Just to weird to be true?  Not so.  Whilst the scenario I have just painted for you is of my own creation, the most embarrassing aspect of it is true.  With both Aston Martin and Volvo sharing the Ford brand as its owner, it should, perhaps, not come as such a great surprise.  Not that there is anything wrong with Volvo.  Certainly not.  I myself have lived in Sweden and have been the proud owner of a Volvo.  They are indeed, becoming increasingly attractive, perfectly functional and very easy cars to live with, but I am skipping the point.  My Volvo was fine, but had I the money for an Aston Martin?  Well, I’ll let you, the reader answer that one.

There are obvious benefits to each of the players in this scenario.  The pooling of parts reduces Fords overheads over the range of its cars and vehicles, especially on the luxury vehicles like the Aston, which works equally well for Ford, as it does for Aston Martin, who have access to a host of perfectly serviceable parts at a much reduced cost.  Meanwhile, Volvo gets the kudos it richly deserves for producing such a fine product, that its parent company has the confidence to smother it in leather and otherwise leave it untouched, before being utilized on one of the most prestigious marques on the face of the Earth.

All this is well and good, but if we take a minute to look back at the initial situation, where a man who has spent a lot of his hard earned money on what is probably one of the foremost status symbols one can buy, and it is revealed to him that it is nothing more than a rehashed Ford or Volvo.  If it were I in that situation, and I fear in never will be, I would be rather miffed at having spent so much money, only for it to be revealed to me that I am buying what is , in effect, a lemon.

When one pays a vast sum for a car like an Aston Martin, a Bentley or a top end Porsche, you expect a certain caliber of workmanship that sets it apart from the cars the ‘hoi polloi’ drive.   Aston has a long and fine history of hand built coachwork, with each of its engines being hand made, and embossed with the name of its creator.  Each part should be lovingly crafted from natural products and the finest steel.  This is what you are paying your money for.  This is not the future though.  ‘Tis a terrible shame.