I'd keep in mind that the Vantage isn't exactly tuner friendly. Not much out there for it. R8 has a few high hp option for the V8, but they are about 30K. 911's and GTR's have many options and are pretty cheap.

 

There are classic designs that will look good forever. The current Aston design is one of them.

Hey, if everyone had taste there would be no one to laugh at.

 

Sorry wedouglas but by definition you're a troll...someone who goes to another forum and talks trash just to incite people.

Everyone agrees that the design is dated? Who is this everyone you refer to? Have you ever even seen an Aston Martin in person? By far the majority of people I've come across (including myself) think it's one of the, if not the, best looking cars on the road. Looks are subjective...I'm not a fan of the R8s looks, although I don't go to the R8 forums and start spewing about it. If you don't like the Vantage that's fine, but your statement is just silly and makes you seem like a troll. I bet you'd have trouble finding even one person who agrees with you on the Vantage looking dated.

As for the performance, while the original 4.3 underperformed in stock form, the 4.7 will run door to door with the R8 V8 and the V12 is close to, if not quite a match for the V10.

Whatever the case, if you want to bring your R8 down here I'd be happy to show you that a Vantage can be made to be much faster than an R8.

 

Couldn't agree more, Tahoe! My 2007 is tuned a bit and a fun car to drive. I hope to move into a V12 Vantage next year. If it doesn't work out, I'll still love my V8.

 

LOL. I'm not inciting anyone. I'm not the one drawing attention to the soft prices. The thread was titled 'vantage prices soft' not 'how great vantages are.' I told you why I think they are soft. And yeah, I think the design is dated and not a desirable car. Like any car, if it were so desirable it would be selling and prices would be stronger. All cars took a hit these last couple years, some more than others. The ones that fell harder, fell harder for a reason.

Don't take it out of context. I didn't mean it's not a desirable car to the average person. I meant it's not a desirable car in it's segment.

Yes, yes. Any car can be made faster. My R8 has 630hp. Who cares though? This thread was 'vantage prices soft' not 'tuned vantages.'

Don't take it personal. I said I like the car, just not in it's price segment.

 

Hey my Vantage has around 630 hp, too, so I guess they are tuner friendly. Of course, Audi sells about 10,000x as many cars as Aston Martin, so the tuner market is smaller and you need to know where to look.

There are more tuning options for the 4.3 which should make it more desirable. These days you can get a clean 4.3 for $70s and add a supercharger, clutch, and wheels and still have spent less than a new 4.7 costs.

 

I think what he mean about tuner 'friendly' is the low cost to increase power/performance...

My GT-R went from 480HP - ~600HP for about $2k.

 

That's fair...it's always going to be cheaper and easier to get big gains from cars with stock turbos or superchargers. But in reference to the R8, the only way to get 630 hp is with an aftermarket turbo or supercharger kit which as he mentioned is about $30k.

 

Agreed. But that's all wedouglas was suggesting when he said 'tuner friendly' - that the 911's and GT-R's were more tuner friendly than R8's and Vantages.

 

I did mean that, but also that there are very few places doing AM tuning. I can name a ton of people who do VW/GTR tuning, the options are vast, and there are tons of cars running around with every combination under the sun. They are pretty proven and well known. You can get a good boost in power cheap, but the real big (and unnecessary) power still can easily run you over $20K.

I'd personally go with the GTR. It's not easy on the eyes, but it's insanely quick with minimal cost. Only reason I didn't get one is that I just didn't want to look at that car in my garage

 

I think Tahoe's and myself's objections about wedouglas's original post centered more around the fact that he said the aston was not a desireable car and that it's design was dated. I mean, the vantage isn't a car that you'd start with if all you were after was chasing power. A GT-R would be a much better bet for that. The iconic appeal of a Vantage is its desireability DUE to its design. I think most people buy it because of its understated beauty and timeless proportions. The GT-R is an interpretation of a next-generation design language, but if you were to park the two side to side, 9 out of 10 people would think the Aston more beautiful. That's not a knock on the GT-R, on a track, the Vantage driver wouldn't be able to see the dust of the GT-R, but does illustrate the point of different horses for different courses. The R8 is of course very desireable as well, but is it 30k more desireable than a Vantage? To my eyes, no. My plan is to get a vantage for summer DD after my MBA and an older Lancer Evolution for winter for 20k. Then use the other 10k to mod the vantage, and then I have two fast enough cars for the price of an R8 that I can enjoy in any weather.

 

Well, here's the thing. While looks are subjective, sales and prices are not. Prices are never soft. Prices are prices. If cars are moving quickly, the price firms up. If prices fall then the cars just aren't moving fast enough. This to me is what defines real desirability. Not the majority of the population finding a car desirable, but the amount of people who can afford the car and are actually buying one.

A 2000 F360 is desirable to millions of people too, but how many people are actually buying them?

 

yes, I agree with you, the prices are governed by supply and demand. And there isn't much demand from people with enough disposable income for the demand curve to intersect the supply curve at a higher point. I just find it odd because personally speaking, I find the car very desireable, but I think that it may occupy a price point where the target demographic has been hit by the recession or some macroeconomic/exogenous factor. Not ultra-wealthy, nor middle-class. An R8 seems immune to this I think, simply because it looks like a supercar, more so than the superior-performing GT3 (which sells on reputation) and is cheaper than a gallardo. A new GT-R occupies the same price point as a used Vantage, and these cars are hard to shift as well.

 

Another factor is dealer access. Every town in the US has an Audi or Nissan dealership, but very few have AM dealerships. People aren't likely to buy an expensive car if they aren't near a dealership, and especially not if they haven seen or driven one. The first time I ever saw a Vantage in person I was wowed and the first time I ever drove one I was sold. That won't happen if you're just looking at pics on the internet.

 

How can you say the performance isn't there & comment on a car you have never driven & cannot afford... I am driving a V8 07 right now & the car is gorgeous & very desirable but people cannot afford the car! So do me a favor & keep your mouth shut if you don't know what your talking about!..... FYI I also own a Bentley SS & have owned numerous cars & this is one of the most beautiful cars! It's performance is perfect... So go back to the GM blog & talk about a car you know about! Wedouglas....