Vehicle Description
Beautiful DB7 Clean History and Extremely Well Cared For and
Maintained Example of Automotive Royalty when it comes to Style and
Performance The Aston Martin Family Tree Proudly Portrays the DB7
This particular DB is Awesome! Great Color Combo not often seen and
very easy on the eyes. The Leather is in exceptional almost like
new condition as are the Top, Wheels, Engine Bay, Undercarriage and
etc... 1997 Aston Martin DB7 review: Our expert's take The verdict:
Versus the competiton: The Aston Martin DB7 may be the world's
best-kept secret. One reason is that Aston Martin is a well-kept
secret. Seems the only timethe automaker's name comes up is when a
new James Bond movie is released andpeople wonder whether 007 is
going to be driving one. Until the folks from the British automaker
called to say "howdy," we hadforgotten Aston Martin existed.
Probably because it didn't offer cars here inthe 1994, '95 or '96
model years, when its V-8 couldn't meet federal emissionsstandards
and it couldn't afford to add a passenger-side air bag to
thehandful of cars it sold here. Ford Motor Co., which rode to the
rescue in 1990 to save Jaguar, used thesame steed to keep Aston
Martin from going belly up when it acquired 75percent of the firm
in 1987 and the rest of it in 1993. Thanks to Ford, Aston Martin is
back for the 1997 model year with one car,the DB7, in two versions,
coupe (coo-PAY) and convertible, at two prices,$125,000 and
$135,000. If you haven't seen a '97 DB7, there's good reason. The
automaker expectsto sell only 200 in the U.S. this year. It has
sold 185, so the target iseasily within reach, but 200 of any
vehicle won't stand out in any crowd. We tested the '97 DB7 coupe
and found it to be very much like any otherexotic vehicle-an
experience to savor in those moments you are cuddled (somemay call
it squeezed) in the leather bucket seats. However, if you suffer
any allergic reaction to leather, the DB7 is not foryou. Chances
are anything you sit on or touch in this coupe is finished
inleather trim. The roof liner, however, is in a material called
Alcantara, which lookslike a cross between suede and leather but is
more expensive. The advantage isthat you can wash cigarette and
cigar smoke out of it, said Andy Watt, vicepresident and general
manager of Aston Martin Lagonda of North America, theNew
Jersey-based distributor of the British luxury sports model. The
DB7 (DB for David Brown, who bought Aston Martin and Lagonda in
1947and saved the pair of companies that alternated between
tottering on the brinkof bankruptcy and jumping head-first from the
ledge) now meets federalemissions standards with its new 6-cylinder
engine. The 3.2-liter, 335-horsepower supercharged 6 can be teamed
with a 4-speedautomatic or a 5-speed manual for the same price. In
the Midwest and mostcongested cities, 85 percent of buyers opt for
the automatic. Smooth, quiet engine. But in being called upon to
move almost 4,000 poundsfrom the stoplight or into the passing
lane, don't expect to be thrown backinto your bucket-at least not
before the supercharger goes to work. And in propelling 4,000
pounds, don't be alarmed when you look at thewindow sticker and see
a 14-mile-per-gallon city/18-m.p.g. highway rating anda $2,200
gas-guzzler tax. The fuel gauge doesn't hesitate when moving from
theline, into the passing lane or any time the radials are rolling.
"High-performance cars are thirsty because high-performance cars
are notlight because high-performance cars are not flimsy," Watt
said in justifyingthe mileage. "We could take 500 pounds of padding
and insulation out of theinterior, but we won't." In addition to
the guzzler tax, you face the federal luxury tax (8.5percent of the
amount over $35,000), which is roughly $9,000. The two taxesalone
total more than $11,000-enough to buy a used Chevrolet Cavalier.
You feel just about every one of those 4,000 pounds in the wheel,
butthanks to the suspension system you don't suffer lots of lean
and/o
