Aston Martin named coolest car brand

Aston Martin has been named the coolest car brand, according to the results of a British survey.

The iconic Gaydon-based manufacturer famous for its luxury sports cars and ties to fictional super spy James Bond ranked second overall in the 2013/2014 CoolBrands study, slotting in between top-ranked technology giant Apple and watch specialist Rolex.

Mercedes-Benz was the only other automotive brand to make the top 20, ranking 11^th overall, beating the likes of Chanel, Prada, Adidas and Spotify.

The duo was selected from a (rather extensive) shortlist of approximately 1150 brands. Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Maserati, McLaren, Mini, Porsche and Rolls-Royce were all shortlisted in the automotive category but failed to make the top 20.

The rankings are determined by combining the opinions of 37 independent members of an expert council as well as a sample of roughly 3000 British adults via an online survey.

Acknowledging that ‘cool’ is subjective and personal, CoolBrands explains the voters were not given a definition but asked to keep in mind six factors when judging the brands: style, innovation, originality, authenticity, desirability, and uniqueness.

“The brand qualities we examine in the CoolBrands survey â€" such as authenticity and innovation â€" can be key influences on consumer purchasing, so performing well is not just a thumbs up for a brand’s reputation, but an indication of its future success,” CoolBrands expert council chairman Stephen Cheliotis said.