Agree on both counts. Mercs have always sounded dirty to me, as do many of the "high performance" Jags. F-type coupe looks gorgeous though in pictures.

 

All I can say based on your comment is you obviously haven't seen the F-Type trunk in real life. The boot in my Esprit is cavernous by comparison. In fact, I think even the trunk in my MX-5 Miata is larger.

Also, when my wife and I go on trips we usually attend formal events that require a tuxedo, or at least a suit for me and an evening gown for her. I'm not going roll our clothes into a ball and arrive at a gala a wrinkled mess just because that's the only way it'll fit in the car.

 

Good thread.
My wife has a new 13 Boxster S. Great car. The non S is not a sports car. I told the dealer Porsche should be ashamed of themselves for charging $60K for such an underpowered car. So I agree a non S Boxster is not a choice. Drive a loaded S and you will see what I mean. The only negative is it costs too much. We got hers lightly used at a steep discount or we wouldn't have bought it. BTY the 13 is far better than the older cars.

I have driven the F type and think it is a good car. I wouldn't trade an Aston for it but it does represent good value for someone new to the market. Going to drive the v8 today as well as the new Vette. Will let you know what I think.

I have an SLK 55 that has had the Kleeman mods and the sound as well as the power is much improved. Fun little run around car.

Having experience with modern ferraris I can say they don't have problems like the old ones. They generally have low miles because the owners generally have other cars to drive. I have tracked every one of mine with no problems but I also don't drive them every day. They also have less depreciation than any other exotic.

 

This may be the case for many, but there are also lots of fcar owners like me who don't have a fleet of cars. I think it's more than just having several other cars to drive. People know higher miles create lots of depreciation, so they're afraid to rack up a lot of miles. When they keep the miles low, most cars out there for sale have really low miles, and this has a significant effect on the value of higher mileage cars. It's a vicious circle. I do agree it has less to do with the reliability of the cars though.

 

I spent en entire day recently in the new C7 at Bondurant. It is a great car and offers tremendous value. A powerful motor, great brakes and solid chassis. The interior is really well done.

However, there were a couple of things that I did not like:

1. The front fenders block the view more than I like, especially on the track when I wanted max visibility

2. The speedo is designed so that you must use the heads up display, which was very limited in where you could move it; I am sure one would get use to it with time, but I did not like it

3. It was difficult to get a solid feel for the car with so many electronic nannies; I was surprised how much they isolate you from the car until you put it into track mode - the throttle would not really respond unless the wheels were completely pointed straight

4. The car still feels a bit big, which was a surprise given its lightweight compared to the V12V

I still really like the car and for the cost, it is an amazing performer. But I could never see any Vette as a replacement for my Aston. Regardless of how fast the new Z06 might be, it would need to feel much more special to appeal to me. I wonder if the Jag F-Type is the same. I read how powerful it is, but wonder about the intangibles.

 

I also found the New Vette lacking in comparison with my 09 Vantage from multiple perspectives.






V12V - I sold my SLK55 to replace it with the 09 Vantage, I almost kept it to install the Kleeman Supercharger. The SLK55 had a very irritating lag between the pedal and throttle and I thought it could use a lot more low end grunt... does the Kleeman solve that? If you ever want to sell it contact me in the future. Prefurbia

 

Didn't drive the Vette or the Jag. Chevy didn't have a demo and the Jag dealer sold the v8 I wanted to drive. Maybe next weekend.
On a different note that no one here really cares about I did drive the new KIA Soul. My wife has a 2010 for running errands in and she wanted to see what the new one was like so I went along. The top model is the exclaim with the whole shebang package. Yea really. I won't boor you anymore with a review but, it is very well done with every option you can think of for $26,000 with a ten year warranty. Our 2010 has had no problems so if you need a cheap beater take a look.
True there are Ferrari people who don't drive their cars but look at all the low mile cars in all the auctions. I think this extends to lots of high end sports cars and exotics. It's usually the second or third owner who drives them more when they are not worried about the value as much.
I don't remember my SLK having much lag when it was new but it runs fine now with the Kleeman mods. I did the ECU, filters, stainless headers and cat delete. I passed on the supercharger. The mods woke the car up and I would recommend them to any SLK owner. The car is much stronger now and a lot more fun to drive. I have only put 12,000 miles on it since new in 05. I'll keep you in mind if I decide to sell.
As to the Vette I thought it looked like a bang for the buck car when I saw it at the Detroit Auto Show last year and I look forward to driving it. We'll compare notes.
One last thing. I just read the Motor Trend test between the XKRS-GT and the V12VS and hope this spurs AM to offer the S with the six speed manual. I doubt it but no one asked for the SS trans and I have yet to read a positive review. I have already turned down trading my V12 for the new one. I know all about fitment problems with an auto and dual clutch and lack of R & D money. It would have been cheaper and easier to leave the manual in the car.
The problem with the SS is it's not a manual and it's not an automatic. The new seven and eight speed autos are far superior. Look at the Jag. Maybe the deal with Mercedes will help.
If they offer one with a six speed manual I'm in.

 

I was pretty disappointed by the outcome of the MT comparison, too, The test seemd to be pretty fair and the V12V simply lost. With the price differential, it was a bitter pill IMHO for Aston.

 

I read the article on my flight this past week and the flogging they gave the gearbox was rough. They even mentioned stalling the car... I wish AM did offer the manual. If they did, I'd most likely get one because it seems like the perfect last refresh for this bodystyle.

 

This is a great thread. I've been shopping myself and love the input.

 

I was at the Jag dealer this weekend and saw two of the F Types there. They did look great but i did not drive one mostly because i know i will not buy it. After seeing it for the second time in person I thought it looked a little small. They had a XKR-S parked next to one and I preferred the the larger XK car.
I think some manufacture are making more headway with improving their cars than AM and bitter pills could be coming more often. Please don't take this offensively because i hate to see AM take a bad rap but we should be honest with ourselves. The new affiliation with AMG could give AM a booster shot in the arm and breath new life into performance.

 

Here is the video to accompany the article by Motor Trend:

 

The result of the comparison is a bit disappointing. To be fair, however, the Jag has dive planes and a rear wing that one typically finds on a racing car. I guess you could add them to the Aston to improve its performance too, but then it'd look as ridiculous as the Jag does.

 

Watched the video. While I won't buy the Jag, I won't buy a V12S either. The Jag wins with a V8, six speed auto and a much cheaper price.
I hope AM is listening. Give us back our Six Speed manual and you will no doubt sell more cars. So what's it going to be?

 

Here's a funny thing: No one mentions that the Jag is a full-on, slush tank, automatic tranny.

As a fan of not shifting with my foot, I'm all for it. And based on the reviews and reactions of some driving pros, I get the feeling that an auto can be just as thrilling (and fast) as anything else. I WISH my Vantage was fully auto. I wish the V12S was too.

As for the OT of this thread, the V8Vs seems a really cool car, but for equal $, I'd get the 12. OK, well "I" wouldn't, because I actually don't want that third pedal anymore, but...