ASTON MARTIN

Image from www.theprodigalguide.com

There is one sports car that needs no introduction.

The name is Martin. Aston Martin. The name says it all. They say that double barrelled names are posh, but who has ever heard of a car with a double barrelled name? Well, there is only one. Martin. Aston Martin.

The Aston Martin is quite simply the most handsome and stylish car there is. He  is the Paul Newman, Sean Connery or Brad Pitt of cars. Yes, he is the most handsome, and his charisma and charm is a constant. Other makes of car have, on occasions, hit on beautiful designs from time to time, but each-Jaguar, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Mercedes-have moved on to new designs, leaving their beautiful creations behind.

Martin. Aston Martin has not. They hit on near perfection early, and have been perfecting perfection ever since. After all, if you have a design which is stunningly beautiful, why would you want to change it? So that is why we have the wide-eyed look, the simple smile of the Aston Martin. Technical improvements have occurred, the inside has been made ever more luxurious, but the facial beauty remains a constant.

It is not surprising that Aston Martin has always been associated with James Bond and his films, because here are two heroes that despite all the obstacles that are placed in their path, they always survive with charm and panache. Each is a living legend. And each always gets the girl.

You may go out with other cars, but you will never forget the time you went out with an Aston Martin, because he remains the most handsome of them all. You will not forget the name, because there is only one Martin. Aston Martin. 

The New Kind of Cat

Image from www.blogs.mirror.co.uk

A couple of weeks ago, Luxury Hedonist were invited by Jaguar to test-drive their new cat, the Jaguar XJ. The first thing you notice on entering the rarefied space of the Jaguar is that the new cat has entered the space age. Jaguar has distinguished itself by its new technology.The big cat has always been king of the jungle, but this time the jungle is in space.

When you enter the car cat, you see is that everything is cool and calm and in its place. You could get in a fuddle because the key doesn’t work. Actually it doesn’t need to work any more. You just need to have the key with you. You don’t need to stick it in to anything. The car will start by itself when you press the ‘start’ button. The dials become virtual, and the whole car cat comes to life.

Then there is the gear stick, or the lack of it. Actually cats are not very good with sticks, so Jaguar have done away with it entirely. My worry was how on earth do you change gear. I needn’t have worried; you just flick a little rounded switch. No real effort required. None requested.

I was beginning to get used to this ‘minimum effort’ lark, when my beady eyes settled on the handbrake. This is no handbrake from the past, where you had to exercise in the gym for weeks to strengthen your left arm for the task of putting the hand brake on. Oh no! It is a reduced to a measly mousy switch, which you could move with your little finger. And if you forget to move it with your little finger, the car cat overrides your inaction anyway, and moves on to pastures green.

So far, not much muscle power or even intelligence required to get this car cat to move. But, when it does it move, it springs into action. You are very aware of the raw power at your command. This is a big beast. The engine is a 3 litre diesel engine as standard. It purrs along smoothly and effortlessly moves into the higher gears to achieve its higher speeds.

Then there is dual view. What on earth is dual view I hear you asking? Well, it does require some intelligence to grasp this one, and a lot of intelligence to devise it. Basically, the central screen at the front of the car operates in dual functions at the same time. While the driver can concentrate on the satellite navigation system, and the task of getting to the destination, the passenger can actually watch a film or scroll through the iPod to hear music. That’s what I call cool. There is something for all the family.

There are other, many other cool features, too many to mention, like the night time mood lighting in phosphorus blue inside the car, or the rear parking technology or the incredible interior sound system, but Luxury Hedonist does not want to give the whole game away. Not now anyway.

You’ve heard about the cat that got the cream? This is one car cat that just got the dairy…