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Aston Martin has recently spread its wings to Kuala Lumpur with the opening of its brand spanking new dealership located right beside the Federal Highway in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The eight million Ringgit facility officially opened on the 16th of July 2012 and finally brings the Aston Martin experience to Malaysians who have been getting their Aston Martin kicks from grey importers. Members of the media and a select number of owners from Malaysia and even Singapore were given a brief run through of the illustrious brand. This gave attendees a glimpse into the world of Aston Martin as well as some good news to Aston Martin owners in Singapore. The good news is that Aston Martin customers from Singapore would now have peace of mind when they drive their cars into Malaysia as they can now be assured that if anything happens to their cars, there is now a proper place to get them looked at. Prior to Aston Martin Kuala Lumpur, customer cars would actually be left either at the hands of private workshops who do not have much experience working with the cars or with workshops that does not have instant access to spare parts. Prior to this those with Aston Martins would actually seek getting their cars sent back to Singapore for even minor servicing. And now Aston Martin customers need not do so. Aston Martin Kuala Lumpur is actually a collaboration between Berjaya Corporation Berhad and Aston Martin Singapor with Jelita Seleksi Sdn Bhd as its vehicle. At the launch, Aston Martin was represented by mainly Mr Andy Gawthorpe, Global Sales Director, Dr SK Djeng, Chairman of Aston Martin Singapore, Dato' Francis Lee Director of Aston Martin Singapore and Executive Director of Berjaya Corporation as well as the Executive Director of Jelita Seleksi Sdn Bhd, Mr Nazrul Mohtar. Aston Martin displayed most of their current line-up with the Aston Martin DBS in the forefront. The newly launched Aston Martin Vanquish and limited to 1000 unit Aston Martin V12 Roadster wasn't around as yet and should make an appearance in this region by the end of the year. However a notable appearance was the last of the line Singapore registered Aston Martin Vanquish S from the mid-00s (pictured below). So all in all good news to those lucky people who can afford an Aston Martin or two. A drive to the Genting Highlands can be even more trouble free than before.

Recently British car company Aston Martin previewed their latest and greatest production car, the 2012 Aston Martin AM310 Vanquish. This car brings back the Vanquish moniker after an absence of about five years or so. One little bit of trivia is that the AM310 Vanquish will replace the Aston Martin DBS, the car that replaced the first Vanquish in 2007. So what can you tell from looking at the pictures? What I can tell is that it still looks like a DBS with a different bodykit (from a Japanese tuning house like Wald or Veilside) or it looks like a Virage or a V8 Vantage with a little more grunt and padding here and there. It may be said to have 75% new parts throughout the car but I doubt it that most buyers (or collectors) would actually bother. It is very clear to me that Aston Martin is in line to replace Porsche as the car industry's least inspired car designers and stylists. Of course, there is also the argument that if it isn't broke, why bother fixing it? Since people want Aston Martins to look like what they do, why rock the boat? This must be true as I'd like an Aston Martin looking like what it looks like these days. It also allows us to buy an Aston Martin half a decade old and still look good in it. So maybe its a good thing as resale value doesn't really suffer. But I suppose this would mainly apply in countries that have no COE that is.