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Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, bassist with Bob Marley and the Wailers, dies aged 77 Influential musician also co-produced group’s albums and mentored many Jamaican artists Safi Bugel Sat 3 Feb 2024 15.33 EST Last modified on Sat 3 Feb 2024 17.22 EST Aston “Family Man” Barrett, bassist for Bob Marley and the Wailers, has died aged 77. The news was confirmed on Saturday by Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s minister for culture, who wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “I share with you my deep regret at the passing of Aston Francis Barrett, popularly known as ‘Family Man’ or ‘Fams’ … He died...

Radio Lab, broadcast over WNYC, recently aired a piece about Blanc ...featuring an interview with his son Noel Blanc, who is also a voice actor. Noel Blanc tells the story of a terrible car accident that badly injured his father in 1961 as he was driving home along Sunset Boulevard from a job in San Francisco. Mel Blanc, driving an Aston Martin, collided with another car on Dead Man's Curve. Blanc was almost killed and slipped into a coma. Blanc's son and wife spent two weeks at his bedside trying to revive him, but got no response. One day, about...

When a new supercar arrives, the motor gets the glory. Which is as it should be—anytime an automaker throws big money into designing an exotic spaceframe and 200-mile-per-hour bodywork, it needs muscle to match. The wrong engine, meanwhile, can sink a supercar's reception and reputation (look at the Jaguar XJ220 for a lesson in how a whole car suffers if it's got a weak heart). Aston Martin can't be accused of skimping on the heart of its new halo car, the $3.2 million, out-of-this-world Valkyrie. The new supercar's motor spins out 1,000 horsepower on its way to an 11,100 RPM...

Not even James Bond had an Aston Martin like this. The British sports car maker revealed a concept version of a flying car, the Volante Vision Concept, at the Farnborough Airshow this week. Aston Martin has billed the futuristic vehicle as a luxury car for the skies. The autonomous hybrid-electric vehicle, which has room for three passengers, is designed for urban and inter-city travel, the company said. It’s also capable of vertical take-offs and landings. The vehicle could fly at top speeds of around 200 miles per hour, according to Reuters.

'It is one of the most hi-tech cars ever created - and you'll need to go on a course to learn how to drive it, even if you can afford the $2.3m pricetag. Aston Martin Vulcan showed off its track only 'hypercar' at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It features a hi-tech dashboard and smart steering wheel from which almost everything can be controlled.'

It's as famous for its flash cars as it if for its action scenes. So James Bond fans will delighted to learn that its impressive auto-mobiles were seen getting a serious spin on the set of the franchise's latest film, this week. Two vehicles - including Bond's Aston Martin - brought the Italian city of Rome to a standstill on Friday morning as filming continued to gather pace on Spectre. Film-makers shut part of Rome's historic city centre to create an iconic car chase scenes for the upcoming release. Fans looked on as stunt doubles raced 007's Aston Martin DB10...

I’m still not in love with this transmission. In general, it operates well and shifts quickly, but I had a pretty unsettling moment waiting for the transmission to engage so I could make a left turn in front of some oncoming traffic. Even with the throttle pinned, the trans turned what should have been a leisurely 20-foot trip into a small moment of terror. I actually had time to say, “Oh, come on!” before the car took off, and to be fair, crossed the lane before the oncoming driver even had to think about touching the brakes. As anyone within...

For 50 years James Bond's "Q" has retrofitted cars to fit the needs of the fictional British spy. But now Aston Martin says it will design and build a car befitting Mr. Bond's bespoke tastes

The fascination with cars preserved liked old farm implements has only grown in recent years with the rise of old car values at auctions. Here's the latest example: a 1964 Aston Martin DB5, similar to what James Bond drove in "Goldfinger," that had sat in a barn for 33 years. At a Bonham's auction to be held at Aston Martin's factory in May, the DB5 is expected to fetch about $300,000 — and that will be only the new owner's downpayment.

The new Aston Martin Rapide is a lovely car, to be sure, and driving one around town creates precisely the same effect on the populace as would a young Paul McCartney striding through Waterloo Station in 1964. Never mind the panties. Investment bankers throw their tighty-whiteys at this car.

Although initially Aston Martin didn’t intend to bring the V12 Vantage to the U.S. market, the British sportscar maker is planning to introduce this model in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to Inside Line. Based on the 2007 V12 Vantage RS Concept, the roadgoing V12 Vantage was launched in Europe in 2009, being a heavily modified version of the standard V8 Vantage. Aston plans to build only 1,000 units of this car, which is powered by a 510 horsepower V12 engine. Since the V12 Vantage was never destined for the U.S., Aston Martin had to make extensive modifications to...

How can James Bond recover the control disk for the dual GoldenEye satellite weapons driving something like this? Brace yourself. Aston Martin just released more detailed photos of its Cygnet luxury minicar, and it isn’t pretty. In fact, it looks a lot like Toyota’s Euro-based iQ on which it’s based. Jalopnik, which published official photos this morning, writes: “[T]he looks are...umm...well...as these first official images show, the Cygnet is still closely based on the Toyota iQ city car, retaining the same basic body shape and even the same front lights. The front has been given a heavy Aston-style rework, however,...

Fusing together entries on Fleming’s famous 00-agent and detailed information on cases of espionage, real-life spies, MI5, SIS, CIA, KGB, and others, Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s James Bond asks the question: What proportion of Fleming’s output is authentic, and what comes directly from the his imagination?

James Bond screeches around hairpin bends in them with a beautiful woman at his side, while they are the car of choice for European royalty in which to parade themselves around the Continent’s more opulent capitals. Now, at last, the opportunity to pop out to the supermarket behind the wheel of an Aston Martin will be opened to the more conventional motorist. The Aston Martin Cygnet — a new “luxury commuter concept” car, according to its marketeers — is to be built on the base of Toyota’s existing iQ city car and is likely to be available for less than...

Restructuring experts are entering unchartered waters in the Persian Gulf. Kuwait’s Investment Dar, the Islamic finance holding company which owns a majority stake in British luxury carmaker Aston Martin, has suspended payments on its KD1bn ($3.5bn) debt. Its strategy of relying on short-term financing was crippled by the credit crunch. Sharia law provides no precedent for what happens next. Islamic finance is a recent phenomenon. The aim was to create products that work exactly like Western debt instruments, but without actually making “interest payments”, which is prohibited under some interpretations of sharia law. So, broadly speaking, the lender is called...

IT'S the most expensive car in the world, but at least one Australian buyer is ready with a $4 million cheque. Aston Martin unveiled the One-77 in Italy last weekend after teasing Geneva motor show-goers with a technical exhibit and releasing shadowy images last year. The One-77 will be built in a limited edition of just 77 and Aston is still looking for some mega-rich buyers.

See for example this thread first. Aston Martin is sold off by Ford? Excuse me while I pray, dear Lord! The car of James Bond of which we're all fond-- If not for that, I would be bored.

Ford Motor put Aston Martin up for auction on Thursday as the troubled US carmaker began dismantling its stable of British luxury brands in the face of deep losses in its home market. Ford has appointed an investment bank to handle the sale of the famous brand, for which it is understood to have pencilled in a price of more than $2bn – far higher than the value put on it by financial analysts. It is already in early talks with "interested parties", Ford said, although it could retain a minority stake. The sale comes as Ford is considering which...

Ford Explores Possible Sale of All or Part of Its Aston Martin Luxury Brand DETROIT (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it is exploring the possible sale of all or part of its Aston Martin luxury sports car brand as the company works to free up cash to pay for its North American turnaround plan. But it said no decisions have been made about its other luxury car brands which include Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. "As part of our ongoing strategic review, we have determined that Aston Martin may be an attractive opportunity to raise capital and generate...

Aston Martin DBS Unveiled 5th May 2006 Aston Martin have officially unveiled the new DBS model which James Bond will be driving in the forthcoming film "Casino Royale". Design Director, Marek Reichman, said: “This car encapsulates a link between our elegant DB9 road car and the powerful DBR9 race car. It signals an evolutionary development of Aston Martin’s world renowned style and elegance. While hinting at our future design direction, the DBS also has very clear links with our heritage – it is instantly recognisable as an Aston Martin.” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez added: “The DBS...