Gee, James, can I borrow your wheels?

James Bond will be riding in style in his next picture, due for release Nov. 7, 2008. Bond's new wheels?

Fans questioned whether Bond would drive his traditional Aston Martin after Ford Motor Co. sold the marque to a consortium of investors earlier this year.

Bond fan site MI6.co.uk said his new car might be a Jaguar, a marque also owned by Ford, as Ford had a three-film exclusive product-placement deal with Bond filmmakers Eon Productions.

But, Ford is reportedly looking to sell Jaguar also.

So, the question remains, how will Bond get around? I have a couple of suggestions, but chances are he'll be rollin' in a new Aston Martin DB5.

"Casino Royale" star Daniel Craig reportedly told an Aston Martin employee just that, while recently touring the company's factory, according to MI6.co.uk.

Also, Garth Franklin of darkhorizons.com reports the historic Tuscan village of Siena will be the site of a dramatic car chase.

Bond will reportedly traverse Siena's underground alleys and aqueducts. Franklin adds, "One of the chase locations will be the 'bottini', a network of tunnels that run under the city and cannot be visited by the public without permission. Those tunnels and alleys will be reconstructed at Pinewood Studios."

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)