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Aston Martin names new regional chief for the Americas

Aston Martin has named a new president for the Americas region. Starting October 26, the role will fall to Laura Schwab, who joins Aston from rival Jaguar Land Rover. The Louisville, KY native is a graduate of the law school at the University of Kentucky. She worked in the technology sector in Southern California before embarking on a career in the automotive industry, working for JLR in a variety of marketing and communications posts. She has served for the past year and a half as JLR's marketing director, having previously worked in Land Rover's North American office in a variety of capacities. In her new job, Schwab will be responsible for all of Aston Martin's activities in the Americas, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, and South America. She'll be working out of the company's regional headquarters in Irvine, CA, reporting to directly global sales director Christian Marti. Pictured above is the DB10 created for the latest James Bond movie, on display in Monterey this summer. "Laura is an excellent addition to the Aston Martin team. Throughout her career in the automotive business, Laura has demonstrated an ability to implement marketing and retail programs to drive growth," said Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer in the statement below. "As we embark upon delivery of our six-year 'Second Century Plan' the Americas region offers a considerable opportunity and I look forward to Laura applying her skills to help us grow awareness of the Aston Martin brand in this region." Related Video: ASTON MARTIN APPOINTS LAURA SCHWAB AS NEW AMERICAS REGIONAL PRESIDENT 2 October 2015, Gaydon: Aston Martin is pleased to announce the appointment of Laura Schwab as President for Aston Martin The Americas, reporting to Global Sales Director Christian Marti, effective 26 October. Laura joins Aston Martin from Jaguar Land Rover where she worked most recently as Marketing Director, leading marketing communications, experiential events, sponsorships, product marketing, customer engagement and corporate social responsibility. Based at the company's regional headquarters in Irvine, California, Laura's role as Regional President embraces sales and service, public relations, brand marketing and communications to both Aston Martin's customers and 46 dealers in the region, spanning the United States, Canada, Mexico and South America.

Spectre shreds $37 million in cars

Much as you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, you apparently can't film a James Bond movie without trashing a few cars. And by "a few cars," we actually mean $37 million worth. That's how much the producers of the all-new 007 flick, Spectre, trashed in the process of filming. And yes, that's a record. "We set the record for smashing up cars on Spectre," stunt coordinator Gary Powell told The Daily Mail (with what we can only imagine was a very boastful grin). "In Rome, we wrecked millions of pounds worth. They were going into the Vatican at top speeds of 110 [miles per hour]. We shot one entire night for four seconds of film." But because this was Bond, producers didn't just destroy $37 million worth of budget hatchbacks. Instead, seven out of ten specially produced Aston Martin DB10s were sacrificed in the name of cinema, including a major crash sequence featuring Rome's Colosseum, River Tiber, and the Vatican. American filmgoers will be waiting until November 6 to see if the destruction of all those Aston Martins was worthwhile. Somehow, we don't think anyone is going to be disappointed. Related Video: News Source: Daily Mail via Vanity FairImage Credit: Angelo Carconi / AP TV/Movies Aston Martin Coupe Luxury Performance spectre aston martin db10

Aston Martin drops Fisker lawsuit, Thunderbolt will not be produced

If you were perhaps looking forward to getting your hands on one of Henrik Fisker's Project Thunderbolt cars, you're out of luck. In order to quickly resolve a lawsuit from Aston Martin, Fisker has agreed to not produce his one-off take on the Vanquish coupe. Fisker made a splash at this year's Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance when he showed Project Thunderbolt. It was Henrik's own take on the already pretty Aston Martin Vanquish coupe, and apparently, the guys and gals in Gaydon didn't take too kindly to Fisker's creation, issuing a lawsuit that "centres on Henrik Fisker's creation and promotion of automobiles that Aston Martin contends infringes Aston Martin's rights, by an improper and unauthorised attempt to exploit and free-ride off them," according to a statement obtained by Autoblog last month. In a new statement issued Wednesday, the two parties have agreed to resolve their differences. Aston Martin has agreed to drop the lawsuit so long as Fisker does not produce his Project Thunderbolt coupe. So, sorry, Fisker fans. The official statement is pasted below. On March 26, 2015, Aston Martin filed a lawsuit against Henrik Fisker and other parties alleging various infringements by "Project Thunderbolt" of Aston Martin's intellectual property rights. The parties are pleased to report that they have been able to swiftly and amicably resolve their differences. The terms of the resolution are confidential except that the Parties wish to confirm 3 points: 1. Henrik Fisker has decided that "Project Thunderbolt" will not be produced; 2. Aston Martin will withdraw the lawsuit; and 3. In view of some apparent misunderstandings surrounding reports of the case, the Parties wish to expressly confirm that the contentions made by AML were those, and only those, made in the lawsuit. The Parties confirm that that they have amicably resolved those matters, as well as any attendant misunderstandings. The Parties will not be commenting further.