Stunning coupe could rocket Aston Martin into the big time

This could be the era that long-suffering Aston Martin has awaited for 90 years - reports Dallas News.

Last year, the English automaker earned its first profit ever – boosted after nine tumultuous decades in business by two well-received luxury sports cars.

At the Dallas Auto Show, Aston is showing off the third and most important car in its growing lineup, the stunning V-8 Vantage coupe.

The Vantage is a $110,000 "entry-level" Aston that should push the battle-scarred automaker closer to the mainstream of the sports-luxury segment.

"In the overall auto world, we are a drop in the ocean," said John Walton, vice president and general manager of Aston Martin North America. "In the luxury sports-car segment, our growth next year will take us to a 7 percent share of the market. The volume, for us, is significant."

More important, with the Vantage – scheduled to arrive this spring and summer – Aston Martin expects to start providing some return on owner Ford Motor Co.'s billion-dollar-plus investment.

Ford bought a 50 percent share of Aston Martin in 1987 and purchased the remainder in 1994.

The boutique automaker's growing success is especially sweet for John Eagle, the Dallas dealer who spent $3.5 million three years ago to build the first stand-alone Aston Martin store in the United States.

The dealership on Lemmon Avenue is considered a prototype for the kind of facility that Aston wants its other dealers to erect.

"It's not something I can live off of," said Mr. Eagle, who also owns Lincoln, Mercury, Honda, and Toyota dealerships in the Dallas area. "But Aston has exceeded my expectations and been a good deal for us. We think better times are ahead."

The V-8 Vantage is one of 700 cars and trucks at the 25th annual Dallas Auto Show, which opened Wednesday at the Convention Center downtown. The show runs through Sunday.

The first press conference of the show during media day on Wednesday was for Aston Martin, a company that sold just 42 cars worldwide in 1992 and has been dismissed as dead numerous times.

In the U.S., Aston's most important market, sales have risen by double-digit amounts for the last several years. Aston Martin sold 1,100 cars in the U.S. last year and expects that to increase to 1,800 this year. Sales are projected to take another big jump next year to 2,800, fueled largely by the Vantage.

"This year, we will do 6,000 cars worldwide," said Mr. Walton, Aston Martin's general manager in North America. "It's been a very tactical, very calculated approach for us."

Best known for the sleek silver coupe that James Bond drove in some of the classic 007 movies, Aston also built some silly, shabbily made cars until this decade.

When Ford bought Aston Martin, one of its first moves was to build a modern factory for the company to improve Aston's quality. Then Aston Martin hired Ulrich Bez, a former Porsche executive, to be CEO. Dr. Bez is considered a serious auto enthusiast and an intense, driving force behind Aston's renewal.

Over the last five years, Aston Martin has responded with the Vanquish, a big, high-performance 12-cylinder super coupe that competes with Ferrari; the beautiful DB9, a slightly softer 12-cylinder grand tourer; and now the "out-and-out" Vantage sports car.

The cars range from the $110,000 Vantage to $255,000 for a top-of-the-line Vanquish.

"The Vantage is a wonderful car," said Jean Jennings, editor in chief of Automobile magazine who recently drove one. "It really is in the [Porsche] 911 category. It is a true GT car in that regard. I think when Ford bought them, it was one of the real success stories that they have had.

"They are building cars now that are very understated, very sexy, very exotic," she said.

The Vantage is powered by a 4.3-liter, 380-horsepower V-8. Its frame is mostly aluminum and magnesium, and the body is a combination of aluminum, steel and advanced composites.

Aston's benchmark was the Porsche 911, a lofty goal. Nonetheless, 60 percent of the orders for the Vantage have come from Porsche owners.

"Aston Martin says the people who buy their cars wear their labels on the inside," said Sonny Morgan, managing partner of Aston Martin of Dallas. "Italian cars have a little more flash. Aston Martin has a little more grace under pressure."

Mr. Morgan hopes to get 50 Vantages this year – a total he believes he can easily sell.

When Mr. Eagle bought the Aston Martin franchise five years ago, he doubted that he would ever sell 60 Aston Martins a year. This year, his dealership – the seventh-largest of 35 in the U.S. – will probably sell 75 cars, he said.

His 20,000-square-foot dealership is made of the same travertine tile from Italy used in Aston Martin's headquarters in England.

Customers have a club room where their new cars are presented in a large glass "garage." The railings leading to the room are covered in the same leather that Aston Martin uses in its cars.

"I think there was – and is – a demand here for a sports coupe that is a little bit understated," Mr. Eagle said. "A few years back, if you wanted a high-performance coupe, you bought a Ferrari or a Mercedes. I don't know that people in Dallas appreciate Aston's heritage, but when you drive one down the street, people smile at it – and I like that."

Thanks to `Kyvan` for the alert.

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