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Aston Martin eyes US market for growth

Aston Martin chief executive Andy Palmer is sitting in a rustic Tuscan villa on a sweltering summer night, but his mind is thousands of miles away. He's ruminating on the United States, a lucrative market that could secure Aston's future as an automaker that has proved elusive for decades. The reason? Aston has an identity crisis. Sure, Americans know what Aston Martin is. Mostly. Palmer compares it to the British game of cricket. Many Americans have heard of it. They might even have a vague notion of what it is, but that's about as far as things go. It's the same with Aston. Candidly, Palmer places the blame squarely on his company, admitting Aston executives have been complacent about America. "We've got some work to do in the United States. I think we have assumed that you guys get it because you speak our language," he told a group of mostly US journalists at the launch of the 2017 DB11. That ends now, Palmer said, and Aston's plan to fix the problem will come into sharper focus with the launch of the DBX crossover for 2019. The utility vehicle was designed for an American buyer because the US market is SUV heavy. The target consumer? Someone named Charlotte, a 42-year-old from Southern California. Palmer describes her as someone who wants an elevated ride height and functionality. "She's looking for that safe, secure feeling," Palmer said. The company is adding 750 people and building a factory in Wales to produce the DBX. The site will be able to make 7,000 units annually, which dovetails with Aston's goal of making 7,000 sports cars per year. It's an ambitious plan for a company that made 3,615 cars in 2015 and posted an operating loss. This potential growth is still a few years off, meaning the brand's new DB11 must be a success. Early signs are trending well, and Aston had taken 2,000 orders by the end of June. After that, the company will redesign the Vanquish and Vantage and add the usual open-top variants. Aston's investors have already funded the sports cars and the DBX, and product development spending rose 40 percent in 2015. Aston's ownership group includes a Kuwaiti consortium, Italian backers, and a minority stake held by Daimler, which provides technology like infotainment and V8 engines. In total, Aston plans seven new vehicles in six years.

Aston Martin DB11 fully exposed before Geneva debut

You're forgiven if you don't remember much about Daniel Craig's last adventure as James Bond 007 in Spectre. The movie was largely forgettable, but the Aston Martin DB10 built for the film was nice to look at, until it took a swim in the Tiber. Since the DB10 was never intended for production, the DB11 is on its way as a DB9 replacement. We've been seeing camouflaged DB11 prototypes running around Europe for a while now. And now, thanks to a photographer taking a picture when he or she wasn't supposed to, and posting that image to Twitter, we can show you what the front of the upcoming DB11 looks like well ahead of its probable Geneva Motor Show debut. Twitter user @Rudybenjamin13 posted the photo you see below earlier today, although with the caveat that the account was just sharing the photo and didn't take it. Whether that's the case is neither here nor there. On me dit que je risque d'etre emmerde donc tant qu'a faire ... #astonmartin #DB11 . Je relaie .... pic.twitter.com/Xle3BkjJF9 — RudyB001 (@Rudybenjamin13) February 17, 2016 It's a much more traditional front fascia than the DB10's concept-car aesthetic. Bigger, road-legal headlights and a more traditional Aston grille bookend an incredibly sculpted hood. Where the DB10 was shark-nosed and aggressive, the DB11 looks traditional and profoundly powerful. It will fit right into the lineup, which can't quite be said for the DB10, whatever you think of it. From this angle, it's both expected and satisfying. We can't wait to see it in the flesh, hopefully in Geneva. Related Video: Spy Photos Aston Martin aston martin db9 aston martin db11 spectre aston martin db10

Aston Martin's deal with Mercedes-AMG more than skin-deep

Aston Martin is working on a raft of new models. But it's not going it alone: it has a technical partnership with Mercedes-AMG, the details of which have only been revealed in bits and pieces. If these latest spy shots are anything to go by, however, the arrangement could run deeper than anyone initially let on. Spied undergoing testing at the Nurburgring, this prototype for the upcoming successor to the Aston Martin DB9 is widely expected to be called the DB11 (10 is being used by James Bond's new ride). From the outside it doesn't look different than the previous versions we've seen running around, but this time we can also peer into the cabin, and that's where things start to get interesting. Despite the best arm-waving efforts by the development engineers, our spy photographers managed to snap a couple of shots of the interior. And though it looks far from being ready for production, the components we see appear to have been lifted from the Mercedes S-Class Coupe – particularly the steering wheel, digital instrument cluster, and almost the entire center console. This speaks to a deeper collaboration between the British and German automakers. The 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 from the Mercedes-AMG GT, C63, and G500 4x42 is already being adapted for use in the next generation of Astons. Related Video: