Car Dealer Markets to Rich With 'Club Aston'

Adrants reader Susannah points to an LA Times story that describes the growth in perks car dealers offer to their customers. Specifically, Galpin Motors, which sells Aston Martins, in Van Nuys has upped the anti by creating Club Aston, a private club, launched last Spring, that bathes buyers and owners in such amenities as key card entry to the club, suede and mirror-clad stairways, James Bond theme music, a fireplace, big screen TV, white leather sofas, a bar, 101-gigabyte music collection, terry cloth towels in the bathrooms and Starbucks coffee. Naturally, this sort of thing is reserved for the rich and famous but, as with all things, there's the trickle down theory that will bring many of these amenities to normal people who frequent the likes of Toyota, BMW and GM car dealerships.