are you sure im buying an Aston Martin???

[MK]

...thats probably the last question you want to ask your friendly Aston Martin dealer before parting with over 100,00 Euro of your hard earned cash LOL :D

you have to love the practice of sharing parts the car manufacturers use but to have such exclusive marquees like AstonMartin to do that is very poor...

[sadavidsriturbo]

I would have never known :eek:

[bornwild]

I'm pretty sure Astons cost way more than 100 euro=$200 :p

[poita]

wouldnt you be pissed off!

thats not cool at all

[sadavidsriturbo]

At least you know its safe :clap:

[MatsHolden]

I would have never known :eek:

Aston used to be owned by Ford, and Volvo came under the Ford banner too. Not really THAT surprising. Most of the switch gear in Astons was Ford too.

[bornwild]

Yeap, also, the vents in the vantage are straight of a Focus...lol

[Brucey]

Why Aston Martins use Volvo keys

By Nick Gibbs

29 October 2008 14:03

Did you know that Aston Martins use Volvo keys? We should hardly be surprised, since we all know that Astons dip into the expansive Ford parts bin for everything from sat-navs to switchgear. But you’d expect them to at least go to some lengths to remove the original badging.
Turns out not, as one Aston V8 Vantage (http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Aston-Martin-V8-Vantage-Coupe-2008-CAR-review/) owner discovered when his expensive leather-wrapped key fob got scuffed. There, under the damaged hide, it was clearly written ‘Volvo’.

Photos of the Aston Martin-Volvo key

‘The keyfob was damaged when we got it back from the client,’ said Edward Legge, general manager of Rio Prestige hire. ‘Our reaction was amusement and slight horror. We all know they share parts, but you would have thought someone would have invested a tenner to rub the name off.’
Aston Martin is now owned by a consortium headed by Prodrive boss Dave Richards, but Ford still have a £40m stake in the company. The firm points out it is moving from old-tech keys to new 'Emotion Control Units', the glass-block keys you'll find in a DBS (http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Aston-Martin-DBS-2008-CAR-review/).

The V8 Vantage borrows quite a few bits from Volvo, including the window and mirror switches, but it’s nothing new. The envious have always known how to upset Aston owners by pointing out the various shared parts, often from much humbler cars.

Aston Martin: a history of parts sharing

The DB7 used the entire XJS floorpan, while the DBS V8’s taillights were taken from the Hillman Hunter. The DB6’s rear lights were shared with the Triumph TR4, and those of the Virage came from the VW Scirocco. It also sported headlights from the Audi 100.
No shame in that. ‘Manufacturers have to take hardnosed decisions,’ said Quentin Parker, general manger of the Aston Workshop in County Durham. It also makes classic upkeep that bit less financially painful.
You just imagine that someone would have taken the time to pick off the decals beforehand, though…

[Wraith]

I mentioned something about this on the home basement built Lambo thread LOL...

No matter how good a modern Aston looks, I certainly wouldn't be wanting to spend the better part of 500k to have 'nearly' the same engine and gearbox used in a 50k Ford Falcon !!! and now we discover they're using Volvo keys LOL :D

Twice as much maybe at 100k would be nice, I'd buy one at that price, even with the Volvo key :)

[nadg63]

When I get to work tomorrow I am going to ask the two Company owners if I can pull their keys apart to see if they too are driving Volvos, (they each have a Vantage!)

[USC]

It does not mean they are driving volvos!! I dont know why its such a big deal!!

Some car companies use a couple of japanese sensors...does not mean they are japanese.

Or take for example BOSCH...they make wipers, starter motors, sensors...and many car manufacturers use them.

So, having a volvo key is just like having a bosch key...its just a brand. They might even make it with better quality materials for the upper market.

[xplosv57]

It does not mean they are driving volvos!! I dont know why its such a big deal!!


So you're saying if you bought an Aston and the key peeled revealing a Volvo logo, you'd be like 'oh well at least i'm not driving a Volvo.............'

As if.

[nadg63]

I'm sure after spending around $255,000 each you'd want something a bit more exclusive than Volvo appearing anywhere on it!

As someone else said, they could have at least removed the Volvo insignia first - what you don't know don't hurt!

[Astra VXD]

yeah agreed, i don't think its quite the fact its a volve key, coz all know companies share parts from others etc.

but the fact it basically looks like someone stole a volvo key with the volvo sign still on it and covered it in leather a added and extra $400 onto the price tag as well.

i would be fairly gutted,

imagine if you vauxhall (well HSV for you guys) and all you saw was a citroen logo :O

haha

Steve

[USC]

ok...may be you are right....the price you pay makes a difference but volvo is just a brand..they might have made a "better" key for the aston...who knows?

Jag is now owned by Indian company Tata...they might soon share parts...does not mean they are crap...

[bornwild]

Imagine buying a Ferrari F430 and finding Punto or 500 Cinqueciento switchgear!

[Neeko]

it would be pretty cool if i dropped my key for the barina and it shattered and said aston ha ha :)

[nadg63]

If you rush in now and buy a new Aston Martin, as a sweetener on the deal they will chuck in a nice new anorak, a guide to train spotting PLUS a floppy white hat and a set of lawn bowls ........................... !!!

[gman]

Ever been in a new Lamborghini Murcielago or Gallardo??

Switch gear, speedo and other fittings from the A4 to A8...Buy a Lamborghini, get half an Audi. R8 and Gallardo share a lot of mechanical parts too..

Either way I wouldn't complain...I like them both.. :)

[bornwild]

Yeah but it's not like Audi makes shit switchgear anyway...

[Wraith]

Yeah but it's not like Audi makes shit switchgear anyway...

Agree :)

Audi make some of the most beautiful and highest quality interiors...I've seen the Gallardo interiors/dash clusters and was aware of the Audi influence and IMHO they're much better than they were before :)

However I think Lambo owners would be pissed off if they had instrument clusters from a VW Golf or Skoda LOL :D

[MatsHolden]

Ever been in a new Lamborghini Murcielago or Gallardo??

Switch gear, speedo and other fittings from the A4 to A8...Buy a Lamborghini, get half an Audi. R8 and Gallardo share a lot of mechanical parts too..

Either way I wouldn't complain...I like them both.. :)

And since Lambo was taken over by Audi, their cars have become a million times better.

[gman]

Agreed...They drive nicer too from my experience... :)

[bornwild]

Agreed...They drive nicer too from my experience... :)

Gold :D

[USC]

Yeah but it's not like Audi makes shit switchgear anyway...

Volvo is not a shit brand either. they make pretty good cars.

[Wraith]

And since Lambo was taken over by Audi, their cars have become a million times better.

Ah yes, BUT so too have Audi's, they're both feeding from each others best DNA resources ;)

The combined efforts of Lamborghini and Audi on vehicles is a match made in heaven...

BTW is it Audi or VW who took over Lamborghini ??? either way the very concerned Mr Porker is now in charge...we can all only hope they don't interfere with the Lambo products as much as they want to with the Audi products...

[bornwild]

Volvo is not a shit brand either. they make pretty good cars.

Nowhere near the accepted levels of luxury and opulence

[MatsHolden]

Ah yes, BUT so too have Audi's, they're both feeding from each others best DNA resources ;)

The combined efforts of Lamborghini and Audi on vehicles is a match made in heaven...

BTW is it Audi or VW who took over Lamborghini ??? either way the very concerned Mr Porker is now in charge...we can all only hope they don't interfere with the Lambo products as much as they want to with the Audi products...

Yeah Volksy I think.

[gman]

Yeah Volksy I think.

Sorry Mat, it's Audi...In 1998, Lamborghini became a subsidiary of the German car manufacturer Audi AG, which is in turn a subsidiary of the Volkswagen AG or "VAG" Group

They (Audi) were already a technology partner with Lamborghini and there is/was more in common with their product lines. While they are all part of the "VAG" group, Audi is the most directly responsible for Lamborghini in terms of parts & design...

VW got Bugatti and gave Audi the W12 for the A8 series...

Audi gave VW the FSI direct injection tech...They all worked on the dual clutch gearbox...

[Calibrated]

i'd lol.

and then smoke some punk with my DBS :D

[Wraith]

Sorry Mat, it's Audi...In 1998, Lamborghini became a subsidiary of the German car manufacturer Audi AG, which is in turn a subsidiary of the Volkswagen AG or "VAG" Group

They (Audi) were already a technology partner with Lamborghini and there is/was more in common with their product lines. While they are all part of the "VAG" group, Audi is the most directly responsible for Lamborghini in terms of parts & design...

VW got Bugatti and gave Audi the W12 for the A8 series...

Audi gave VW the FSI direct injection tech...They all worked on the dual clutch gearbox...

Thanks for that one Gman, answers the question nicely :)

Can only hope as previously stated, Porker dosn't mess everything up with this group in future...