Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

I'm not so sure about this. For a long time I thought the XK8 had a tough crowd when up against the DB7. But when I see one now, it has an air of elegance and timelessness that the Aston seems to lack.

As for Clarkson. The man should be listed under 'bounder' and 'cad' in the Oxford English.

A few years back, I owned a DB7, manual coupe, and an XKR auto convertible.

The Jag was technically a far better car. But the build quality was poor. Switch gear would fall inside the dash etc. The Aston was more primitive, but a far better drivers car. Very predictable when getting the tail out. I found the Jaguar awesome, but boring. But I loved the Aston.

I am told the DB7 has serious structural issues, with rust, these days. Even low mileage ones. The engine mounts are all corroding badly. They are attached to the inner wing. Its potentially a terminal issue, given the costs involved. This is from the guy who services my Porsches, who prepares racing cars. He says he wouldn't touch one now.