Comments on: Aston Martin DB9 Volante Review

By: Jonny Lieberman

Jonny Lieberman — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 17:36:19 +0000

And of course, I am the only human on earth who looks at the rear of the DB9 and shouts, “Chrysler Concorde!!”

By: vallux06

vallux06 — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 17:54:12 +0000

I was invited to the North-American unveiling of Jagars new coupe, this past New York Auto show. The car looks like the poor country relative of the DB9.

I was dismayed at the body panel gaps for a 2007 Jag production car. I started to doubt the whole aluminium body panel fit and finish until I meandered to Audi…….

I am glad to see AM got it right virtually from every angle with the DB9. As for the performance, inching from Manhattan to Gilgo Beach(LI) is a moot point. The creature comforts are overwhelmingly beautiful.

Val

By: Stephan Wilkinson

Stephan Wilkinson — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:31:24 +0000

The Vanquish is, of course, a substantially different car than a DB9.

I spent a week with a Vanquish S, and the best part of the trip (through the Rio Grande Valley for Condescending Traveler) was that at one point, my co-driver and I were stopped by a baby-faced Texas Highway Patrolboy who was shocked, SHOCKED that my co-driver (fortunately) was doing all of 85 on a two-lane highway in the midlde of fucking nowhere. We hadn’t seen a car in half an hour. Yet the valiant lawman never noticed that our sole “license plate” was a chrome-and-black placque that read, “Los Angeles Auto Show Vanquish S.”

Stephan

By: Robert Farago

Robert Farago — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:00:41 +0000

I found the Vanquish to be one of those nominal sports cars you sit “on” rather than “in.” It reminded me of the S55: extremely fast, tremendously capable and predictable in the corners, but absolutely no fun to thrash. The compensation was endless thrust, a NASCAR soundtrack (with an English accent) and a smooth ride. Without that…

By: Jay Shoemaker

Jay Shoemaker — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 22:13:49 +0000

Stephan, perhaps your experiences with the DB9 are with the coupe rather than Volante, which offers a more focused drive. I found the Volante even heavier than the coupe with a reluctance to repond to the whip. I believe that cars of this ilk should not have to sweat to best lesser foes. Maybe I am too immature for cars like this anyway and should stick to my GTI. I would like to thank the CHP for confirming the accuracy of the speedometer on my GTI yesterday- I had thought it must be optimistic and that I could not be driving 90 mph everywhere, like I had been doing.

By: Stephan Wilkinson

Stephan Wilkinson — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 16:33:05 +0000

Jeez, when I read something like this, I wonder how ill-tuned my butt is. I’ve spent lots of time in DB9s and never noticed its slow acceleration, poor braking or unremarkable handling, but that could be me. Still, I wonder why Jay had so much trouble with that Subaru at the stoplights. If it indeed was a WRX, a DB9 is faster to 60 (by a tenth of a second) and to the end of the quarter (by two-tenths). If it was any other Subaru, Shoemaker must have really been baggin’ it. (Yes, I understand that Jay is writing that he “should have flogged the old girl a bit harder,” but just shut up and do it, report back.)

As for braking, at 168 feet from 70 to 0, the DB9 is better than most cars, better than any non-AMG Mercedes, all the V Cadillacs excent the CTS-V (one foot shorter) and better than a 911 Turbo Cab, etc. etc. etc.

Can it truly be that “the driving dynamics are a disaster” if the car is the basis of one of the world’s most successful GT racecars? Hard to imagine, though yes, I do understand the difference between a production road car and a purpose-built full-race version. But I can’t easily think of another car that’s “a disaster” that was converted into a world-class competition car.

Oh, wait. The Monte Carle.

Stephan Wilkinson

By: Sajeev Mehta

Sajeev Mehta — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 16:26:09 +0000

Well said! Definitely light on low-mid range power, unacceptable for a GT at this price point no matter how visually-stunning the package is. The siamesed Duratec V6s need AMG’s forced induction magic in the worst way.