The trouble with Bentley is it is an archaic marque saved and revived by the Germans. Since the literary Bond's wheels, they were just heavy saloons, lazily styled and undynamic, just tuned Rollers, but not as luxurious, and certainly not as well made as top end BMW's or Merc S classes. Then came VW's involvement and the marque was almost reborn. The present continental GT is great and the only Bentley fit for Bond since his last.
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Anyone who has read fellow AJB'er Leoffolwolz's novel Blood and Ashes will now be looking at Oscar Jade's new ride.
Certainly does have nice lines... B-) Jade's still going to be driving a '35 Ford roadster in the next one...not sure after that. I do know that when 1953-54 finally comes around, in Jade's future, he's going to own a Corvette B-)
Love the take on my name, BTW ) I'm always fascinated by the latest variation...
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"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
They said on Topgear last night that the next Bond book will feature Bond back in a Bentley. Maybe this will filter down to the films, but I doubt it very much.
Thunderpussy - were you driving it, or being driven?
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" My man was driving " Secretagent. ) . No Not lucky ( Or trusted more likley ) to get behind the wheel,until it was parked up. But I think if I start saving I could have on by 2062.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
They said on Topgear last night that the next Bond book will feature Bond back in a Bentley. Maybe this will filter down to the films, but I doubt it very much.
It's been a very looong time since I read them, but in the first few (or perhaps just the very first) John Gardner novels, wasn't Bond driving a Saab 900 turbo or something similar? Very nice car, but thankfully it wasn't transferred to the big screen!
At risk of sounding xenophobic, but I really want to see Bond driving a British car. I know that Aston Martin and Bentley are currently barely British, but at least they are historically British. I hated seeing Bond driving a BMW. Nothing against BMWs which are great cars, but it just wrankled that he wasn't in something British. Returning to literary Bond, I can't imagine Fleming putting Bond in a German car! I'm sure the producers could get more product placement money by having Bond in something other than an Aston Martin, but it would be a shame...unless it was a Bugatti Veyron - actually, that would make a good villain car!
Now I'm with you there! The last Sagaris and Tuscan's looked wonderfully mad. I used to own a Chimera 4.5L and apart from a couple of window seal issues it was a great drive and pretty reliable in the year I had it for. A friend owned a 4.5 Cerbera and it was awesome. I can't imagine accelerating in anything faster - when it worked... )
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Talk about wish fulfillment. I'm sure every reader wishes they could email the producers with their list of what they would like to see in the next film, and they would get an immediate email back saying "Of course! We'd love to do that, and we will...thank you for suggesting it!!!!".
It is fun to get exchanges of ideas from the other members on such topics, but we all know no matter what our wish list is (I'd love to see Bond's flat and May his housekeeper, even if for a minute of screentime), we all know that the chances of our wishes being fulfilled are zero or very slim. When it comes to the next car, the producers are going to put him in the newest Aston (if they show the car at all), or the newest car from whatever manufacturer will give it (or the dozen stand ins they always need) to them for free in exchange for the advertising.
Given all that, I'm still going to throw in my two bits with this: ever notice from reading the novels that Bond's personal cars are never new cars? It is always a second hand older model (usually one that been wrecked) that he can have a bodywork shop like Mulliners customize to his own taste. He only took the Aston in Goldfinger because he thought that would suit his undercover image for that job. It was a Service supplied car - almost what a corporation would supply it's executive with something from their rental fleet - and not his own personal car (the successive Bentley's). Naturally, it was equipped for defence. It's obvious from the way the films are made and will continue to be made that the cars are considered window dressing to the producers - it's something they know the fans want to see and if that brings in more box office then they will keep putting them it, but they will only be of service to the plot (the chase scene in the beginning of QOS) and or window dressing.
Odd how they changed this whole thing in CR. Craig obtains his Aston not from the Service but by winning it in a poker game. Supposedly, that becomes his new personal car - though after the Bahamas we're never told what happens to it. Does he keep it and has the Service equip it or does he sell it so he can get another Bentley (or set the money aside for future repairs)? We'll never know. We're only shown the Service supplied new Aston in CR and QOS. It's obvious this whole plot device of him winning the car was thrown in just to please fans - it could be taken out and it would not have affected the story at all.
I'm pretty certain they'll have Craig in the newest Aston (if, as I said, they show it at all). Personally, I would love to see him driving his own Bentley in a scene and if they were true to the novels he would not be in a brand new model - it would be an older one he has had modified.
I think we all know it's idle wish fulfillment. I don't think you are the only person to identify that. However, without simply talking about what we would like, or what should have happened, I think you'll find there's not much else to talk about. I think it's rather the point of the site - opinions.
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Talk about wish fulfillment. I'm sure every reader wishes they could email the producers with their list of what they would like to see in the next film, and they would get an immediate email back saying "Of course! We'd love to do that, and we will...thank you for suggesting it!!!!".
Good point, and well made. But I think a little bit of wishful thinking doesn't do any harm, even if it is highly unlikely to happen. For me personally, I'd like to see Bond back in a Bentley only because the literary Bond drove a Bentley ... although you're also right in that he drove an old Bentley 4.5-litre blower that he had restored and painted in battleship grey. When the books were written, that car would've been about 30 years old.
Shifting to the present day, a 30-year old Bentley today would be something made in 1981, in the era when Bentleys were little more than re-badged Rolls-Royces. Now, with new ownership under VW, it seems that Bentley is rediscovering its identity. I don't think a 30-year old Bentley is as distinctive or as memorable as a new one ... but maybe that's just me.
Aston Martin really are pushing the boundaries of lazy design - they released the DB9 back in 2004 and everything else since has looked the same! Gorgeous, but the same nonetheless! ) I'm fan of performance cars, and love Aston's in particular, but you really have to look hard to spot the differences on a DBS next to a DB9 - especially the recently revised DB9's. Now we have a Virage - not the classic Virage V8, but another DB9 with almost as much power as a DBS, with four seats like a DB9, but with splitters and spoilers similar to a DBS, but a slightly softer suspension set-up similar to a DB9...
Amazon #1 Bestselling Author. If you enjoy crime, espionage, action and fast-moving thrillers follow this link:
Aston Martin really are pushing the boundaries of lazy design - they released the DB9 back in 2004 and everything else since has looked the same! Gorgeous, but the same nonetheless! ) I'm fan of performance cars, and love Aston's in particular, but you really have to look hard to spot the differences on a DBS next to a DB9 - especially the recently revised DB9's. Now we have a Virage - not the classic Virage V8, but another DB9 with almost as much power as a DBS, with four seats like a DB9, but with splitters and spoilers similar to a DBS, but a slightly softer suspension set-up similar to a DB9...
spot on....the new Virage is an attempt to slot in between the DB9 and the DBS.....
and it's clearly aimed at the Ferrari buyer....
As to the differences between a DB9 and a DBS, the basic shape might be similar, but the spec is anything but....
Bond traditionally drives the flagship aston if anything (DB5, V8, Vanquish and DBS) so I'd personally doubt this is the car for B23....
imagine the scene...... bond escapes from a casino in Monaco, chased by Quantum agents...
in the car park is a Veyron and a one-77......
the bond glances at both, then asks the bell-boy persuasively, for the key to the one-77...
Aston Martin really are pushing the boundaries of lazy design - they released the DB9 back in 2004 and everything else since has looked the same! Gorgeous, but the same nonetheless! ) I'm fan of performance cars, and love Aston's in particular, but you really have to look hard to spot the differences on a DBS next to a DB9 - especially the recently revised DB9's. Now we have a Virage - not the classic Virage V8, but another DB9 with almost as much power as a DBS, with four seats like a DB9, but with splitters and spoilers similar to a DBS, but a slightly softer suspension set-up similar to a DB9...
It's almost a joke at this point that Aston Martin even considers these cars to be new models. It really is the Porsche strategy (which is extremely boring) except with a higher end car. I love the design but it's just not original and unique when it's applied to the whole brand. I would be shocked if these cars are holding their value. I'm surprised they haven't figured out a way to stretch and pull the DB9 design into an SUV yet...Maybe the upcoming inline 6 will be totally new and not ruined by making that into a whole bunch of "new" models.
Aston Martin really are pushing the boundaries of lazy design - they released the DB9 back in 2004 and everything else since has looked the same! Gorgeous, but the same nonetheless! ) I'm fan of performance cars, and love Aston's in particular, but you really have to look hard to spot the differences on a DBS next to a DB9 - especially the recently revised DB9's. Now we have a Virage - not the classic Virage V8, but another DB9 with almost as much power as a DBS, with four seats like a DB9, but with splitters and spoilers similar to a DBS, but a slightly softer suspension set-up similar to a DB9...
It's almost a joke at this point that Aston Martin even considers these cars to be new models. It really is the Porsche strategy (which is extremely boring) except with a higher end car. I love the design but it's just not original and unique when it's applied to the whole brand. I would be shocked if these cars are holding their value. I'm surprised they haven't figured out a way to stretch and pull the DB9 design into an SUV yet...Maybe the upcoming inline 6 will be totally new and not ruined by making that into a whole bunch of "new" models.
They're not holding value at all. As I said in a previous post I'm looking at 2005/2006 DB9's at around £40K.That's a third of the price a well specced one started out life four or five years ago. I'm hoping to buy in october. I usually buy a new car, and lose a hell of a lot over the two or three years before changing - hoping a DB9 will stop dropping or slow down at least at that age. The only thing that puts me off (apart from a disastrous experience with an apparently unusually unrelieable secondhand (5th hand, actually) DB7) is the spare part prices. A friend owns an early DB9 and has paid 6K for a clutch, and 3K for a partial engine rebuild. Whereas my BMW M3 isn't exactly Bond-style wheels, but is under a full warranty and I can walk into another in october. Bond doesn't have to worry about such mundain matters...
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Aston Martin really are pushing the boundaries of lazy design - they released the DB9 back in 2004 and everything else since has looked the same! Gorgeous, but the same nonetheless! ) I'm fan of performance cars, and love Aston's in particular, but you really have to look hard to spot the differences on a DBS next to a DB9 - especially the recently revised DB9's. Now we have a Virage - not the classic Virage V8, but another DB9 with almost as much power as a DBS, with four seats like a DB9, but with splitters and spoilers similar to a DBS, but a slightly softer suspension set-up similar to a DB9...
It's almost a joke at this point that Aston Martin even considers these cars to be new models. It really is the Porsche strategy (which is extremely boring) except with a higher end car. I love the design but it's just not original and unique when it's applied to the whole brand. I would be shocked if these cars are holding their value. I'm surprised they haven't figured out a way to stretch and pull the DB9 design into an SUV yet...Maybe the upcoming inline 6 will be totally new and not ruined by making that into a whole bunch of "new" models.
They're not holding value at all. As I said in a previous post I'm looking at 2005/2006 DB9's at around £40K.That's a third of the price a well specced one started out life four or five years ago. I'm hoping to buy in october. I usually buy a new car, and lose a hell of a lot over the two or three years before changing - hoping a DB9 will stop dropping or slow down at least at that age. The only thing that puts me off (apart from a disastrous experience with an apparently unusually unrelieable secondhand (5th hand, actually) DB7) is the spare part prices. A friend owns an early DB9 and has paid 6K for a clutch, and 3K for a partial engine rebuild. Whereas my BMW M3 isn't exactly Bond-style wheels, but is under a full warranty and I can walk into another in october. Bond doesn't have to worry about such mundain matters...
astons are well know for their failings
inreliable
expensive
temperamental
trouble
which complements
Stunning beauty
sleek head turning lines
perfectly formed rear ends
stamina to cope with any man
Sorry got distracted thinking about beautiful women....
Back to astons....
As my first boss said to me, if you have to ask how much it costs to run an aston, you can't afford to buy one.
Nothing wrong with M3's - and the marque has bond association even if the model doesn't.
As to the "homogeniety" it's essential in this age of bankrupt car companies...Think Henry ford of the 21st century.
While Porsche have certainly lost their exclusivity (everyone seems to drive them inthe uk these days!) the marque will never be boring!
And having done the 4door and the smart car, why not hav an Aston suv? Porsche have drilled thAt end of the market , albeit after a few attempts.
No as I said above, the virage is designed as a mid range competitor for the Porsche and ferrari (California) between the db9 - soon to retire thank god! - and the simply beautiful DBS.
Bond in anything other than the flagship Aston? Now that'd be boring! -{
I don't believe in the "if you have to ask you can't afford it" line as many people can afford luxury cars but become shocked when they hear about the maintenance costs. To the point where current exotics are taking heavy hits because of the expected repair costs.
I think the only high end companies that are designing cars properly are Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini. I don't include special models like the Audi R8 or Porsche Carrera GT and coming hybrid. A luxury car needs to be special. How is a car special when it shares the same interior with other models and looks like other models? No matter how beautiful the current model is, when you know the next model will definitely be faster and better because the design will be slightly tweaked there is a problem. Some find this accceptable.
I believe Bond mentions in a book that he likes things that are not just the best but the best for him. Things that are timeless to a certain extent. The rolex, the DB5, the lighter, the shirts, etc. Whatever new model probably won't be of much interest because what he has is perfect for him. You really can't say that with the current selection of Aston Martins as unless they decide to change designs (which I hope), the DBS successor will be better than the current model.
PS - And the Virage, if you go by what I read seems to be for people who want a car that looks like the DBS but has a backseat and doesn't cost as much. This is the second time Aston Martin has gone by what customers want and a luxury exotic car maker should not be as "product" focused as that.
I could probably afford to run a second hand DB9, as I managed to run a DB7 for over a year. What gets to me, is that a premium brand should also be reliable. Friend's who have the current 911 and Boxster say they're bullet-proof in terms of reliability. My own BMW is used everyday on all manner of journeys, is regularly thrashed and occasionally put round a track for the best part of a day. Stick it through the car wash, check the tyres for wear, then take my daughter to school in it the next day. It would be a shock if suddenly something went wrong. Such is the trust I have in it. It's usable, like most new cars. Why then do Aston owners all have a story about reliabilty, huge repair bills, engines re-fitted under warranty? And why when I do a track day is my M3 able not only to keep up with Vantages and DB9's, but beat them also? I think I am quite close to an analogy with this - Aston Martins are like the most gorgeous porn stars and they do and look like what you expect them to. But that's about it. But cars like 911s and M3s are like a good looking woman, who likes sex, have a degree and can cook as well...
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As government reform cuts its way through the public sector, Bond was less than happy with Aston Martin's new proposal for MI6...
He tried to call Tanner to complain, but MI6's new phone agreement with the Foreign Office regarding communication cut backs hadn't been thought through as well as expected...
As you say TP - with cutbacks and all... )
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DrFragmentSouth Coast Of EnglandPosts: 49MI6 Agent
No question, it has to be an Aston Martin. Love the DBS, but would love to see the DB5 feature again and not just for a few seconds. Its just pure Bond.
Comments
http://apbateman.com
Certainly does have nice lines... B-) Jade's still going to be driving a '35 Ford roadster in the next one...not sure after that. I do know that when 1953-54 finally comes around, in Jade's future, he's going to own a Corvette B-)
Love the take on my name, BTW
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"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
And that really is a hell of a plug!
http://apbateman.com
Now, if only the producers can be convinced to put Bond back in a Bentley where he rightfully belongs ...
Thunderpussy - were you driving it, or being driven?
http://apbateman.com
Keep Aston or BMW in my opinion.
It's been a very looong time since I read them, but in the first few (or perhaps just the very first) John Gardner novels, wasn't Bond driving a Saab 900 turbo or something similar? Very nice car, but thankfully it wasn't transferred to the big screen!
At risk of sounding xenophobic, but I really want to see Bond driving a British car. I know that Aston Martin and Bentley are currently barely British, but at least they are historically British. I hated seeing Bond driving a BMW. Nothing against BMWs which are great cars, but it just wrankled that he wasn't in something British. Returning to literary Bond, I can't imagine Fleming putting Bond in a German car! I'm sure the producers could get more product placement money by having Bond in something other than an Aston Martin, but it would be a shame...unless it was a Bugatti Veyron - actually, that would make a good villain car!
I'm no fan of the Bentleys either.
http://apbateman.com
http://apbateman.com
It is fun to get exchanges of ideas from the other members on such topics, but we all know no matter what our wish list is (I'd love to see Bond's flat and May his housekeeper, even if for a minute of screentime), we all know that the chances of our wishes being fulfilled are zero or very slim. When it comes to the next car, the producers are going to put him in the newest Aston (if they show the car at all), or the newest car from whatever manufacturer will give it (or the dozen stand ins they always need) to them for free in exchange for the advertising.
Given all that, I'm still going to throw in my two bits with this: ever notice from reading the novels that Bond's personal cars are never new cars? It is always a second hand older model (usually one that been wrecked) that he can have a bodywork shop like Mulliners customize to his own taste. He only took the Aston in Goldfinger because he thought that would suit his undercover image for that job. It was a Service supplied car - almost what a corporation would supply it's executive with something from their rental fleet - and not his own personal car (the successive Bentley's). Naturally, it was equipped for defence. It's obvious from the way the films are made and will continue to be made that the cars are considered window dressing to the producers - it's something they know the fans want to see and if that brings in more box office then they will keep putting them it, but they will only be of service to the plot (the chase scene in the beginning of QOS) and or window dressing.
Odd how they changed this whole thing in CR. Craig obtains his Aston not from the Service but by winning it in a poker game. Supposedly, that becomes his new personal car - though after the Bahamas we're never told what happens to it. Does he keep it and has the Service equip it or does he sell it so he can get another Bentley (or set the money aside for future repairs)? We'll never know. We're only shown the Service supplied new Aston in CR and QOS. It's obvious this whole plot device of him winning the car was thrown in just to please fans - it could be taken out and it would not have affected the story at all.
I'm pretty certain they'll have Craig in the newest Aston (if, as I said, they show it at all). Personally, I would love to see him driving his own Bentley in a scene and if they were true to the novels he would not be in a brand new model - it would be an older one he has had modified.
http://apbateman.com
Good point, and well made. But I think a little bit of wishful thinking doesn't do any harm, even if it is highly unlikely to happen. For me personally, I'd like to see Bond back in a Bentley only because the literary Bond drove a Bentley ... although you're also right in that he drove an old Bentley 4.5-litre blower that he had restored and painted in battleship grey. When the books were written, that car would've been about 30 years old.
Shifting to the present day, a 30-year old Bentley today would be something made in 1981, in the era when Bentleys were little more than re-badged Rolls-Royces. Now, with new ownership under VW, it seems that Bentley is rediscovering its identity. I don't think a 30-year old Bentley is as distinctive or as memorable as a new one ... but maybe that's just me.
http://apbateman.com
http://apbateman.com
spot on....the new Virage is an attempt to slot in between the DB9 and the DBS.....
and it's clearly aimed at the Ferrari buyer....
As to the differences between a DB9 and a DBS, the basic shape might be similar, but the spec is anything but....
Bond traditionally drives the flagship aston if anything (DB5, V8, Vanquish and DBS) so I'd personally doubt this is the car for B23....
imagine the scene...... bond escapes from a casino in Monaco, chased by Quantum agents...
in the car park is a Veyron and a one-77......
the bond glances at both, then asks the bell-boy persuasively, for the key to the one-77...
It's almost a joke at this point that Aston Martin even considers these cars to be new models. It really is the Porsche strategy (which is extremely boring) except with a higher end car. I love the design but it's just not original and unique when it's applied to the whole brand. I would be shocked if these cars are holding their value. I'm surprised they haven't figured out a way to stretch and pull the DB9 design into an SUV yet...Maybe the upcoming inline 6 will be totally new and not ruined by making that into a whole bunch of "new" models.
They're not holding value at all. As I said in a previous post I'm looking at 2005/2006 DB9's at around £40K.That's a third of the price a well specced one started out life four or five years ago. I'm hoping to buy in october. I usually buy a new car, and lose a hell of a lot over the two or three years before changing - hoping a DB9 will stop dropping or slow down at least at that age. The only thing that puts me off (apart from a disastrous experience with an apparently unusually unrelieable secondhand (5th hand, actually) DB7) is the spare part prices. A friend owns an early DB9 and has paid 6K for a clutch, and 3K for a partial engine rebuild. Whereas my BMW M3 isn't exactly Bond-style wheels, but is under a full warranty and I can walk into another in october. Bond doesn't have to worry about such mundain matters...
http://apbateman.com
astons are well know for their failings
inreliable
expensive
temperamental
trouble
which complements
Stunning beauty
sleek head turning lines
perfectly formed rear ends
stamina to cope with any man
Sorry got distracted thinking about beautiful women....
Back to astons....
As my first boss said to me, if you have to ask how much it costs to run an aston, you can't afford to buy one.
Nothing wrong with M3's - and the marque has bond association even if the model doesn't.
As to the "homogeniety" it's essential in this age of bankrupt car companies...Think Henry ford of the 21st century.
While Porsche have certainly lost their exclusivity (everyone seems to drive them inthe uk these days!) the marque will never be boring!
And having done the 4door and the smart car, why not hav an Aston suv? Porsche have drilled thAt end of the market , albeit after a few attempts.
No as I said above, the virage is designed as a mid range competitor for the Porsche and ferrari (California) between the db9 - soon to retire thank god! - and the simply beautiful DBS.
Bond in anything other than the flagship Aston? Now that'd be boring! -{
I think the only high end companies that are designing cars properly are Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini. I don't include special models like the Audi R8 or Porsche Carrera GT and coming hybrid. A luxury car needs to be special. How is a car special when it shares the same interior with other models and looks like other models? No matter how beautiful the current model is, when you know the next model will definitely be faster and better because the design will be slightly tweaked there is a problem. Some find this accceptable.
I believe Bond mentions in a book that he likes things that are not just the best but the best for him. Things that are timeless to a certain extent. The rolex, the DB5, the lighter, the shirts, etc. Whatever new model probably won't be of much interest because what he has is perfect for him. You really can't say that with the current selection of Aston Martins as unless they decide to change designs (which I hope), the DBS successor will be better than the current model.
PS - And the Virage, if you go by what I read seems to be for people who want a car that looks like the DBS but has a backseat and doesn't cost as much. This is the second time Aston Martin has gone by what customers want and a luxury exotic car maker should not be as "product" focused as that.
http://apbateman.com
As you say TP - with cutbacks and all...
http://apbateman.com