Episode 191: 2020 Aston Martin DB11 V8, 2020 Polestar 2, 2020 Cadillac XT6

Unnamed Automotive Podcast

Is the 2020 Aston Martin DB 11 ultra-luxury grand touring car any less enjoyable with an AMG-sourced V8 under the hood versus a British V12? Benjamin puts hundreds of miles on a bright yellow version of the coupe to find the answer. Sami goes in a different direction with the Polestar 2, the Volvo-owned EV brand's attempt to prove it can build a reasonable everyday electric car alongside the Polestar 1 high performance exotic. The duo also discuss the Cadillac XT6, a luxury crossover that can't seem to live up to its stately appearance. Surprisingly, this may not be its fault.

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• Aston Martin's quiet partnership with Mercedes-AMG offers a glimpse into how small luxury car makers depend on larger ones to survive — It's far more complicated, and more expensive, to manufacture a modern automobile than most of us could ever imagine. This is doubly true for those scratching out an existence at the ultra-luxury margins of the industry, where development costs are rarely ever recouped by volume sales and product decisions have almost zero margin for error should they not connect with the core group of buyers — whose support is key to keeping the lights on.