Malibu310

After looking a few months ago at the AMV8 in an unveiling at Chicago which I made a special trip to see, I decided to upgrade my 928 instead.

I have had three older Aston Martins (Lagondas) and felt that the Aston was no doubt a great car, but here is my opinion:

When closing the car door, my watch rubbed against the "aluminum" door edging. It chipped about 1/4" of plastic from the "Aluminum" trim. There is much talk about the "Aluminum" heater control *****, but the window switching looks like it came right from a 1974 MG.

The overall design of the interior looked as if three different designers got very stoned and fought over various themes, unlike the DB9 which is more normal looking, in particular behind the drivers seat is just odd.

The car is tiny. Sitting next to an old DB5 the old Bond car towered over the Aston.

The car is NOT available in the great Aston wood trims, only Piano Black is offered...

The car does not feel like an English car... it feels German, and an Aston should feel English, and for me that is the downfall. That said, if you don't care about an English character, the Aston is probably today the 928's replacement.... however...

My decision was to get my deposit back and spend another $20,000 on my current 928 to make it better than the AMV8... a savings of $105,000 + tax.

See the recent Modded 928 post to see what $20K can do to a 928. Even $10K can upgrade a 928 to be equal in performance to teh AMV8.

If Aston comes out with a 500HP blower AMV8... well... I might reconsider.

Rick

fabric

Wow, this guy went over the top on this one. I think the mechanic I know just drops in a 540 tranny and such. THis guy got a euro M5 clutch, had his mechanic make a new ligthweight clutch flywheel, and put in a new LSD, which necessitated a new driveshaft.

The irony being that early on, he talks about how his payments where $60 less a month than the Expedition he was looking at - then it sounds like he spent the price of the car in mods. Nothing wrong with that, just funny that he brought it up.

928SS

weill, if we're comparing newer cars: IMO, the new 650i bmw is VERY close to the 928- 360hp v8, great handling and all for around $70k - and they even have a topless version! probably closer to a 928 than the AM, due to price, german roots and HP/performance.... http://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/6/650iConvertible/

didn't notice if anyone else mentioned it - but the M5 V10 500hp is one heck of a beast too http://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/m/m5sedan/default but it is a sedan.

and you can't ignore the 300Z twin turbo - 500hp plus easy (w/ball bearing turbos and larger IC's), nice wt. distribution, not too cramped, and a solid handller too. kinda like the jap version of a 928, IMO.

but for 928ish lines and pure beauty- I'm still in love w/the 968 ragtops. lots of room for a monster IC and turbo too... now, if I can just get the wife to ditch her jag for one, I'd be in heaven (and so would my p car mechanic) course, it'll probably be a cold day in hell before she gives up that chrome ***** on her hood (oops, did I say that?), although the v12 jag ragtop is a pretty tough kitty I suppose. meow. hehehe.

Malibu310

As far as the AMV8 not having German roots... guess who was in charge of the design program? Hint: They wern't on our side durning WWII.

Rick

AO

Thanks for reminding me about this car. I used to dream about this one too. I think it was (is) as close to the performance of a 928 for the price. But definately not as comfortable IMHO, but definately a fun ride.... Hmmm time to look at ebay.

fabric

Lexus SC400? You could only get an auto with the V8, you could get a manual with the SC300. A gentlemans Supra, pretty much. I think they look very nice, at least the first couple years, then typically Toyota they made some questionable styling changes in the latter years.

928SS

um, well hitler is dead and most of his v2 boyz went to white sands. so maybe "Q" at MI 6?? (bond, james bond) guess I just think tea parties w/hotties like ms. goodhead, dr. christmas, ms. frost - and pop up rocket launchers when it's AM but now that you mention it - I guess that explains where all the cool weapons came from, hehehe guess ya learn something new every day!!

ps. love that console on your shark!!! it's the best I've seen, and totally changes the interior to a super modern look!!! VERY NICE! if the 928 was still made - that'd be what I'd expect to see!! w/50 cals behind the driving lts, even jimmy bond would feel at home in it

back to the shark-love channel

bigs

So... What I'm hearin' is:

To match the 928's comfort, you gotta buy a luxury car.

To match its speed and handling, you gotta buy a sports car.

To match its utility and carrying capacity, you gotta buy a station wagon.

To match its reliability, you gotta buy something by Toyota/Lexus

To match its timeless beauty, it's gonna cost you >$100K...

So, for those of you who don't have one, here's your obvious argument: "Honey, buyin' a 928 is gonna save us buyin' 4-5 other cars! What a deal!

Women can't resist a bargain!

Randy V

A good synopsis, bigs.

Shane

This is what PCNA had to say on the subject back in 1986:

Competitors to the 928S

Based upon this image, we can readily see that the 928's competitors should not be confined to the 'sports car category.' Clearly similarly configured automobiles combining high performance with luxury appointments-- vehicles such as the Chevrolet Corvette and the Jaguar XJ-S-- represent one form of the competition. But less purely performance-oriented cars such as the Mercedes 560SL and the BMW 635CSi are also prime competition to the 928S, because of their strong accent on luxurious interior accommodations coupled with high standards of construction quaility and a healthy dose of performance.

The 928's strengths in comparison with these competitors are basically the higher level of achievement the Porsche brings to each of these three categories. The 928S is swifter than most of these competitors, better appointed in an ergonomic sense, and superbly constructed. It is also a Porsche-- and all of the legendary achievements we discussed in Chapter One* show themselves in that single word.


*Chapter One--Porsche AG and its' history.

This is taken word for word out of the 1986 Product Knowledge Workbook for the Porsche 928S

fabric

Slow down there bigs. You still can't really put 4 people in a 928. But I think you can still work the "deal" aspect - 2 928's are still a lot less than the 4-5 other cars you need.

UKKid35

Perhaps you can't put 4 Americans in a 928, but the rear seats in my car are used regularly, and not just for carrying kids. Not everyone is over six foot tall you know...

Bill Ball

In fact, the rear seats were a criteria my wife specified when I went looking for a sports car. Thank god I discovered the 928 when I went looking for a 4 seater sports car. The seats have been used to take the kids to school many times.

Malibu310

My (ex)wife demanded that I never get another 2 seat sports car because of the kids... that's how I also got into 928's... best move I ever made...

Rick

Abby Normal

I'm all "cakey" after reading the post by Shane. Think I'll go drive mine now!

bigs,

In regards to the last paragraph, I'm taking a different angle and am going to beg the wife to let me get another one.

She's WAY to smart to fall for that though........

Doh!