as possible build slot. To secure your place in owning the limited production V12 Vantage please contact John Walton or Pat Roussel on 781 547 5959 or john.walton@astonmartinlotus.com Pat.roussel@astonmartin-lotus.com

With the current Vantage already one of the most outstanding sports cars in the world, the V12 Vantage is ready to re write the definition of exhilarating sports cars.

Spring Service Clinics CANCELLED, AGAIN!

Will this rain ever stop!!! I have some spirited driving to do!

I am sorry to report that this coming weekends Service Clinics will be cancelled indefinitely, again. Due to the inclement weather this week our showroom and workshop can take on no more water. We have had plenty of contractors and insurance associates to evaluate our previous issues and now, slowly but surely our minor water ingress damage will be cleaned up, unfortunately it might need to take place this weekend.But fear not, no motorcars were harmed during any of these storms. I hope all our customers did not suffer our same fate and have had a chance to enjoy last weekends quick but awesome weather conditions. The clinics will NOT be held this Friday or Saturday, March 26th and 27th, 2010. The clinic will however be rescheduled for Saturday April 10^th, 2010 from 10am to 4pm. Some good news though, there is a Lotus Evora (maybe 2) on route to our dealer set to arrive some time this week, feel free to call our sales staff for details. I thank you for you continued support and bearing with us in these wet times.

The Red Coats are Coming!

Well we have made it through another New England winter (hopefully), but its still March. We had some pretty crazy weather the past week, and we survived! It’s all down hill from here.

In the next few months we have some pretty exciting products from our friends in the United Kingdom that will start to arrive this spring.

First I want to talk about the 2010 Lotus Evora. We should start seeing the much anticipated all new sports car from Lotus at the end of the month. The Evora has 276 horsepower, 3046.8 lbs, how much fun will this be! We will have two “launch” cars available, one in Storm Titanium, the other in Phantom Black, both fully loaded.

Yes, we will have a party. Yes, you can test drive. More details to follow.

The other piece of good news is we should start seeing Aston Martin’s new pride and joy, the Rapide. Aston Martin’s first four door sports car blends the practicality of a sedan, with the performance of our DB range. I just saw the car in Greenwich a few weeks ago, and its breath taking. There are so many subtle, and not so subtle, differences than our DB9, it really incredible. It actually fits four people (I’m 6’1) and I fit in the back seat with a driver up-front. Even with four people in it, there is a ton of storage space in the trunk to accommodate luggage, golf clubs, your mother-in-law, tennis rackets, or the misses shoe habit. Crazy. You’ll have to come on down and see for yourself when they arrive late spring.

Yes we will have a party. Yes, there will be test drives. More details to follow as we get closer to its arrival.

Cheers, Pat

Spring Service Clinic CANCELLED this weekend

I am sorry to report that this coming weekends Service Clinics will be cancelled indefinitely. Due to the inclement weather our showroom held up as long as it could but unfortunately a window seal failed and some minor drywall damage with small carpet spots need to be cleaned up. But fear not, no motorcars were harmed during this storm. I hope all our customers homes did not suffer our same fate.

The clinics will not be held this Friday or Saturday, March 19^th and 20^th, 2010. They will however remain on the schedule for next week at the times listed earlier, Friday and Saturday March 26^th and 27^th 2010.

I thank you for you continued support and look forward to seeing you next weekend.

Kind Regards –

Tom

Spring Cleaning Clinic at AMNE

Yup, 4 more weeks and the winter is over. I can’t flippin’ believe it either. All those with Volante’s and Roadster’s are probably counting down the days and minutes.

Which ever vehicle type you own, coupe, convertible, or topless altogether we here at Aston Martin of New England are putting on a clinic to give you our take on how to start off the Spring Driving season in optimum condition.

The basic rundown will happen over 4 different days. Friday March 19^th, 2010 from Noon to 6pm and Saturday March 20^th, 2010 10 am to 3pm will start things off while we will follow with more time the very next week, March 26^th and 27^th, 2010, at the same times.

There will be no appointments to take, but customer vehicles will be washed on a first come first serve basis with in the allowed time. No vehicle, No problem, feel free to come on by and talk a little shop and meet some fellow enthusiasts. Stay tuned for more specific details on the days time tables, until then,

Happy Motoring -

Tom

Lotus F1 Racing team unveiled their new Lotus T127 in London

http://www.lotusracing.my/

Lee Iacocca goes Topless

Chrysler LeBaron…The K car…A car that pulled Chrysler from the brink. A car that any normal person would run from, rapidly. A style so maligned it was the ‘other’ star of the 1987 comedy, “Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Nothing you would ever own, or then again maybe you would.

A car that your aunt, uncle, grandparents, maybe even parents might have owned. Having received one here at Aston Martin of New England (sorry, it’s not for sale, if it was I’d buy it) It’s a honey of a car, authentic town and country veneer contact paper, power roof, leather seats, a nice little 4 cylinder hummer of a ride. We ended up with this gem as a storage car for a client, and we were asked to get it back in running order as it had been resting quietly for a few years, so a freshening was in order. I was the lucky tech to get this job. One I actually looked forward to. Sometimes you need to get away from those V8’s and V12’s of Aston and see what Americans used to build when designers appeared to be having more fun than they do today.

It took about a weeks worth of this, that, and the other to get it back to a road worthy warrior. And what a ride! 10*F with the top down, heat cranking. A ‘classic’ of a different sort, but still a classic vehicle in it’s own right.

Video from the Providence Journal, about our humble dealership.

Here is a video from our recent article in the Providence Journal.

http://www.projo.com/video/?z=y&nvid=412608

Aston Martin Factory supplied Styling and Performance Kits are now available

Aston Martin Factory supplied Styling and Performance Kits are now available!

Just a reminder that Aston Martin is now offering a wide range of styling and performance options for your current model V8 Vantage or DB9 vehicles.Take advantage of the winter downtime. Don’t loose out on any of those perfect spring and summer driving days.

Here are some of the kits you can install on your V8 Vantage or DB9 Before Spring time.

-Sports pack kits for DB9 Coupe and V8 Vantage- These kits contain up-rated Steering rack (on some models), springs and dampers, wheels and a 2-piece under tray assembly. -Mesh styling kits for DB9 and V8- These styling kits will provide mesh inlays in the bonnet, side strakes and front grille for your V8 Vantage or DB9. -Clear Lamp Kits for V8 and DB9- This kit includes rear brake lamps and center brake lamps with clear lenses and red LED bulbs. Just like the DBS! -Side Sill Kits for V8- This kit will replace your standard V8 Side sills (Rocker Panels) with sport N400 style side sills. -Carbon Enhancements for V8- This kit includes front and rear carbon fiber Splitter and diffuser. -V8 Power engine upgrade- The V8 Vantage Power Upgrade creates an even more potent version of Aston Martin’s already impressive 4.3 V8. Peak power is raised by 20bhp to 400bhp while peak torque is also increased by 10Nm to 420Nm. This upgrade will produce engine performance equal to the limited edition N400 V8 Vantage.

Please Contact: Service and Parts for current pricing on any of these Kits.

781-547-5959 x223 for Kirk or x226 for Matt

Topless February, DBS Volante INBOUND!!

I, Pat Roussel hate the month of February, my colleague John Walton hates February. Everyone I know hates this short annoying month as much as we do. The Football season is pretty much over, it’s cold, it’s dark, and it seems like an eternity before opening day at Fenway Park.

If you’re at all like us, then you are chomping at the bit to get spring underway. At Aston Martin of New England/Lotus Motorsports, we here are going to make February a month we can all look forward to. We are making the second week of February “Topless Week”. What!? I’ll explain.

Next Thursday, we will have, our first DBS Volante, here at our showroom in Waltham. We are very excited! The flagship Aston Martin, as you may or may not know, is now available in drop top form. Please stop by our showroom, and we will happily show you the supercar ragtop, everyone’s been raving about.

We will clear out the showroom, and to complete our topless theme, we will try to have as many modern and vintage, Aston Martin Convertibles, Roadsters, and Volantes on display as humanly possible. Please stop in at your leisure, festivities start Thursday, February 11^th.

Thursday 10-8:00

Friday 10-6:00

Saturday 10-4:00

We’ll buy you a drink, if you show up with something “topless”!!!

Great Evora write up from the LA Times. Written by Dan Neil

It's not easy to make a veteran auto writer weep with need. But the Evora does it, taking the modern Lotus design and making it elegant and a bit roomier. It's a slice of heaven that slides.

Every time I write about a high-performance sports car, I'm guaranteed to get letters from readers to this effect: "How can you possibly glorify the Badminton Dual-Cowl 87B? No one needs a car that goes 200 mph, costs $300,000 and gets five miles per gallon. With all that's going on in the world [climate change, war in the Middle East, balance of trade etc.]. For shame. For shame!"

All right, then. I present to you perhaps the most fun available on four wheels: The 2010 Lotus Evora. No, not fun. Joy. Inexpressible, diamond-showering, running-naked-through-a-field-of-virgins ecstasy. Handling perfection. This is transit gloria, and it is sick.

In my career as an automotive journalist, I've never written these words: I am going to buy one.

Oh, and it gets about 30 mpg.

TO READ MORE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-neil22-2010jan22,0,5548499.story

Evora preview by Kilometer Magazine

km : Preview

2010 Lotus Evora

words: Bryan Joslin

January 21 2010

The Lotuses of our youth were hardly the lean, lithe, purpose-built sports cars of Colin Chapman’s imagination. Turbo Esprits and front-drive Elans were the often misunderstood and unloved exotics in an era of Countaches, Testarossas and slant-nose 911s. The Elise, and eventually the Exige, helped pull Lotus out of the gold-chain club and started putting real sports cars back in the hands of genuine track drivers. Now the company is preparing to launch an all-new model to boost its standing and appeal to a different type of buyer. With four seats, a Camry V6 and a fully trimmed interior, we have to ask: Will the Evora become the new Esprit?

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, CLICK THE LINK BELOW.

http://kilometermagazine.com/artman2/publish/preview/2010_Lotus_Evora.html

A nice artlcle about us from the Providence Journal.

http://www.projo.com/projocars/content/CA-ASTON_MARTIN_01-09-10_V3GUCK5_v16.25c9c3d.html

Come and see us at the Auto Show!

December is upon us, which means its Auto Show time. If you’re looking for something fun to do with the family, besides holiday shopping, please stop by the New England Auto Show, and say “hi” to us. We have the current line up of new Aston Martins of course, DBS, DB9, and Vantage, as well as a new Lotus Elise, and two fantastic classic automobiles. We also have a jaw dropping dark blue Lamborghini Miura, and a gorgeous Mercedes Benz 300SL in silver of course.

If your looking for show times, ticket prices, parking, and directions here is a link to the Autoshow site. http://www.paragonexpo.com/189.html?flash=1

Cheers and Happy Holidays.

The 2010 Lotus Evora keeps raking in the awards!!

Our all-new 2010 Lotus Evora keeps raking in the awards as we anxiously await its arrival in the US and Canadian markets in the first quarter of 2010.

In July the Evora’s Versatile Vehicle Architecture won the coveted annual ‘Dewar Trophy for Technical Excellence’. In August AUTOCAR magazine named the Evora their ‘Driver’s Car of the Year’. In October CAR magazine named the Evora their ‘Performance Car of the Year’. As you’ll see in the attached release now EVO magazine has named the Evora their ‘Car of the Year 2009’ and also named our sensational 2-Eleven track car their ‘Track Car of the Year 2009’.

Read the Evo Magazine arrticle in our Documents section. Happy Motoring, Pat

Thanks for making the Storage Clinic a great time

I want to extend my thanks for all those who were able to make it out to the November Winter Storage Clinic. I believe this event to be very informative to our customers, friends and anyone who wants to store there prized driving machines away form the harsh winter elements. With the success of this clinic we here at AMNE are thinking of putting on a spring time driving clinic, or an awakening from hibernation clinic. Keep watch on our website for further updates and information on this and any other upcoming events.I hope all who attended left informed and reassured on how to store your vehicle with ease for the long winter months ahead. I also want to extend my thanks to my fellow teammates at AMNE for all there help in preparation for this event and past events.Stay tuned for Lotus Evora and Aston Martin Rapide information in the very near future. Have a safe and happy driving winter season, Tom

November 7th Storage Clinic

It’s that time a year again. Winter is upon us and I am not talking about snow fall in October, but there is a rain snow mix predicted for this coming Friday. We here at Aston Martin of New England and Lotus Motorsports are more than prepared for all that the harsh New England winter can throw at us.

Due mostly to the inclement weather we are putting on another Winter Storage Clinic Saturday November 7^th, 2009 to help you be just as prepared. It runs from 10am to 2pm. The format is a bit different with no vehicle alignment checks, sorry, and the clinic will be held every hour; first one beginning at 10:30am and the last at 1:30pm. If you can’t make the actual time don’t worry. We will have staff there that would be more than happy to give you an open house type welcoming.

Come on by Saturday, it should be a great time. No need to bring the Aston Martin or Lotus, but if it is there and time allows I will definitely give it a quick visual once over before you pack it up for the winter, or for you die hard drivers we can schedule an appointment to install snow tires.

Thanks to everyone who made it out last month,

Tom

Follow us on Facebook!

You can now check us out on Facebook.com Become a fan.

Click on the link below, or cut and paste this link to your web browser.

You will need a Facebook account, and you may have to sign in first.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Waltham-MA/Aston-Martin-of-New-EnglandLotus-Motorsports-Inc/139952508436?ref=nf

Enjoy! Pat

DEALERSHIP NEWS

Dear Valued customer, First of all to those of you I have yet to meet, I have joined Steve and the team here as a wonderful opportunity to be part of a business that is not only growing but takes pride and focus on only selling and proving support for luxury automobiles. I bring over 25 years worth of experience in the automotive business, and for the last 16 years was General manager for Aston Martin. Since 2001 I was The Vice President and General Manager for Aston Martin North America. I hope that over the coming days and weeks to meet as many of you as possible and look forward to providing you with an even greater level of ownership experience whether your choice is Aston Martin, Lotus or one of the many Classic cars that we have sold. Please find the following news on Aston Martin and Lotus; Announced this week was the news that the highly anticipated and much acclaimed Aston Martin Rapide will start production in February with deliveries into the USA from May/June. The car really is stunning. The rear seat space, especially the leg room is very usable and there is significant luggage space as well.What will set this apart from other 4 door makes is that the Rapide is a true sports car and not a saloon. Although we have not seen full pricing on the car Aston have confirmed that it will be $200K with limited options which will include rear seat entertainment and air conditioned seats. We are now accepting deposits of $25K in order to reserve a soon as possible build slot. Our first DBS Volante, which went into production in September, will be with us next month. The car will be on display in the show room as soon as it gets here and then at the Boston Auto show which runs from December 2-6 th. Allocation on the car is Limited but we are taking deposits of $25K and Aston have promised early 2010 deliveries. As one of the biggest and most successful dealers in the country, we have been given an opportunity to provide unprecedented levels of support to our customers regarding new car sales. For details on what this could mean for you please contact Pat directly. We now have confirmation from Lotus on the dates for our Evora events which will be November 13-16^th. More details to come. ( For those of you who would like a sneak preview…..we have just today received the only car on The east coast) Its fantastic! There will be another “winterization clinic” on November 7^th. Hope the weather will be a little more cooperative. Details from Tom over the next few days. Best to all and safe driving. John

Lotus Evora Wins Car Magazine’s Performance Car of the Year

By eauto

The Lotus Evora beat strong competition from 29 other cars to win the title of Performance Car of the Year 2009. The prominent competition included cars from some of the greatest Marques in the world such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin.

The 2009 Performance Car of the Year comprised 30 cars, and included exhaustive subjective and objective testing. The feature incorporated testing on some of the greatest driving roads in Britain, with objective testing at the Rockingham Motor Speedway, where Darren Turner, a Le Mans winning racer, put the cars through their paces.

Chris Chilton, Assistant Editor at Car Magazine was so taken with the Lotus Evora during the first drive activity in Scotland that he said he would eat his Apple Mac if the Evora didn’t win this year’s Performance Car of the Year.

In saving his Apple Mac, Chris commented, “There are executive saloons that don’t ride this well, supercars that don’t turn in so crisply, and surely no car on the planet steers like this”. To further safeguard his constitution, Chris added, “Lotus has managed to transfer everything that we love about the Elise to a bigger, more refined, more grown up platform…It couldn’t really be much better to drive - the Evora is nigh-on perfect. A winner on every conceivable level”.

Roger Becker, Vehicle Engineering Director said that “It is very rewarding to win the well established Car Magazine, Performance Car of the Year award against such tough competition. I am personally very pleased that Chris Chilton so accurately informs on the character and performance that we set out to achieve in the Evora: They are all you would expect from a modern everyday Lotus. The Evora is a great ownership proposition, offering the great Lotus driving experience in a very comfortable, practical, refined and efficient package.”

He added “It is a great validation of the expertise at Lotus to win this title against incredible competition from such a highly regarded publication and very pleasing to continue Lotus’ outstanding record in this competition”.

Lotus Evora: 205 g/km CO2

32.5 mpg (8.7 litres / 100 km) - Combined Cycle

22.8 mpg (12.4 litres / 100 km) - Urban Cycle

43.5 mpg (6.5 litres / 100 km) - Extra Urban Cycle

Cars trump gold

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/05/cars-trump-gold/

Winter Storage Clinic Update!

Where the hell did summer go?!

We almost drowned in June, July was meh, and we had a week of blazing hot sun in mid August and the next thing I know is that I am getting up early to let my car warm up; ok not really, but temps. are dropping fast.

Either way I still had a great summer even if the weather had its own agenda.

We here at Aston Martin of New England are getting ready to batten down for that frigid bite from old man winter. In case you haven’t heard we are putting on a clinic to help store your motorcar for comfy winter hibernation. Saturday October 3rd from 9am to 3pm is when all our resources will be available in an open house forum to fill you in on what Aston Martin and Lotus suggests you do.

Besides our technicians showing you the ins and outs of winter car care we have also just added a four wheel alignment check only, on a first come first serve basis.

So come on down, talk some shop and meet fellow motoring enthusiasts. It’s gonna be great!

Rapide: Pure Aston Martin

The most eagerly anticipated car by Aston Martin of New England has just been unveiled to the world at the 63^rd Frankfurt Motor show. Aston Martin has been talking about this new four door, called Rapide, for quite some time. We’ve been following its progress since 2006 to be exact. We’ve already started to hear from the lucky people who have been privileged enough to see the Rapide in the flesh and the raves are all about its’ elegant design and Aston Martin’s fantastic attention to detail

Here are some of the quotes from Frankfurt.

“For once the PR hype is right -- the first production Rapide, unveiled at a private party the night before the first press day at the Frankfurt Show, looked damned elegant...” (Motor Trend, 15^th September) “The Rapide brings Aston Martin back into a segment in which it hasn’t competed for nearly two decades and does so with utter grace.” (Car & Driver, 15^th September) “...drop-dead gorgeous Rapide 4-door...” (Road & Track, 15^th September)

Aston’s first four door production car is designed to be just as elegant, and sporting as their current DBS, DB9 and Vantage models, but will be able to carry four adults in comfort, and style like no other. Features like the 1000 Watt Bang & Olufsen BeoSound, the optional rear seat entertainment system, and hand trimmed individual rear seats that are air both conditioned & heated. The Rapide will feature a 301 liter capacity trunk, and with the rear seats that fold with a touch of a button, luggage capacity will be increased to 750 liters!

The Rapide will be powered by Aston’s famous 6.0 liter V-12, front mid-mounted engine creating 470 horsepower, and 443 lb ft of torque at 5000 RPMs. The transmission will be the fully automatic, Touchtronic II, paddle shift transaxle that we have in our DB9 models. For those of you who do not know, Aston’s Touchtronic II transmission is a perfect blend of a smooth shifting automatic when you’re in traffic, or the excitement of manually going up and down through gears when the road conditions are appropriate.

Now you no longer need to leave your Aston Martin (or kids) at home when you need to unwind and take that long therapeutic road trip!!

Pricing will be announced shortly.

Here are some technical details of the new Rapide:

BodyFour door body style with 4 individual seats.Extruded bonded aluminum VH body structureAluminum, magnesium alloy and composite bodyExtruded aluminum door side impact beamsSingle bi-xenon headlamps EngineAll alloy quad overhead cam 48 valve 5935cc V12Front mid-mounted engine, rear-wheel driveCompression ratio 10.9:1Max Power 470 bhp at 6000 rpmMax Torque 443 lb ft at 5000 rpmAcceleration 0-60 mph in 5.1 Max Speed 188 mph (predicted)TransmissionRear mid-mounted ‘Touchtronic 2’ six-speed gearbox with electronic shift-by-wirecontrol systemAlloy torque tube with carbon fiber propeller shaftLimited slip differentialFinal Drive Ratio 3.46:1SteeringRack and pinion, Servotronic speed-sensitive power-assisted steering, 3.0 turns lock to-lockWheels & tires20” alloy wheelsFront Bridgestone Potenza 245/40 R20Rear Bridgestone Potenza 295/35 R20SuspensionFront Independent double wishbone incorporating anti-dive geometry, coil springs,anti-roll bar and monotube adaptive dampersRear Independent double wishbones with anti- squat and anti-lift geometry, coilsprings, anti-roll bar and monotube adaptive dampersAdaptive Damping System (ADS)BrakesFront Dual cast brake discs 390mm diameter with six piston calipersRear Dual cast brake discs 360mm diameter with four piston calipersDynamic Stability Control (DSC)Anti-lock braking system (ABS)Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD)Emergency Brake Assist (EBA)Traction ControlHydraulic Brake Assist (HBA)Positive Torque Control (PTC)Electronic Park Brake (EPB)DimensionsLength 197.6”Width (including mirrors) 84.3”Height 53.5”Fuel Capacity 90.5 litersKerb Weight 4299 lbInteriorFull grain leather interiorWalnut facia trimIridium Silver centre console outer finish and Graphite inner finishAuto-dimming interior rear-view mirror with garage door opener Electrically operated front seatsMemory front seats and exterior mirrors (three positions)Dual stage driver and passenger front airbagsFront occupant side airbagsHead protection airbags for front and rear occupantsHeated front and rear seatsHeated rear screenAutomatic front and rear temperature controlOrganic Electroluminescent (OEL) displaysLED map lamps and ambient lightingTrip computerCruise controlHard Disk Drive (HDD) satellite navigation system1,2Bluetooth telephone preparation1Satellite radio system (USA only)Powerfold exterior mirrorsFront and rear parking sensorsTire pressure monitoring1Alarm and immobilizerRemote-control central door locking and boot releaseBattery conditionerTracking device (UK only)3Boot mounted umbrellaIn Car Entertainment1000 W Bang & Olufsen BeoSound audio system with ICEpower® technologyIntegrated Apple iPod® connector4USB connector with Waveform Audio Format (WAF), Windows Media Player (WMA)and MPEG (MP3) audio file compatibility3.5 mm auxiliary input socketOptionsCooled front and rear seatsTwin screen rear seat entertainment system with 6-disc DVD player, auxiliary input,wireless headphones and remote controlAlternative facia trim finishes – Mahogany, Piano Black, Bamboo, Tamo Ash, BirdsEye Maple, Olive Ash Burl, Double Apex AlloyMatching wood door trimColor-keyed steering wheelSecond glass keyMagnum silver rear lamp infillsDelete model badgingDelete protective tape20” alloy wheels with graphite finish20” alloy wheels with polished finishAlternative brake caliper finish – black, red, silverPersonalized sill plaquesAlarm upgrade (volumetric and tilt sensor)Tracking deviceFirst aid kitAshtray and Cigar Lighter

AMNE & Lotus Motor Sports Winter Storage Clinic

The kids are off to school and the vacations are over-- too bad, so sad. The driving season is still in full swing. But the work doesn’t end when it does come time to park your toy for the winter hibernation. Yes, your motorcar just sits there, but to let it rest comfortably takes more know-how than you might think. I am one of three Aston Martin and Lotus Motor Sport certified technicians who would be more than happy to give you the ins and outs of proper winter storage. Different motorcars require different care when parked for months on end. We here at Aston Martin of New England and Lotus Motor Sports are planning a clinic for all those who are serious about car care. We are serious about year round car care, driven or not. Looking good, running good, we know how to do it. What this clinic will provide is factory suggestions and requirements for winter storage along with the myths and facts of what you find out there plus, all the inside tricks that only techs know.

We are thinking on a Saturday in early to mid October to divulge all our secrets for winter storage. There will be more information to come on logistics and scheduled activities, stay tuned. Comments, questions, concerns are always welcome.

Aston Martin of New England, and Grenon's of Newport. 8/29/2009

If you're looking for something to do on Saturday August 29th, we are doing our annual get together in Newport, RI, with our dear friend, Ray Grenon. Ray is the owner of Grenon's of Newport, and some say he's a righteous Dude. A fellow car nut, Ray will be happy to talk to you about watches, jewlery, cars, or pop a new battery in that Mickey Mouse watch you haven’t worn in years.

Please stop by, say hi, and check out the new Astons that we will have on display. Ray never disappoints with his assortment of fine time pieces such as, Breitling, Cartier, Baum and Mercier, Bell and Ross, Glashutte Original, Azimuth, Omega, U-Boat, Glycine, and many other brands.

Ray will be featuring a presentation of exclusive Louis Moinet Timepieces, Gregg Ruth Jewelry, and a special wine tasting provided by Newport Wine Cellar.

So if your searching for something to do, come on down, there is always great shopping, site seeing, and lots of excellent food, and fun in Newport RI. Hopefully there wont be a hurricane!!!

Grenon's of Newport

210 Bellevue Avenue

Newport, RI 02840

(401) 846-0598

www.grenons.com

2010 Part II

2010 part II In our last exciting episode we discussed the dynamic new Lotus Evora. In this blog we go over some of the really cool new things from Aston Martin. First on the agenda is the new 2010 DBS Volante. While bad news may seem to be coming at us from every angle, somehow Aston Martin has been doing good work and brings us good news. You already know about the current Aston Martin DBS coupes that are already been terrorizing the streets. The DBS coupe is a perfect blend of the elegant DB9, and its alter ego DBR9 race cars, race winners all over the world- and two time Le Mans winners in the GT1 category. Well, now you can get one as a Volante! Aston’s 16^th convertible in 95 years (for you anoraks) will be available here stateside in autumn. Aston’s new top of the line drop top, of course features a fully retractable fabric hood, (or roof as we Yanks call it) that only takes 14 seconds to retract. You can even operate it while you are on the go, up to 30 mph. Engineers at Aston decided to use a fabric hood, to save weight, and simulate the beautiful silhouette of the DBS coupe. There will even be small “occasional” rear seats for small children, extra set of golf clubs, or more inerior storage.

More exiting news, that we quite happy to hear, is the addition of Aston’s famous Touchtronic II gearbox. Now you can order your DBS coupe or Volante with this clever transmission. Fully automatic, but with the option of aggressive paddle shifting. Best of both worlds. Now your 16 year old daughter can drive your DBS. YIKES! If that sounds like a bad dream, then get yours in the 6 speed manual, with good old fashioned clutch pedal, and shifter. Either way, power is rated at 510 hp, and yes 80% of the 420 ft-lbs of torque is still available at 1800 RPM! Carbon Fiber trim ornaments the car everywhere you look, and even in places you can’t see. The bonnet [hood], fenders, and trunk, are all carbon fiber. So are the diffusers, mirror housings, and bringing this monster to a stop will be the massive carbon ceramic braking system, hiding behind the gorgeous 20’ wheels.

Performance:

0-100 km/h (62mph) in 4.3 seconds

Max Speed: 191 (manual transmission) 183mph (Touchtronic II)

A new partnership with Bang & Olufsen provides the DBS range with a premier in-car entertainment system. Yes a 6 disc CD changer still located in the dashboard, which I think is a great idea. How many of you are still listening to the same discs you put in the trunk of you car when you bought it? Also included, iPod integration, Bluetooth, and Sat Radio as an option.

Some Standard Features Include: Heated Front Seats, Sat. Navigation, Cruise Control, Front and Rear Parking Sensors, Adaptive damping Suspension, with Track Mode, and Wind Deflector If you bought a DB9s a while back, you now have a sleek new model to trade up for, drool over, or give you that extra motivation at work during these dog days of August. If you have any further questions, please call us at 781-547-5959 ex 222. More to come.

2010

As our summer winds down here in New England, and as we start thinking about getting kids back to school, last-chance family vacations, I just wanted to give you an update on new products we are eagerly anticipating.

2010 will be a big year for us here at Aston Martin of New England. We have new models coming out that we want to tell you about; we’ll start with one today.

First is the exciting new 2010 Lotus Evora, a critically acclaimed all new car from our friends at Lotus. They have outdone themselves again, and if you read any of the European magazines, or watch Top Gear, the Evora is getting glowing reviews, some of which you can read on the publications section of our website.

The 2010 Lotus Evora will still be that light, agile, more fun then a barrel of monkeys, that the Lotus Elise and Exige models are known for. Track it, street it, show it-- no matter what your sports car fantasies are, you will not be disappointed.

Okay, here are the technical bits: The 2010 Lotus Evora will be larger than the current Lotus offerings, and the “launch editions” will be configured as a 2+2, so it will be more practical than the Elise, or Exige models, and will have many standard features: q Bi-Xenon headlamps, q Heated door mirrors, q iPod connector, q Air Conditioning, q Adjustable Recaro Seats, q Flat-Bottomed leather magnesium Steering Wheels, q Electric windows, … and many more features.

The Hardware: The 2010 Lotus Evora will be larger and heavier than the Elise, but you will have a 3.5 Liter Toyota V-6 Engine that creates 276 hp, matched to a 6 Speed “Sport” Gearbox. Also included: Switchable traction control, Power Steering, Pirelli P-Zero (225/40 ZR18 fronts, and 255/35 ZR 19 rear), silver cast wheels, standard, but forged wheels will be an option. Of course, ABS and Ventilated 4 Piston brakes (350mm front and 332 mm rear) compliment the “Go” features.

The “Launch Editions” (first 150 cars) will all have the following packages:

Premium Package:

Sport Package

Technology Package

Reverse Camera

Many new color choices, more power, room for two, plus two more, or a set golf clubs, what more could want?

Give us a call at ext. 222 if you have any questions, or more details—or to place your order!

We are taking deposits now for spring 2010 deliveries. Be the first on your block to get the new Evora!

The finest Shelby GT350.

Following up from our last posting of the "one of a kind" Aston Vanquish Zagato Roadster, this blurb is continuing in the same vein.

Why have a Shelby GT350 when you could own the last Shelby GT350 Advanced Prototype? This car has been residing in the Shelby American Collection of Boulder, Colorado and is featured in the new book "Shelby Cars in Detail." This car is in Pebble Beach Concour condition and would easily be the showcase car of any Mustang or Shelby collection.

Please visit our inventory section and admire what can now be yours.

A great many less significant cars had been sold during the auctions in Scottsdale over the last weekend, this is your chance to buy something that is truly historic in a non-auction enviornment with the guarantee of provenance.

Thanks for looking.

PS: Wait til' you see what's coming next!

Is one of a kind rare enough for you?

Every so often we have the pleasure to sell a truly great and rare car, this happens to be one of those times.

Aston Martin and Zagato got together in 2003 and knocked around the idea of doing a second limited run of Roadsters. With the DB AR1 having been such a great success, why not try the same concept with Vanquish? Well, without getting into the long drawn out meanderings of why it didn't happen in the same limited volume, these two automotive great did produce one of the most beautiful show car collaberations to date in the one-off 2004 Geneva Show Car, the Zagato Vanquish Roadster.

That same car is now offered for sale and represents an opportunity to not only own a one of a kind Aston Martin but a one of a kind Zagato as well.

Please visit the inventory page for more information or visit us to see this iconic car in person.

We’re bringing the DBS!

The New England Auto Show opens this week at the Boston Convention Center and as luck would have it we have a DBS to show.

Aston Martin of New England has great space at the convention center so you'll be able to see the Aston Martin DB9 and the V8 Vantage along with a couple of nice Lotus’s too.

Let’s talk about winter

Now that fall is here you might be thinking about what you want to do with your Aston Martin for the winter.

Well, you only have two real choices here; one, keep your baby on the road or two, get her ready for hibernation. Either choice there is some preparation necessary to keep your Aston running perfectly.

Whatever your choice I suggest you schedule an appointment with Kirk. He will tell you what you need to drive your Aston throughout the winter months or explain proper maintenance for storing your Aston for the winter.

If you’d like the idea of storing your Aston but don’t have space, Aston Martin of New England has clean, dry, covered storage available all year round. Be sure to ask Matt to explain how that works.

Maybe space is not an issue for you but you would like to keep your Aston Martin covered just the same. Nick will help you with an AM car cover and any other Aston Martin accessories that you may need.

Ext. 223 for Kirk

Ext. 226 for Matt

Ext. 224 for Nick

Aston Martin Announces 2009 V8 Vantage Dynamic Launch Tour

On October 9, 2008 the V8 Vantage Dynamic Launch Tour comes to the Aston Martin of New England showroom. Here is an opportunity to test drive both the V8 Vantage coupe and roadster plus view the very cool Aston Martin race cars, including the Nurburgring winning V8 Vantage N24 and a replica of the 2008 Le Mans GT1 winning DBR9.

There are some pretty significant technical changes on this V8 you may have heard about including an all new 4.7 litre engine, the increased horsepower to 420bhp and a new sports suspension option. Only small changes on the inside like a new center console and a new key (finally!).

As you might have guess, space is limited. The Aston Martin team is only here on the 9th. If you want more information on the V8 Tour and want to reserve a time to drive you need to call me or Pat. (781) 547-5959

-Jude

A Rainy Day in Newport

In spite of the rain on Saturday morning we drove three Aston Martin’s to Newport. I drove the red V8 Vantage, Pat had a silver DB9 Volante and Ted drove the white Vantage Roadster. We were heading out for the annual Best of the Best Show at Grenon’s of Newport.

I have to tell you, we looked so good on the road in our three Aston’s it literally stopped people in their tracks when they saw us. The best part about it (other than we got to drive an Aston Martin) people didn’t just see three Aston Martin’s together and wonder what was up with that. They saw who we are, Aston Martin of New England.

I know that sounds funny but we hear it all the time “Oh, you work at Aston Martin of New England; I didn’t know there was an Aston Martin dealership in New England” What!!! That’s impossible; we have been in Aston Martin dealer since 1996!

We had to find something that would tell people not only what the vehicles were but what dealership the vehicles were coming from. Hence the clear banners for the windshield. Very simple, just our name, web address & phone number.

Our cars sat in Newport on a very crowded Bellevue Ave. in the rain and people noticed and it was so cool.

Thank you Steve and Pat for going along with the idea.

-Jude

Shocked and Amazed

Aston Martin of New England received good news earlier this month; for a limited time Aston Martin would continue their relationship with Premier Financial Services and offer a lease on any 2007-2008 Vantage Roadster or Coupe still in stock.

Keep in mind Aston Martin has never offered a lease on their cars before. But I believe they finally understand that Americans like to lease. Not because we can’t afford the car but because most of the time it makes good business sense. (Ask your accountant!)

The idea being… your money is better spent invested in something that will make you money rather than buying a new automobile which is a depreciating asset. Exceptions, always exceptions, you are one of the few people who keeps their cars until it dies.

I’ve worked for a lot of really great auto manufacturers before, Audi, Porsche, BMW and Lamborghini. All of them including Lamborghini offer leasing as on option because it gives the customer the most options.

Want to drive a new Vantage for 3 years, with warranty, roadside assistance, not worry about trade in value (could have a little accident), walk away in the end to get into something new/different/better? You have that option. Maybe you decide in the end you love your Vantage and want to purchase it. Great! You have the option to purchase your car at anytime with leasing. Question: Do you really want to buy your own used car?

Here’s where my shock and amazement comes in; knowing that we have this great lease program that makes sense, why wouldn’t you take advantage of it and lease an Aston Martin? I mean they won’t be doing this for much longer. Then where will you be?

-Jude

Publications Update

If you haven’t read the Aston Martin of New England publications webpage lately http://www.astonmartin-lotus.com/about/publications …it’s been updated.

Now you can read the latest review of the 2009 V8 Vantage and the do’s and don’ts of purchasing your first classic car written by Steve Serio for Sports Car Market Magazines, 2008 Buyer’s Guide.

We’ll be updating the publications page with more articles on Aston Martin, Lotus and other interesting automobiles as they become available so check back often.

Some Very Cool Upcoming Events:

August 10, 2008 AMNE will be at Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton, MA for the Polo match at 2pm. We will have an Aston Martin on the sidelines. Please come by to say hello if you’re in the neighborhood.

August 19, 2008 Catch Aston Martin of New England and Ciao Bella at the Barbershop Lounge on Newbury Street for an evening reception for Stop Handgun Violence featuring the unveiling of America’s largest billboard. Details and invitation to follow on our website

August 30, 2008 Aston Martin of New England will join our friend Ray for the BEST OF THE BEST Show featuring our fine Aston Martin’s and Ray’s fine watches at Grenon's of Newport, Newport, RI

September 14, 2008 AMNE will be at Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton, MA for the Polo match at 2pm. We will have an Aston Martin on the sidelines. Please come by to say hello if you’re in the neighborhood.

October 9, 2008 The 2009 V8 Vantage Dynamic Tour - call for details and to find out how you can schedule a test drive the new 2009 Vantage. Call Pat 781-547-5959 Ext. 222

November 7, 2008 The Quantum of Solace Premier. You’ll have to stay tuned for further details for this one but we have some very cool stuff coming to New England.

I’ll be updating the blog to let you know about any details of Aston Martin of New England & Lotus Motorsports events so be sure to check back soon.

One more thing…Check out the leases on the 2008 Vantage on our Finance Specials page- Awesome! Aston Martin comes through with a great lease for the month of August. Call Pat 781-547-5959 Ext. 222

-Jude

Hot-Rod Lagonda by Steve Serio for Sports Car Market Magazine

Lagonda had been dormant for a decade when Aston Martin revived the marque in 1974 as the model name for a sensational new four-door sedan based on the existing V8 coupe.

An exclusive model even by Aston Martin standards, it was cataloged until June 1976, by which time a mere seven had been made. Of the seven factory cars built in period, only two were completed with the ZF 5-speed manual gearbox; s/n 12007, the car offered here, was one of them.

Download the full story re-published by Businessweek.com here:
http://tinyurl.com/5ceglm

Aston Martins, watches, and Newport RI. Save the date!

Save the Date! August 30th will be our Best of the Best show.

Aston Martins, and watches seem to go hand and hand these days, so we decided to repeat a great event we did last year with my good friend, Ray Grenon. Ray is the proprietor of Grenon's of Newport, a fellow car junkie, and some say he's a righteous dude. Located right in Newport, stop by to check out the Astons Martins, and ask Ray to show you the latest from: Glashutte Original, Tag Heuer, Cartier, Breitling, Omega, Bell & Ross, Gregg Ruth jewelry, and many others.

Grenon's of Newport

210 Bellevue Avenue

Newport, RI 02840

www.grenons.com/

Hope to see you there!

Cheers, Pat

Dog Days of Summer…

Aston Martin of New England has detailing services. Did you know that? I’m thinking about this now because it’s raining and my new car is dirty inside and out and my wheels have brake dust all over them (I hate that!)

On the next sunny day I will ask Hugo to make my new car new again. I want to smell leather again, see my car perfect again and feel like I did the day I picked it up from the dealership.

If we ever get another sunny day…

Mid April Musings and Goings-On.

Let's get past the fact that today is April 15th, the most hated day of the year for all of the obvious reasons. Well, warm weather is finally threatening to break through and make it that much more tempting to drive something fun to work or get ready for a proper weekend blast. Spring in New England? Maybe, just maybe.....Let's focus on that, the start of baseball and perhaps the occasional round of golf, instead of what the IRS just fleeced you out of! Time to move on.

And while fresh on the mind, I'd like to thank all of our friends and clients who joined us last night for an evening of opera with "the maestro" Placido Domingo. Aston Martin is sponsoring his worldwide tour and last night was the only scheduled performance in the USA at the Wang Center in Boston. I apologize for not providing hand towels for those of you seated in the two front rows, you all know what I'm talking about. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic evening for all, thank you again for joining us and making it a great night.

Please pick up a copy of this month's Sports Car Market Letter and read my two cents about the Aston Martin DB4 Coupe that was auctioned of in February at the Artcurial Auction House in Paris. This car is the epitome of how educated mature collectors are now valuing original cars above restored examples. Of course, finding a truly original example of anything is next to impossible but there you go. Keith Martin has done a nice job of growing that magazine into quite a staple for those who enjoy a great classic car mag.

And along the lines of further obvious self promotion, our friends at ClassicDriver.com (Thank you Steve & Charis) have featured us in this week's dealer profile. Follow the link, http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/magazine/3200.asp?id=13740, and check out Steve Wakefield's site. If you like up to the minute enthusiast news and thousands of classifieds every month, this is the place, book-mark it as a favorite. It's also the spot to check out the far flung pricing for cars in Europe. Every wonder why a great many cars are leaving the country for ports abroad? Just do the math....(And Kurt, that's a Fiat Jolly that I'm sitting on, or don't you have "them types of fur-un u-rup-peen cars in Texas?")

As I mention on our site, occasionally the "for sale" inventory never makes it that far to that section, last week was no exception. A partially restored RHD Aston Martin DB5 Coupe was sold before it even got to our premises, let alone the website. It is now in the hands of an international collector who will finish what someone else started 30 years ago. If something like this is of interest, please let me know ahead of time. In the "potentially" for sale section, I'm currently chasing a very low mileage original Ferrari Daytona Coupe, another 1950s Aston project and a very rare Porsche 356 Coupe. Pass the word along of cars on your wish list, if you can, and you won't be disappointed to hear that something was just sold that would have been just right for you. How about a rare Fiat Abarth 600 Coupe? See, it's never the same from month to month......

Lastly, our first Aston Martin DBS Coupe is "on the water." If you didn't have a chance to attend the NY Autoshow last month please contact Patrick Roussel to sechedule a visit and see what all the fuss is all about, again, you simply won't be the least bit disappointed.

Be back at you before long...

Steve Serio

Pat and Doug’s excellent New York adventure.

Tuesday, March 18^th, was a pretty exciting day for me. You see, typically I’m stuck in the office enduring a pretty tough day, selling Aston Martins, test driving Aston Martins, and checking out the classics that Steve Serio seems to dig up. Pretty dull stuff. Right? Well last Tuesday was exciting because I got to leave the office, and go to the Big Apple to see the DBS reveal. All of this before the New York Autoshow chaos.

I grabbed Doug Ewing, from Premier Financial Services, in CT, which gave us a great opportunity to talk about the new Aston Martin lease program. In case you haven’t heard, Aston Martin now has a lease program! This is a first for Aston Martin, which I think is pretty cool. Yipppeeee! If you need any information, please give us a call, we would be happy to discuss the terms.

Ok, getting back to NY, and the DBS. Let me tell you, and I’ll be honest, I was a bit concerned with the DBS,on how this beast would look. Well, when they pulled the cover off, I was just blown away. My first thought was, who I have to kill, rob, or sleep with to get one! It’s a perfect blend of the finesse, and elegance of the DB9, and the steroid induced DBR9 race cars that won LeMans last year. If you haven’t seen it yet, you will have to wait until our very own DBS launch event in Boston. I will definitely keep you guys posted.

Stay tuned, because Jude and I, will drive the DBS in April, at the Ascari Race Resort in Spain. My life sucks.

The New York Auto Show

Pat Roussel and Steve Serio are taking off for the New York Auto Show today. Aston Martin is giving everyone a good peek at the yet to be seen in the U.S. new DBS. We should see the DBS sometime in June or July but I had a chance to drive one earlier this month when I was at the Aston Martin proving grounds in Millbrook England. The DBS is Aston Martin’s new flagship automobile with a V12 engine, 510 hp and utterly fantastic to drive.

Stay tuned for DBS launch details

In the spirit of not completely boring our blog readers

In the spirit of not completely boring our blog readers ad nauseum every day, we'll keep this section for small trade news, things we find relevant in the Aston Martin world or perhaps just an occasional news update of a piece of inventory that is inbound to us. A great many transactions with inventory are pre-sold and the cars never hit the inventory section. Think 1963 Shelby Team Cobra that is in our showroom and was sold before it hit the transport truck to get here. Neat ride.

At the moment we are negotiating on some very neat rides. Today's offerings are an LP400 Countach, Porsche 550 Spyder and another Mercedes 300SL disc brake Roadster.

And as the New York City AutoShow approaches, we'd like to gently remind our future DBS customers, please contact us ASAP so we can let you preview that spectacular Aston there.

Artcurial Auction in Paris during Retromobile

With the excuse of revamping our website, our humble group has decided that a blog or two would be a good idea. We'll see...

I hope to add a weekly story or two that can add a little fodder to the car world.

Here goes with a little story about a visit to the Artcurial Auction in Paris during Retromobile last month.

A remarkable price realized for a rather unremarkable DB4... or, upon closer inspection, you'll discover what the hoo-hah and trend is now all about.

The price guide has been recalibrated once again as I attempt to unravel the mystery of how "unremarkable" has become the new "amazingly remarkable." Confused yet?

Let me un-wrap the preceding paragraph and the Parisian auction process as a bonus.

First the baffling Franco auction scene. Close your eyes and think back, humor me, to your formidable college years, the ones that involved an overheated, dry, windowless auditorium. Stubbornly overcrowded and perhaps involving an Armenian / Pakistani / Russian tongued professor who was rambling at such an incomprehensible pace his accent was the least of your worries. How do you focus? You were behind before he even got started. You were clueless and failing before you signed up for the class. Got it? Remember that physical & mental uncomfortable surrounding? Well that is a nice way of describing an American in Paris visiting the Arturial auction house. Talk about your classic culture shock. Not speaking fluent French was the least of my worries.

This auction venue during Retromobile was simply bizarro world compared to events in the USA & UK. The above-described room is no exaggeration mon ami. I attended, I nodded, I left empty handed.

When the show started I could make out the auctioneer easily enough, a DeGaulle-esque leader with a wooden pointer, he was in charge of the scene; but who was his accomplice and what was his purpose? The mystery man who was parroting DeGaulle's every word, if you will. Standing not but three paces ahead of the auctioneer and yammering with such a sing-song cadence, half a syllable behind in the same language echoing every word! Great, two pig-latin speaking professors having at it in a tempo that only needed dancing girls to finish the theatrical effect. Why the need for two people rabbiting on? Why is one mimicking the other? The French appeal for Jerry Lewis & Mickey Rourke is a relative cake walk compared to understanding this podium chaos & Clouseau silliness.

More foreign still was the quiet calamity of the crowd. Catholic wakes have more life. A room full of the buried Terra Cotta soldiers from China would show more physical movement. I'd need night vision goggles, a sight dog and three interpreters to point out the ROW any winning bid came from. Man, I was the proverbial fish on the bicycle here....please someone, yawn, stretch, show that much excitement or clap. Winning bids are happening in an auditorium full of people sleeping with their eyes open, that's the best way to describe it... honestly.

Onward to lot #21, the 1961 Series III Aston Martin DB4. I ventured across Paris hopefully to buy this lot and was dreaming it would knock my socks off in person. Not so much at first glance.

Here was my immediate discovery with knee jerk observations.

First and foremost Series III DB4s are the red headed step children of DB4s, no one specifically ever asks for one, can't change that. They're the middle child that every family has few photos of. Not old enough to be the first and not young enough to be the most advanced.

This car had a few whopper door dings, a DB2/4 MKIII steering wheel (curious to know if it was ordered like that), DB5 Selectaride (huh?), unfortunate non-original chrome strips on the rockers and paint that was as dull as a ride in a new Kia. Bumpers a bit pitted, engine bay could use a few hours of tidying and the Avon Turbo-Squirms were correct (maybe original) but really dated and no help to the drive...but here's where the collector car world takes those minor irritations and goes 180 degrees on us. I was micro nit picking an incredible jewel.

Behind my head fake of said aforementioned irritations this car was otherwise 100% complete & original down to the chassis number chalk marks on the underside of the rear seats. This DB4 possessed that amazing scent of old Connolly leather that only an honest Aston can have. Glorious! Tools, engine markings, manual, factory correspondence, killer panel fit and a like-new straight chassis really showed that this one-owner car was truly loved better than most family members. I've only seen four other cars as original as this in the last 22 years and three of them have had that beauty and charm restored right out of them. Sacre bleu! A retrospective tear is being shed here, pity really.

So it's bidding time. I figured this car to be a $275-300k DB4 all in back home. Most buyers would not see the value in such a glorious car but it was worth a shot. Well, before I could say "HEY CHUCK, LOOK THIS WAY, I WANT TO BID!" the sing-song helper blew past the auction estimates and rapidly hit the 300k Euro mark. Well, so much for being an expert in such things, time to get some fresh air and digest what I just witnessed.

Playing the part of Louis Lament back at dinner, the obvious had struck square in the choppers. A car is only original once and this is proof positive AGAIN that a really savvy collector will pay much more for that than he would a restored car. A car in this shape, with all of its' warts and blemishes is exactly what has become de rigeur for the truly clever buyers in this hobby. Anyone can own a restored trailer queen but the very few great original cars that still exist are being coveted by the real educated buyers. Price guides can be used as kindling or emergency t.p. in these instances, no one can figure what a 1-owner, honest, low mileage, documented classic will do, not even an expert in room full of terra cotta statues quietly smashing world record prices while they bid.