Last May in Vegas I did the Exotic Racing thing at LV Motor Speedway and drove 10 laps in a Gallardo on the road course. I liked it, but have to say it was my first time on a track and first time driving a Lambo -- I was pretty busy and missed a lot of detail.

Power was good, E-gear paddle shifts were firm, seemed pretty well balanced to me. I liked the interior, driving position fit me well, visibility wasn't appreciably worse than my DB9. I could probably live with one (in a subdued color).

BTW -- I highly recommend Exotics Racing as a great way to spend a few hundred dollars in Vegas. Great choice of cars, well run experience, big smiles all around.

 

The Maserati has the better engine for sure but you're talking about Italian vs English engineering - very different appraches. [Flame suit on] what about a Jag XKR/XKRS? Hard to deny the value for what you get. I traded a V8V for mine... hate me if you want... haha AM was an incredible experience that I will never forget.

 

For the record, there are two generations of a gallardos, the 04-08 per-LPs, and the. The 2009-2013 LPs. The are WORLDS apart, there are over 100 changes between the two generations and a world of refinement as well. If you have not driven a post 2009 Lambo LP (specifically the 2011+ Bicolores and superlegerras), then it doesn't really count.

Drive the new ones, you will be a convert for life (although you will still own astons on the side of course)

 

Just not the case.... Besides, how do you measure that claim? Are you saying that if a dealer carries over a car from summer to fall and in to winter they're going to drop the price b/c it suddenly became a different season? Sorry, not reality at all. You might see better prices on new cars b/c of a model year change and last years version is discounted but, unless it's a seller who hasn't heard of Internet selling, prices do not fluctuate based on the time of year.... Economic conditions yes, length of time the dealer has had a particular car (doesn't matter what time of year the clock starts) yes, time of year no.

 

You are entitled to your opinion but I don't agree. Sorry! It has been my personal experience whether it be a sports car, motorcycle, or jet ski they always sell better in the spring time here in Michigan. Fact of the matter is, not many Michigander's are looking for a sports car in the fall and once the snow falls good luck! You mean to tell me I can sell my Aston in the middle of December just as easy as in the spring? I don't buy that for one second!

 

That sounds like a heck of a good time! Do you remember the mileage on that Gallardo you were driving? Just curious..

 

No idea about the mileage -- I didn't even get a good look at the digital speedo while underway, never mind the odo! I drove the LP550, but they've also got a SuperLeggera LP570.

Car seemed pretty new, just judging by the seats. With having a different driver every 5 or 10 laps I expected to see a lot of wear & tear in the usual places but there really wasn't any.

 

Not really an opinion, I've bought and sold over 60 cars in the last 20 years. I can tell you as fact, prices are NOT lower in winter months! How many have you bought and/or sold?

You are naive if you really believe what you write and if you take less for your car b/c of the time year you'd be making a mistake. It very well might be true on a motorcycle or jet ski(I would actually believe it for a jet ski and a boat...) but, we're talking about cars... Specialty, high-end cars at that. Different buyer..... There IS a market outside of Michigan and if you put your car up for sale in December that doesn't mean somebody from Florida won't buy it....

 

i wish!

 

Before the advent of the internet as a marketing channel, this may have been the case. However, while it's arctic freezing in Michigan, it's still 70 degrees and sunny here in California.

When you're talking about $100k+ cars, no one is going to hesitate to spend a little extra on transportation costs if it means getting the exact car they want. If you want an example, check out the classified's on Ferrari Chat. Cars are being sold all over the US year-round.

Just some food for thought.

 

The Ferrari reliability issue ended with the 360. The 430 and beyond are pretty much bulletproof and "reasonable" on maintenance. I'd agree that overall the Lambo will be more reliable with Audi behind its production. But please note, maintenance and repairs on a Lambo are no cheaper than a Ferrari. If your solonoid goes, e-gear actuator pump, or anything in between it will cost a lot of money. These cars are not cheap to repair.

Also, if you are looking to put 20k miles on a Lambo make sure you are consider the depreciation hit you will get. These cars have major depreciation drops at 10k, 15k, and 20k+. If you are ok with that, great but make sure you go in with eyes wide open. One "trick" I do is buy cars that are under 10k, enjoy them for a few K miles and sell them for another car before they hit major depreciation points. It helps keep my loss to a minimum and let's me enjoy a wide variety of cars

 

I currently own a Gallardo for 2 1/2yrs now and just bought a new V8V 2 months ago. I love both cars but for totally different reasons. I think the Lambo is one of the most beautiful aggressive designs ever and I think the Aston is one of the most classically beautiful designs ever. The Lambo interior is really high quality, has held up well so far and I think still looks fresh and not dated. The Aston interior again is very classy and has more leather and more hand built quality than the Lambo. The engines and transmissions are very different even tho I have automated manual in both. I have a custom exhaust on the Lambo and in the higher revs it screams just like an F1 engine and the tranny is not smooth and shifts much faster than the ASM II. It is a beast but a very lovable beast. The Aston again sounds powerful but more subdued and very satisfying. Of course the Aston is not nearly as fast as the Lambo but it's not supposed to be. Any time I go out in the Lambo (yellow) heads snap, camera phones are up and always get approached when fueling up with praises and questions. Not one negative comment yet but I am very approachable and allow kids to sit in it for photos etc. The Aston doesn't attract as much attention from the general public but does from the people in the know. I love it as much as the Lambo but for different reasons. My wife hates the Lambo and loves the Aston... I feel very fortunate and blessed to be able to own 2 of what I consider to be the best cars available of their genre.

 

I have loved all the car brands mentioned and dreamt about owning all of them. But having owned a modded GT2 for a few years now and having some seat time on a track and road in ferrari's, lambo's and mclaren's, I only really want one of them anymore. The Mclaren MP4 is the only car I would sell my GT2 for. I have different wants from my cars though, primarily focused on performance first.
Lambo and Aston's would come last on my list of the exotics mentioned. Specifically when I drove a 458 and Scud, I was thrilled and in a state of pure lust. Recently I spend 8 hours on a track driving all the lambo models; regular gallardo's, Superlaggera's, and the Aventador. They were all fun and gorgeous cars with good performance, but not at the same level of excitement as the Ferrari's.
Aston's are just gorgeous machines, but too damn slow. Would love to pick up a used DBS manual trans for half its original price, but could get so much more car for that money. Still don't understand why they were selling for 300k new. I would get a used 599 instead, not as gorgeous but everything else is better IMO.

 

Astons (do you know the difference between possessive and plural?) are not meant for guys like you. Go buy a GTR and be happy.

 

Nothing wrong with your preferences. Aston has, for a long time, been totally uninterested in courting your market. I think it's silly to call them "slow". They just aren't conceived or designed for track performance (GT racers aside).

The DBS was designed to be the best GT it could be. Not the fastest, not the best on the track. And now the new Vanquish is again, not even trying to be the fastest or the tracky-est.

Not every exotic is trying to be a racing car. Lamborghini has the strange position of building super performance cars with no racing intent (club racing aside). But in spite of that, they build with performance at the top of their list. Aston simply does not develop cars that way. Example? The body of the Vantage is not aerodynamically optimized. Why, because it was designed to be beautiful first, fast second. These cars are not "better" than one another, they are just different.