I dont really like business insider, but this is a pretty good short article about his view on how to improve / direction on where he wants to take the ownership experience of aston vs. other exotics.

http://www.businessinsider.com/aston...-the-us-2016-7

 

And he's wearing a blue Seamaster - maybe that comes with the job.

From the article:
(Snip)
People think of Ferrari as red sports cars, Lamborghini as "more extreme" Italian sports cars, Rolls Royce do big luxury sedans, but what do people in the US think of Aston Martin?

"If you said define Aston Martin to a lot of American consumers, I think they would struggle," Sproule admitted.
(End snip)

I'd be curious to hear what people on this forum would say. I guess I think of "big, especially good looking grand tourers," or even just "not the same old Teslas and Lexuses all the neighbors have."

 

After about a month of having my Vantage I have noticed a few things.

• It gets a lit of more attention from non enthusiast than the 964. The Porsche would get a lot of conversations started with car guys, like anyone in a modded WRX, m3, ext. They know its special, air cooled, last of a kind.
• Most people assume that the Vantage is brand new.
• They all say Jame Bond car
• Everyone mentions how stunning it is, this does not happen nearly as much in the 964.

Cheers
Daryl

 

Most people ask me what kind of car is it? Then they say the Bond thing. It gets much better approvals from the public than my Porsche's ever did. That is when the Porsche's got noticed at all.

 

I've had an email conversation with Simon Sproule.
He impresses me as someone who both knows the auto business well AND respects the Aston Martin brand. I'm sure that we won't all agree with everything they do, but I do believe that they're trying to find the best balance between commercial success, commitment to the existing owner base, and overall integrity.
I think that the company is in good hands with the professional management team they have in place.

 

Brilliant; I like where AM is going with this next business model and segment. It seems that they are identifying with some of the core and key business models to move ahead with the ever evolving automotive community.

I enjoyed his car-and-magazine analogy especially identifying with progressing in the direction of focusing on the experience for it's owners. The, "having lunch with Sproule" paragraph seems that he is onto allowing some of us younger "squire" owners a seat at the knights table to share our experiences, inputs and stories.

In many ways, I believe AM ownership equals inherent brand stewardship as there are not too many of us out there driving around en masse as you would see other exotics.

Additionally, I tend to find that we typically garner that second look with few being able to identify with our brand and more than not receiving that complementary smile or nod of approval here in SoCal when driving around the coasts of Malibu or beach side San Diego roads.

I was about town just yesterday for brunch at the Malibu beach Inn with my West LA "muse" who works in the T.V. and film networks production industry and funny thing she mentioned was to please pick her up in the Aston - after asking why? and I quote her, "it's always an elevated experience"...next thing you know, I get an invite the 2016 Emmy's!