Auto News 5

The Porsche faithful have never forgiven former engineer and board chairman Ernst Fuhrmann for perverting the brand's sports car purity with the 928. But, like the Cayenne and the Panamera, the 928 is a worthy Porsche family member that did its duty--keeping the company alive and kicking through turbulent times.

The only car I can really compare this Vantage to is another Aston Martin. Perhaps Aston is stealing a few potential Porsche 911 or Audi R8 buyers with the V8 Vantage, but I'd be worried about losing DB9 sales to the slightly smaller, slightly cheaper Vantage. Inside, the cars are virtually identical and, though the Vantage is much cheaper, Aston Martin's own web site lists it as just .3 second slower to the 60 mph mark. The DB9 will theoretically do 190 mph to the Vantage's 180 mph, but that's not good for much more than bragging rights.inline_mediumwraptextright29425200/reviews/editors_notebook/0908_2009_aston_martin_vantage_v80908_11_z+2009_aston_martin_vantage_v8+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

A rivalry played out on Instant Messenger