2012 Aston Martin Db9 Volante Sport Edition on 2040-cars

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Prince Charles visits Aston Martin with his Aston, helps build a DBX, draws tabloid ire

A very British thing happened this week: Prince Charles visited Aston Martin's new factory in St. Athen, driving there in his own Aston Martin. He took his DB6 that over a decade ago was converted to run on waste wine (yes, really) and was used in William and Kate's wedding. His visit included touring the new factory that will build the 2020 Aston Martin DBX, as well as talking with Aston's apprentices. A plaque was placed to commemorate the visit. Aston also let him put the finishing touch on a DBX, placing the front badge. The bad news is, no one will be able to say their DBX was partly made by royalty, as the car Prince Charles finished was a pre-production model. The good news is that customer DBXs will have their badges applied professionally, and while Prince Charles' badge placement skills may be fine, we trust the pros to ensure secure and aligned fitment. Maybe we shouldn't pile on, after all, Prince Charles attracted the ire of a British publication called Express. The tabloid secured footage of Charles pulling up to the factory in the DB6, and proceeded to deride a lack of turn signal and clipping the center line while making the turn. Of course if you watch the video yourself, you'll see that, yes, he did fail to signal, but otherwise his turn seemed entirely boring and inoffensive. We at Autoblog see vastly worse driving on a daily basis, so we think the tabloids ought to cut Charles a break on that turn.

Aston Martin recalling all DB11s over Daimler steering column

Aston Martin has become the latest carmaker to be caught up in a major recall of faulty Daimler steering-column components that can cause unintended airbag deployments. The British sports car maker is recalling all 3,873 DB11 coupes built since late 2015, when production of the flagship model began, Aston Martin spokesman Kevin Watters confirmed. He said repairs would be carried out to "address an issue with the DB11 steering column upper." Daimler last year recalled more than 1 million Mercedes-Benz cars fitted with steering-column parts also supplied to Aston and Nissan. The Japanese carmaker's Infiniti brand recalled 17,500 affected vehicles. The issue is unrelated to a global recall of faulty Takata airbag inflators that have been blamed for 20 deaths. Inadequate grounding in the Daimler units leaves their circuitry vulnerable to electrostatic charges that can trigger unintended airbag deployments, according to earlier warnings. Mercedes reported "a handful of instances where drivers suffered minor abrasions or bruises" as a result of the problem. No Aston Martin customers have reported any such incidents to date, the company said, adding the necessary repair work would be carried out free of charge in less than two hours. Reporting by Laurence FrostRelated Video:

James Bond 'No Time To Die' roundup | All the cars, history and stunts

"No Time To Die" is finally, officially in theaters. It’s been an extra long road for this James Bond movie to come out, but the wait is over now. Since today is Bond day and all (at least for U.S. theaters), we figured it was time to get you a wrap-up of all the Bond-related content youÂ’ll want to go along with the film. Below, youÂ’ll find stories weÂ’ve published about "No Time To Die" over the past couple of weeks. Beware of any spoilers if you havenÂ’t seen the movie yet (if not, get to it), but those who have viewed it can read on safely. All of the Bond cars of 'No Time To Die'  Since youÂ’re here at Autoblog, we figure this is the one youÂ’re most likely looking for. The list of excellent cars in this latest Bond installment is a long one, and we have them all contained in this succinct list. Just as in past Bond movies, automotive (and motorcycle) enthusiasts will be delighted at every corner in "No Time To Die." From the classic Aston Martin DB5 to flying Land Rover Defenders, this Bond has plenty of eye candy for the engine-minded. 007 Questions for James BondÂ’s stunt master Ever been curious about all the incredible stunts that are seemingly routinely pulled in every James Bond movie? Well, here are some answers from the stunt master himself, Chris Corbould. In this story, we sit down with Corbould and grill him on how itÂ’s pulled off so masterfully. As youÂ’d expect, "No Time To Die" has its fair share of stunts. From the bonkers motorcycle jump seen in one of the trailers, to more we wonÂ’t detail for fear of spoiling your fun of watching them. Make sure to see the movie, then come back here for more background on how the sausage is made. All 24 James Bond movies ranked only by their cars You want more cars? WeÂ’ve got you covered. Our James Bond expert, James Riswick, ranks all of the Bond movie based on the cars within. Of course, Bond films are known for the excellent “Bond cars” depicted within them, so picking the best requires some parsing. If youÂ’re hoping to get up to speed with all the great Bond cars before (or after) seeing "No Time To Die," this is a great way to do it. No stone is left unturned, so take a ride with us down memory lane and see if you agree with our definitive list.