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Aston Martin expanding Lagonda Taraf availability outside of Middle East

Aston Martin has been working at reviving the Lagonda marque for several years now. But when it finally did with the Taraf sedan, it was initially prepared to offer it only in the Middle East. That apparently ruffled some feathers with prospective buyers in other parts of the world, which has prompted Aston to expand the super-sedan's availability to additional markets. Moving forward, the Lagona Taraf will now be available in EU-compliant markets, including the UK, Europe and South Africa, and will be offered in both left- and right-hand-drive configurations. Those will still need to be spread out, however, among the strictly limited run of 200 examples, to be built along the same small-batch assembly line responsible for other exclusive offerings like the V12 Zagato, the One-77 and the new Vulcan. The Taraf was launched a few months ago in Dubai, based on Aston's long-serving VH architecture and ubiquitous 6.0-liter V12. With styling inspired by the iconically wedge-shaped Aston Martin Lagonda sedan of the 1970s, it stretches longer than the Rapide for more interior space, and retails for an undisclosed price. Unfortunately, no announcement was made regarding potential availability in North America, so despite the expanded scope of the Taraf's market, it looks like we'll still be left out of the action. Reached for comment, Aston Martin told Autoblog that there's no update yet on US availability, but that the prospect remains unlikely. We'll sure to keep you posted if we hear otherwise, but given the confirmation of European availability, we wouldn't be surprised to see the Taraf on Aston's show stand in Geneva this week. ASTON MARTIN EXPANDS LAGONDA TARAF LUXURY SALOON AVAILABILITY - New Lagonda Taraf will be offered to customers outside the Middle East - Series production remains limited to 200 bespoke limousines - Super saloon will be available in left or right-hand drive 28 February 2015, Gaydon: Aston Martin is today announcing that the luxurious new Lagonda super saloon will be made available, in strictly limited numbers, to more customers around the world. Aston Martin will now accept orders for the Lagonda Taraf – the latest in a proud line of saloons revered worldwide as 'the finest of fast cars' – from prospective owners in more major markets.

Weekly Recap: New bosses try to jump-start Cadillac and Lincoln

Both of America's domestic luxury brands seem to be stuck in neutral.
It's ironic that Cadillac and Lincoln got new bosses within days of each other this month. It's also a commentary on the fact both of America's domestic luxury brands seem to be stuck in neutral.

GM says second recalled ignition switch was made in China

The defective ignition switch that led General Motors to recall an additional 3.4 million large sedans earlier this month was manufactured in China, according to a report filed with safety regulators obtained by Reuters. The switches can be knocked out of the run position, much like those affecting the Chevrolet Cobalt and other GM small cars, turning off the engine and safety systems like the airbags. Unlike GM's previous ignition switch recall, though, this latest issue will see dealers simply modify the key rather than replace the ignition switch outright, despite the fact that the switches were "slightly" below torque specifications. If what GM is claiming about this switch's origin is true, it'd mark the second high-profile recall of a part manufactured in China, following Aston Martin's (relatively) huge recall due to faulty accelerator arms in over 75 percent of the cars it had built since 2007. For what it's worth, from our perspective, the link between the Aston plastics and this GM switch seems just a bit too tenuous for us to put a lot of stock in GM's problems stemming from the location of its parts supplier, especially when the related investigation into its corporate culture has resulted in so many other culpable actors. Featured Gallery 2008 Buick Lucerne CXL Special Edition News Source: Reuters Recalls Aston Martin GM Safety supplier gm ignition switch recall gm safety ignition switch