2008 Aston Martin Vantage Convertible on 2040-cars

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Aston Martin brings impressive lineup of metal to Monterey

Aston Martin wins the manufacturer's round of Show and Tell on Thursday at Pebble Beach, bringing six cars to the collectors' bacchanalia with four North American debuts among them. The 540-horsepower Aston Martin DB9 GT said hello to US crowds for the first time, likely the beginning of a goodbye tour while it prepares to give way to the coming DB11. Having finished its work in Rome and other points distant filming Spectre, slotting in between DBs 9 and 11 comes the DB10 making its global public debut. The latest Bond car might look better sitting still in the Aston Martin pavilion than it does in the movie trailers. The Middle-East-and-Europe only Aston Martin Lagonda has never been to the US either, nor has the DBX electric crossover concept, and the utility vehicle got a coat of Mako Blue paint to make its introduction. The Vulcan racer got re-hued as well, in a coat of Saffron Orange. Finally, there's an Aston Martin Q Vanquish Volante built specifically for Pebble. Combining an "adventurous sport theme" and "deep teal colors of Arctic sea ice," Silver Fox paint is accented with Q Tomales Red and Ocellus Teal, Baltic Blue leather inside, and teal-tinted carbon fiber throughout. It's the most vibrant and fastest chunk of iceberg on the peninsula, certainly. Check out the entire range in the galleries above and below. Related Video:

Mercedes increases stake in Aston Martin

As part of an increasingly close partnership, Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler is reportedly preparing to increase its stake in Aston Martin by another one percent, bringing the German automaker's shares in the British company up to five percent.
The rapprochement between the two has been in the works for years now, and is finally beginning to take form. Mercedes-AMG is in the midst of developing a new engine with and for Aston Martin in an apparently similar arrangement to that which it has with Pagani. But that's not the extent of it.
Daimler will also furnish Aston Martin with electrical systems and other components, said to lead up to the eventual sharing of platforms: one to underpin future GTs and another to serve as the basis for a long-mooted Aston Martin crossover, now said to be back on the table and slated to launch in 2017. The prospect of using the partnership to reinvigorate both the Lagonda and Maybach luxury brands, however, has since been taken off the table, with both parties continuing those projects independently.

Aston Martin considers manufacturing cars in America

Aston Martin is getting closer to determining where it will built its new assembly plant. An initial shortlist included 19 possible locations, and now the company has reportedly narrowed it down to just four – two in the UK, one in the Middle East, and one here in the United States. The decision, however, may be dictated as much by outside factors as it is by the automaker's own preferences. The new plant is earmarked to handle production of the forthcoming new DBX. If Aston decides to build the crossover based on Mercedes underpinnings, it could opt to locate its assembly plant in the Southern United States to be close to the Alabama plant where Benz builds the GLE- and GLS-Class models. If Aston elects to build the DBX on its own chassis, it could open up a number of other options. According to Reuters, that could include two potential sites in the United Kingdom and another in the Middle East. The British automaker was previously reported to be closely considering a former Royal Air Force base in Wales to build its plant with considerable government incentives. Jaguar's former Browns Lane plant in Coventry was also said to be in contention. But Reuters reports that an 80-acre plot just to the north of Coventry in the Sutton Coldfield area is also on the table. Few details are known as to the potential Middle Eastern site, however the company is part owned by several Gulf-region shareholders. Although the largest portion of 39 percent is held by Italian holding company Investindustrial and 5 percent by Daimler, much of the remaining 56 percent is held by Kuwaiti investment companies. We don't doubt, then, that the oil-rich Persian Gulf state is in contention as well.