Fast Cars

So taking a page from my brother, I started looking at used luxury cars. And rather than going through the dealerships I wanted to look at small, niche companies that specialized in taking off-lease cars, fixing them up, and getting them back to market.

Luxury cars and fantasy cars certainly have their place in the world, but so does practical, affordable transportation. High fuel prices in Europe long ago erased any disdain drivers there might have had for either compact cars or for used vehicles, but Americans are still struggling to overcome the sense that “used” and “junk” are synonyms.

This Rolls-Royce was created by the skilled craftsmen at P & A Wood (UK). Round headlamps give it a similar front to Bentleys Arnage, but were not complaining because it looks great!

Lot of work to get done, but hey, it’s a 7 year old BMW. Funny thing is, the last time I was stranded on the side of the road it was with my old Range Rover. Never had a problem with any of my Jeeps. It’s always been luxury cars that get me.

The Cadillac XLR-V offers luxurious features, but its offering price of $100,000 to the interested buyers is the real cause for thinking twice before actually purchasing this 2007 model. It is no secret that most people are quite particular with the car they invest in, and luxury cars like the Cadillac XLR-V is no exception to this. Also the other car manufacturers offer a more reasonable price for their own line of luxury cars, hence becoming a point for consideration for Cadillac enthusiasts.

How friendly though? If we compare the Pedestrian Test Rating as provided by EURO NCAP say of the Renault Scenic, which is a very popular MPV, to say the Nissan X-Trail we can see that they both have a two star rating. In fact the Toyota Rav4 and the Honda CRV both have 3 stars in this test. Admittedly, for larger Off Road style body shapes the ratings are around one star, but, for most vehicles pedestrian test ratings aren’t great, which kind of says a lot about the motor industry in general. Oh, and even though luxury cars don’t have the ‘appalling’ design flaws of BIG 4×4s the Mercedes E-Class saloon has a Pedestrian Test Rating (2003) of one star.

The Phantom is the most successful super-luxury car in the world, built using cutting edge technology and lightweight materials. It features an aluminium space frame chassis and body which weighs much less than steel, but is enormously strong to give both added safety and outstanding driving refinement, free of vibration. The engine is of the most modern design and features direct fuel injection and variable valve control, delivering excellent fuel economy for a car of its size and power, marking a significant improvement in terms of emissions compared to the previous fleet of Silver Spurs. The new Phantom offers significantly more space for passengers, delivers higher amounts of torque and power and yet consumes significantly less fuel than the previous-generation Silver Spur.

Of all the Pierce-Arrow model’s made, the Silver Arrow is the most saught-after example. Only five of this limited-edition fastback were produced, making it one of the rarest luxury cars of the 30’s.

This is one of the msot important factors, cos if you’re in a car you hate, say your dad’s 98 Nissan Sunny(which is actually my dad’s car), you will never enjoy getting stuck anywhere. But say you egt stuck in a tuned Nissan Skyline, rumbling away slowly and letting those wastegates dump loudly, then you would definitely enjoy the experience. you don’t even need a tuned car, a nice luxury car(anything luxury except a luxobarge) would do. A nice X-Type, a sleek CLS, it’s all good.

It’s as though Peugeot looked at every luxury car in the medium size segment, and said, we’ll have one of each of those, thanks, and put it all into the 407.

The white paint finish of the Maybach 57 S is applied in multiple layers by experienced specialists using a highly involved process – there are almost twice as many layers than is usual for other luxury cars. In contrast to conventional paint finishes using just one base paint to provide the colour tone, two different paints are necessary to achieve this incomparable, mother-of-pearl-like sheen – one of these contains mica.

In Changchun, the Audi 6 is probably the most popular luxury car, usually in black complete with blacked out windows. Also I am seeing more and more Japanese 4×4s, especially the gold coloured Lexuses (lexi?) and lots more Hondas.

I spent a lot of time this morning researching sporty luxury cars. I’m leaning heavily toward the Lexus IS 350 or 250, depending on whether the 100 extra horses feel worth the $5000 price difference during a future test drive. A close second, possibly also to be decided during a test drive, is the Infiniti G35 Coupe. It’s got less horsepower (-26) than the Lexus IS 350, but it’s also 500 lbs lighter, so it may not need as much torque to get going. It’s also $3000 less than the IS 350. But it’s $1500 more than the IS 250, and way less fuel efficient than both Lexuses.

For example, if you lease a $35,000 luxury car for 36 months and it has a residual value of 70%, it is worth $24,500 at the end of the lease. It has only lost $10,500 of its value, and you will have paid $291 a month (plus interest, tax and related fees). As a rule of thumb, monthly lease payments were about 30% to 40% lower than monthly payment resulting from an automotive loan from a bank – naturally, lower monthly payments was a major driver in accelerating the popularity of leasing.

A quick search at the Tire Rack will show that in the category of grand-touring all-seasons (these are tyres made for heavy luxury cars that go fast - i.e., Mercedes-Benz, BMW, etc.) there are only three good choices - and two of them aren’t even that good.

Just this past week, I've watched Americans screaming about paying over $3 dollars a gallon to fill up their tanks, but I haven't heard any screams for better public transportaion. And that's because Americans don't want to take the bus, they don't want to sit next to that poor person who hasn't showered today, they don't really want to sit on the same seat as that person who hasn't showered unless they can spray some kind of anti-bacterial product on it first. Americans want to go on driving luxury cars and buying expensive homes on four acres somewhere really far from the rest of us who take the Metro and smell funny. They expect George Bush to pull a couple of oil wells out of his ass and produce enough petrol to keep our SUVs running forever.

I think I'm wrong to assume that the ownership of things makes me happy, because it probably won't. It's how I use things to interact or get a person's reaction. For example, I own two SUVs. One is a luxury while the other one is not. I'm just paying for the luxury car, while I drive a so-so car to work every single day of the week.

We drove others (mini-vans and SUVs), but I have to say, this thing is really sweet. Drives like a luxury car. (The only thing it does not have is a bidet, but I believe next year’s model will feature that.) Because it’s the Touring Edition, it’s got the DVD with wireless headphones for the kids, absolutely kicking Bose stereo system with built-in XM radio (love that Latin Jazz station Luna), heated seats which at first I thought was just me getting excited about going to work, and all sorts of other electronics that will likely need costly repairing in the coming years. I call it the space shuttle for its size; had to really clean out the garage to fit the thing inside.

And whoa. So many luxury cars. Isn’t this supposed to be a college town? Oh ya, that’s right…it’s THAT kind of college town. Anyway, work has started for me, I’m slowly being schmoozed into the lifestyle of the corporate tech-yuppy…and that’s kinda what I expected. 401k’s, expense accounts, and tax deductions…here we go.

Aggressive-Arab-Driver-Guy (AADG for short) drives a late-model luxury car his father bought for him while he was still a junior in high school (Fordson High School). What sets aggressive Arab drivers apart from their peers in other ethnic groups is that Arab brats buy luxury cars that are primarily driven by middle-aged accountants...I'm talking about Lincoln Town Cars people! Where an average American teenager sees a granny-car, AADG sees an opportunity. After AADG is finished accessorizing that Town Car, it'll be sufficiently pimped out as an urban street-fighting machine...your Grandma won't recognize this hooptie.

You’re on the road one day with two cars in front of you, (1) a piece-of-shit car with “UC Berkeley Alumni” license plate frame, and (2) a nice luxury car with a “Stanford U. Alumni” license plate frame. Which school are you going to choose now?!

Bentley’s have always been seen as automotive heavyweights, figuratively and literally speaking, and with the advent of the new Bentley Arnage Limousine that quite literally spares no expense, the pointy end of the luxury car market is about to get very heated indeed.

So the German auto maker BMW has finally officially announced their plans of setting shop in India much to the relief of auto buffs who have waited patiently ever since BMW first announced that India was on their radar. BMW have revealed that will initially invest 20 million Euros or Rs. 1.1 billion with a plant in Chennai to assemble their 3 series and 5 series sedans. Being a luxury car manufacturer going up against rival Mercedes who have had a head start of a few years is BMW jumping into an already crowded territory?

Have you ever seen a hydrogen powered car? If your'e like me, then the answere is no. But, Jon Spallino of Los Angeles drives one every day, and has the advantage of owning a car worth more than ten top end luxury cars. Aside from that the only waste the car produces is drinkable water which is awesome. But, I am surprised that R&D didn't began on hydrogen cars earliers, because according to this article we already had hydrogen fuel cells in the Apollo spacecraft.

I don't have the whole idea fully defined yet, but I have the gist of it. I want her to look like an exotic sport car on the outside and have all the amenities of a modern luxury car on the inside. By amenities, I mean things like itegrated...well...everything. Navigation, entertainment, systems monitoring and HVAC controls all handled by a “Car-puter” (I'm not a big fan of the term, but you get my meaning). Rear-view video display. Black leather and exotic woods. Momo steering wheel and shifter. Custom dash and console. The whole nine.

I have always seen myself as being somewhat materialistic in the sense that I always spend money on crap that I don’t need, ya know, like the iPod, the Canon digital camera, the PS2, and on and on. It’s entertainment but it’s not like I need it to survive (maybe the iPod). Inevitably, there are people out there that are 10 times worse than me. Porterville, a city of about 50,000 has what seems to be the highest number of luxury cars per capita in the area. Not to mention all the teenagers with their “fixed up” rides rolling on 24’s with airbags (not those kind), and even suicide doors. I forgot to mention the audio system, as well as the DVD player with TV screens mounted on the back of headrests. It’s freaking crazy how much people spend on their cars. It’s funny how this all works out. It’s like a race to see who has the most toys. It’s not unusual to see cars pass by with the DVD monitors on, but nothing playing, just to show off the goods.

*Jeff was driving home from work one day. He was stopped at a read light, sitting in the left hand turn lane waiting for the green light to illuminate his path to freedom. Some guy in a BMW (why is it always the fucks in the pseudo luxury cars? Buy a Mybach and maybe then you’ll impress somebody you fuck.) was flying down the road going a minimum of twenty miles over the limit. Jeff looked up and noticed that his light had finally turned green and he accelerated, ready to zip through the intersection. It’s was at this point that Mr. BMW decided that he was not going to go straight, through this intersection like he had planned. He was now going to cut Jeff off and zoom past him to ensure that he made it through this light and didn’t have to sit through another one. So Mr. BMW did it, he flew into the intersection and cut Jeff off while coming alarmingly close to side-swiping him in the process. Jeff was already rolling into the intersection and accelerating to make it through, so he had to pull the E break in order to avoid crashing into Mr. BMW. Jeff’s quick thinking and cat-like reflexes saved him from trashing his car. After taking a second to collect his thoughts Jeff looked in his rear view mirror and noticed that there was no one behind him in the left turn lane. He then realized that if Mr. BMW would have just slowed down; he could have gotten in line behind Jeff and made it through the intersection just fine.

Today's winners are Bank of America and The Florida Department of Safety and Motor Vehicles. A lawsuit just filed in Federal court alleges the bank illegally bought from the DMV lists of luxury car owners and then targeted these people with mail touting private bank services.

Speaking of Mercedes, it was always an interesting experience driving all the cars I did. I got behind the wheel of everything from the lowest of the low, barely running, filled to the brim with trash luxury cars from the 70s, to the latest and greatest bits of high-end sleekness coming out of Germany.

The open-topped Azure was first seen at the LA Auto Show in January, when a show car named the Arnage Drophead Coupe debuted in the winter sunshine to gauge customer reaction. In April, the company confirmed that it would build the car and at Pebble Beach, California last month, revealed the name ‘Azure’.

IT IS an old chestnut—a car that drives itself—but General Motors, the world’s largest car manufacturer, has become the latest company to claim to be building one. The car uses updated technology combined with several existing innovations and, according to the manufacturer, could be in production by 2008. But, while the technology takes some of the boring bits out of driving, it falls far short of an automatic taxi service and, anyway, various legal, technical and social barriers to its introduction remain.

A Brazilian maid has won a legal battle with her wealthy bosses to keep the Mercedes car she won in a raffle. Rogenas da Silva won the luxury car in a draw after buying groceries at a supermarket in Rio de Janeiro. But her employers, Adelino and Sandra Bulhosa, who already have four cars and are neighbours of Ronaldo, sued her for a share of the prize. They argued that they were entitled to a share because Mrs da Silva had been shopping for them, as well as for herself, in the supermarket.

I would not be surprised to learn that oil producing countries have reduced production as a means for achieving greater profit; it’s the cost of doing business in a world that maintains a high demand for petroleum products. On the other hand, while people generally, and Americans in particular are complaining about the cost of gasoline at the pump, there has been no significant decline in the sale of gas guzzling automobiles, which include not only the SUVs, but also the high dollar luxury cars. Still, according to the information (above) provided by the Department of Energy, Americans are paying a fraction of the price for gasoline than people living in Western Europe. But if the price for a barrel of sweet oil is relatively constant, at say $65.00, why does gas cost significantly more in Europe than it does in the United States?

We are also thinking about getting an old Volvo station wagon to use for things like camping (since we go so much- and by so much I mean we still haven't been), garage saling, dog transporting, and general hauling. I was discussing this with Becca on Friday night and she was like "why don't you just get a SUV or something?". My response was "because I drive a jag"(not be read in a snotty tone)- I'm not ready to give that up just yet...

Washington State Patrol troopers pulled over Porsches, Ferraris and even a Lamborghini on Interstate 5 this weekend as more than 50 drivers, many in luxury cars, set out on a five-day rally that involves driving from city to city to collect poker cards.

Consider the experiences of Lexus. In 1990, just after Lexus frst introduced its line of luxury cars in the United States, the company realized that it had two minor problems with its LS400 line that required a recall. This situation was, by any measure, an awkward one. Lexus had decide, from the beginning, to build its reputation around quality workmanship and reliability. And now, within little more than a year of the brand’s launch, the company was being forced to admit to problems with its flagship. So Lexus decided to make a special effort. Most recalls are handled by making an announcement to the press and mailing a notification letter to owners. Lexus, instead, call each owner individually on the telephone the day the recall was announced. When the owners picked up their cars at the dealership after the work was completed, each car had been washed and the tank filled with gas. If an owner lived more than a hundred miles from a dealership, the dealer sent a mechanic to his or her home. In one instance, a technician flew from Los Angeles to Anchorage to make the necessary repairs.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world's biggest maker of luxury cars, last month chose the Emirates Palace ballroom as the site of a soiree to show off its newest 7 Series sedan to 1,400 guests. Sheikhs in white cotton robes and women in head-to-toe black abayas polished off smoked salmon and lobster soup as the $150,000 car sparkled under a battery of spotlights.

When you look at the Paris Hilton Burger Video, you'll think that she's trying to sell a car. Not just any car. It's a Bentley. A beautiful luxury car. The way Paris' gorgeous body wraps around the automobile makes you want to own one, too.

The Indian car scene is a mixed bag, since there is so much focus on the small car segment. Cars such as the Camry, Accord, Corolla, which generally come in the most affordable segment world-over are sold as high-end luxury cars in India. For example. Hyundai Sonata is one of the cheapest cars in the United States but it is one of the most expensive cars in India, even though its a Korean car not even a Japanese.

Is this the most badass, Batmobile-like car you've ever seen or what? The Maybach high-performance show car 'Exelero' was unveiled a couple of days ago to a bunch of sweaty-palmed Germans. The 700hp, two-seater with a V-12 biturbo engine, is a unique custom model produced for Fulda Reifenwerke, which is using the Maybach Exelero as a reference vehicle for a newly developed generation of wide tyres.Is this the most badass, Batmobile-like car you've ever seen or what? The Maybach high-performance show car 'Exelero' was unveiled a couple of days ago to a bunch of sweaty-palmed Germans. The 700hp, two-seater with a V-12 biturbo engine, is a unique custom model produced for Fulda Reifenwerke, which is using the Maybach Exelero as a reference vehicle for a newly developed generation of wide tyres.

Saab engineers say that six-cylinder engines make up just 20 per cent of the European market for medium-size luxury cars like the 9-3. In the US, however, the "entry luxury" market is dominated by the demand for six-cylinder engines. And with the transatlantic market so important, a big motor is vital.

Bangladeshi customs officials found luxury cars, large-screen television sets and refrigerators in a container declared to be carrying metal scrap — so they made it just that at a public ceremony on Monday.

Like Acura, Audi is the most undervalued German brand and that, too, is a shame. We love Audi. Some of our colleagues think all Audis look alike but we don't agree. And, even if they did, we don't think that's such a horrible trait. Audi interiors are top-notch, exteriors are sculpted and engines strong. Audi's A6 makes a bold statement with a grill that would make George Forman envious. But to focus on the grill is to ignore the beautiful shape of the entire car and its very smart interior. Audi doesn't let their cars get stale like M-B has recently....

A former investment manager from Belleville stole more than $60 million from his clients - many of them injured and unable to work - and used it to buy a yacht, luxury cars and a failing grocery store chain, according to witnesses and prosecutors in his federal fraud trial.

DaimlerChrysler AG, the world’s biggest maker of luxury cars, is recalling 1.3 million Mercedes- Benz brand models worldwide to fix electrical and braking-system faults, marking a big blow to the brand’s quality reputation, they had been guarding for so long since Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) delivered its first Mercedes on 22 December 1900.

What Bentley's new two-door delivers is a blend of top-line luxury and incredible performance. With its twin-turbo, 6-liter W-12 pumping out a thrilling 551 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque, the Continental GT is among the dozen or so fastest and most powerful vehicles on the road.

Yet for those who expect Bentley to be synonymous with bespoke, the new car won't disappoint. Like the massive Arnage, it boasts some of the most elegant woodworking ever put on the road, each car requiring 20 hours of skilled craftwork to complete the carefully honed and polished matching pieces. That's more time than it takes many mass manufacturers to build an entire car. All told, each GT involves 200 man-hours of labor. Equal care goes into preparing the car's leather, which uses as many as 17 matched hides. Even the steering wheel cover is hand-finished, a task requiring no less and no more than 234 eye-crossing stitches.

At Geneva this week, we introduced a brand new Cadillac for Europe, and some other non-U.S. markets, and I’ll tell you why. This vehicle, the Cadillac BLS, is about bringing the right products to the right markets, and doing it effectively and efficiently. It was developed specifically for European roads and drivers, and, as such, is not intended for American needs or tastes.

While in the US drivers tend to prefer sports utility vehicles (SUVs), such as the BMW X5 and its sibling X3, in Europe demand for crossover vehicles is likely to be considerable, Mr Panke said.

How do you build a brand? The people at Cadillac are rebuilding their brand piece by piece, and they're doing it right:

* Creating great individual products
* Creating a product family where each member contributes to the bigger brand in a unique but complimentary way -- for the first time in years, Cadillac is selling cars that aren't a Chevy underneath.
* Pricing products so that they're a good value, but not so low that they smell of desperation. Nobody likes being seen in a devalued product -- that's what happened to the Ford Taurus
* Racing the cars to gain credibility with gearhead mavens who dictate automotive goodness, which is how BMW grew to be the Ultimate Driving Machine from a nothing brand in the 60's (it worked for Subaru, too)

It’s a very fun event, as the comparison driving can help you decide which car is right for you. It’s nice to be able to drive a BMW 745i, Mercedes S430 and Lexus LS430 in succession on the same track. Did I mention iDrive sucks? The Mercedes S430 is really old school and outclassed at this point, as it seriously can’t compete with the 7 or LS430. Gotta wait for the next generation S-series to see what Mercedes-Benz can bring to the table. They also had a Mercedes E500 on hand, and it shows what Mercedes can do. I liked the E500 a lot, too bad they didn’t have the AMG E55 beast on hand. :P I still think the Bimmer 7 handled the best out of all the luxury sedans. Though I may be a bit BMW-biased (we have a 2002 325i), I still hate the Chris Bangle design of the 7 and the new 5. The LS430 definitely wins for luxury, but even in the sport model I drove, the LS430 felt a bit floaty and wasn’t as gripping to the ground as the German engineered sedans. It’s luxury defined and has the best audio. The GPS screen is pretty nice and isn’t small like some other models. The Lexus LS430 has the great Mark Levinson sound system and is great for an overall ‘cruising’ vehicle. Perfect for long trips, it can heat up your butt with the heat warmers, or cool it down as well with cool air flowing through the seat. The BMW and Mercedes felt more balanced and handling felt tighter as a result. I’m very impressed by the 7’s driving capabilities (it’s a huge sucker!), but I’d never buy it because of iDrive… NEVER! Though if someone were to give me a 7 series, I guess I would take it. The 745i definitely felt more like a driver’s car then the other two, but that’s what all Bimmer fanatics say, eh? The tight handling was awesome for such a large car.

Maybach is the ultra-premium Mercedes Benz. It is a handmade automobile that marries handcrafted components and exteriors to state-of-the-art technologies. The vehicle costs in the neighborhood of $385,000.00, so it is certainly not for everyone; it is a rolling status symbol.

What interests me is the language used on the Maybach site. Consider these:

- "Maybach Relationship Manager" Not a salesperson, but a relationship manager. Makes it sound like an owner is building a relationship, not just buying a car. The last person you bought a car from . . . realtionship manager or salesperson? I'd be willing to bet that Maybach owners receive frequent calls from their Relationship Managers; calls simply checking in, reminding them about oil changes, etc. How hard would it be for your Ford dealership to do that?

Beautiful and fast.

Wow, Citroen styling is back on form: I think the C4 is the best looking car in its class now look at the new C6!