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Aston Martin recalling majority of cars built since late 2007 over counterfeit Chinese parts

Back in June 2013, Aston Martin recalled just under 700 vehicles over faulty throttle arms that could break without warning. Bad news, for sure – and things just got a whole lot worse. According to Reuters, the British luxury brand now needs to recall 17,590 vehicles due to counterfeit plastic materials being used by a Chinese sub-supplier – that's roughly 75 percent of the company's output over the same period. Basically, here's how it boils down: with the exception of the Vanquish, Aston Martin will recall all left-hand-drive vehicles built since November 2007, and all right-hand-drive cars built since May 2012. Just as we told you in the recall notice from 2013, the accelerator arms in these cars may fracture, increasing the risk of a crash. Shenzhen Kexiang Mould Tool Co Limited, a Chinese company that molds the accelerator pedal arms in these affected models, was using counterfeit plastics, according to Reuters. These bad plastics were supplied by Synthetic Plastic Raw Material Co Ltd, of Dongguan. An Aston Martin spokesperson tells Reuters that there have been no reports of accidents or injuries in conjunction with this problem.

Tesla loses top communicator Simon Sproule to Aston Martin

Looking for a new job? Have experience working in a frenetic environment, promoting cutting-edge mobility products for a demanding boss determined to change the way we travel on this planet, as well as how we trek to others? We hear Tesla Motors just might have an opening for such a person. Again. Simon Sproule, the electric automaker's vice-president of communications and marketing is vacating his cubicle after a mere six months in order to become the chief marketing officer (CMO) over at Aston Martin. That position had gone begging for a year until this appointment. Once he's settled into his new digs, Sproule will again be breaking rock with former Nissan associate Andy Palmer who himself recently took the top spot at the British luxury marque. The move comes at what seems like an inopportune time for Tesla. It has a big D product announcement – suspected to be an all-wheel-drive update of the Model S – scheduled just two days from now and the reveal of its "mass market" Model ? early next year. The company declined our offer to comment on the situation. Aston Martin, on the other hand, should be happy to finally have someone at the marketing helm, what with the recent dropping of the veil from its Lagonda sedan and what's likely to be a bevy of new product built on its forthcoming platform. News Source: PR WeekImage Credit: Haruyoshi Yamaguchi / Bloomberg via Getty Images Green Marketing/Advertising Aston Martin Tesla simon sproule

Top Gear caught filming Best of British near Buckingham Palace

YouTuber and car-fan extraordinaire Shmee probably had very little trouble tracking down the Top Gear film crew recently, as the group was putting together an episode that could accurately be described as "excessive." With its flag-waving (literally) Best of British theme, the TG guys gathered a jaw-dropping array of British cars, and parked them all right in front of Buckingham Palace to make extra sure that the point was driven home.
Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May were outfitted with a trio of Jaguar F-Types festooned with gigantic Union Jacks, with which to survey the landscape of British motoring glory. In the video below, you'll see that this includes any number of Mini, Aston Martin, Lotus, McLaren, Land Rover, Bentley and Rolls-Royce models (just to name a few), as well as a healthy dose of weird stuff that most people would never guess at being built in the UK. The lawnmowers and military vehicles are especially cool.