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Aston launches certification program for historic cars

After 102 years in business, Aston Martin has an in-house program to provide factory certification to the products it has made for more than a century. The Aston Martin Assured Provenance program is a way for owners to have their classic cars examined by the gents at Aston Martin Works at Newport Pagnell, and then - if successful - be assessed one of four levels of certification. Owners pay a fee to have their car looked over by in-house experts who perform a digital scan and then examine all of the car's visuals and mechanics. Those records are then given to the Sanctioning Committee, another group of experts that decides which level, from Platinum to Bronze, should be awarded to the vehicle. The owner pays another fee if the car get certified, after which said owner gets a photo book of the car, the certificate in a presentation case, two sets of plaques for the instrument panel and door sills, and a USB with the digital record of the car. The program is open to original vehicles and those reworked by Aston Martin. The press release below has more. Related Video: ASTON MARTIN LAUNCHES ASSURED PROVENANCE RATING FOR CLASSIC CARS 11 September 2015, Gaydon - Aston Martin is today unveiling an authoritative new Assured Provenance certification programme which, for the first time in the brand's 102-year history, comprehensively assesses the background of its heritage sports cars. Created to offer a true blue riband service to heritage car owners and collectors, and drawing on the unrivalled knowledge of a committee of authoritative Aston Martin experts, the pioneering Assured Provenance certification programme is administered and run by the brand's world-renowned in-house heritage car facility – Aston Martin Works. The first official authentication programme to be provided in-house by Aston Martin, the new scheme offers four levels of verification to take into account not simply all-original examples, but also sports cars that have been modified by Aston Martin itself over the years. As part of the painstaking procedure of examination and authentication, all cars submitted to the process will undergo a digital scan which will be verified and held in a secure archive for future reference. Every car will be assessed at Aston Martin's internationally renowned heritage restoration, service and repair facility – Aston Martin Works at Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire – where they will undergo a thorough visual and mechanical investigation.

Here's what else you could buy for the average new-car price of $40,573

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. The average price of a new car in America hit a new record in December 2020: $40,573. Not that we're surprised — the average has been over $35,000 for the past few years — but seeing that baseline figure crest 40 large is still a sticker-shock to the system. So, as we do every once in a while, we put our collective heads together and came up with a list of alternatives that you could choose to buy for that sum, new or old, classic or practical. Now, let's be crystal clear about one thing here. We're not actually recommending you make this type of decision. That said, we wouldn't blame you if you did. Managing Editor Greg Rasa: $40,000 will buy a fully loaded Camry or moderately equipped crossover. Or, for $39,997, to be exact, one could go motoring in a fine British automobile. This 2006 Aston Martin DB9 Volante in Alabama has 21,452 miles on it, and depreciation has worked its cruel magic: It is listed for less than one-quarter of its $168,000 starting MSRP when it was new. A check of other used DB9s nationwide indicates this is a fair price. This Aston's CarFax reveals two owners. (One, really, as the second was a dealership. Looks like it got traded in for a Porsche.) If you're understandably concerned about reliability, its service history indicates no surprises to date. Remember, it has a 450-horsepower 5.9-liter V12. And spring is coming. Of course a used Aston Martin is riskier than a new Camry. But as Louis Prima sang, "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think." What price beauty? Less than $40 grand. Associate Editor Byron Hurd: This price point opens up a ton of options in the "nearly new" luxury space, including a few good enthusiast picks, but my nod here goes to the Cadillac ATS-V. The discontinued, M3/M4-rivaling, 465-horsepower sport sedan and coupe can be had all day long in this price range with low miles. In fact, the real challenge is finding one in the spec you want, since it's one of those old-fashioned cars that actually presented the buyer with choices. Here's a clean, six-speed sedan in an actual color for less than our target price, for example. Coupes are more plentiful than sedans, especially in interesting colors, but there are plenty of them out there.

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.