Month: June 2014

The most popular pre-owned luxury cars

We can’t all afford to drive a luxury car off the forecourt, but buying second hand luxury cars is becoming more popular than ever
Used luxury cars offer a fantastic driving experience at an unbeatable price. Cartrade.com’s Vinay Sanghi picks out the hottest pre-owned models in the market.
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
The German car brand has always ranked high in terms of premium car comfort. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class offers an efficient engine that delivers impressive performance.
Diesel engines from Mercedes are also known to be low on emissions and great on technology, thereby making them strong contenders among the German cars. On the other hand, the petrol trims illustrate great dynamics without being heavy on the pocket.
Many drivers also feel nostalgic about the brand since it was the first premium brand to enter India in a commercial way.
Audi A4
Audi’s entry-level sedan, the A4, has made a strong impact in the premium D segment of sedans being sold in the country. The ‘‘design meets performance” theme has been successful in luring many customers towards it. It is the strongest selling car in its segment.
The A4 wins hearts with its sharp German design that flows across the body and blends with mesmerizing interiors that are loaded with the latest in gadgetry. Audi offers a range of petrol and diesel options on the A4.
The company claims that these engines can withstand any sort of driving conditions and yet deliver efficient mileage—reasons that have worked greatly in favour of the A4.
BMW 3 Series
photo

The other two German car makers have always concentrated on making cars that feel nice, but it was BMW that managed to introduce real performance in the segment. BMW brought excitement in this class. It is often perceived a Beemer is the serious enthusiast’s car.

Shark-eyed looks with compact dimensions make the 3 Series a killer proposition. The 3 Series is bound to impress people of all ages with its performance. It is the quickest to ride and offers the most precise driving conditions. Apart from being high on performance, BMW also ensures that these cars are equally safe with amazing driver aid options available in the 3 Series.
Jaguar XF
The only British player in an otherwise all-German battle, Jaguar is all about the flamboyant individual. The gorgeous styling and uber-luxurious interiors make even casual drivers go weak in the knees.
More than a point A to point B commute, Jaguars are all about making a style statement. If the German cars exude performance, the Jaguars reflect an art and culture aesthetic.
Jaguars are not just meant to impress with their beauty though—the exhilarating performance is paired with a smooth, addictive power train that keeps drivers hooked.
Who is buying these cars?
The upwardly mobile Indian middle class is increasingly exploring the ‘‘affordable” pre-owned luxury four-wheeler.
These are typically business-class people who already own a new Rs.15-20 lakh car and are now looking to buy a luxury car for status. It has aspirational value.
The average price of a new entry-level luxury car ranges anywhere between Rs.30 lakh and Rs.50 lakh, while the same used cars command a price of around Rs.17-25 lakh. Which is quite affordable for this new set of emerging buyers who want to enjoy these cars but don’t want to spend as much.
Source http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/tzniAgWR2mk5A4AcUsDRwL/The-hottest-preowned-luxury-cars.html

Rare Ferrari Enzo spins out of control and crashes

 

If anything will make you cringe and gasp in horror this morning, it will be these pictures of a rare Ferrari Enzo after it had a run in with the central reservation on Interstate 95!

 

The rare million-dollar vehicle was involved in a crash in Stamford, Connecticut on Monday when a mechanic took the sports car out for a ride and spun out of control.

 

The car’s owner, 71-year-old mattress company mogul Michael Fux, had placed the prized car in the care of Greenwich dealership Miller Motorcars.

 

Abused: A rare Ferrari Enzo was badly damaged in a Monday morning crash in Stamford, Connecticut. A technician was driving the vehicle at the time

 Abused: A rare Ferrari Enzo was badly damaged in a Monday morning crash in Stamford, Connecticut. A technician was driving the vehicle at the time

Crashed: Ferrari technician Leonardo Garcia, 40, was driving the rare car owned by 71-year-old mattress mogul Michael Fux. Aston Martin technician Daniel Palchik, 31, was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash

 Crashed: Ferrari technician Leonardo Garcia, 40, was driving the rare car owned by 71-year-old mattress mogul Michael Fux. Aston Martin technician Daniel Palchik, 31, was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash 

The man driving the Ferrari has been identified as technician Leonardo Garcia, 40, was was accompanied by Aston Martin technician Daniel Palchik, 31, for the ride.

Garcia lost control of the 650-horsepower car while traveling up the northbound entrance of Interstate 95 around 8:45am, causing the car to fishtail.

The car spun across three lanes before hitting a bridge wall and smashing into the center divider, heavily damaging the right side of the car.

Private investigator John Michael Hoda was driving southbound when he saw the accident, and told MailOnline he was the first to respond to the scene.

He says he pulled both Garcia and Palchik out of the ‘totalled’ vehicle to safety and that neither were wearing seat belts.

Private investigator John Hoda was driving on the other side of the road and was the first to respond to the crash. He took this image, which shows a man sitting on the side of the road and wearing a Miller Motorcars shirt

Prized: The Ferrari Enzo was named after the Italian motor company's founder and only 400 were made. They now range in price from $600,000 to more than a million. Above, an example of an undamaged Enzo

Prized: The Ferrari Enzo was named after the Italian motor company’s founder and only 400 were made. They now range in price from $600,000 to more than a million. Above, an example of an undamaged Enzo

Source http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2668655/Bungling-mechanic-wrecks-mattress-moguls-rare-1million-Ferrari-Enzo-spinning-control-freeway.html

Luxury car struggles for NBA Players

Two NBA players have been struggling with their man toys this week. Being at the top of your game is the best feeling in the world, but having to struggle and squeeze yourself into a luxury car is not a good look. Is forgetting to fuel your car even more embarrassing though?

We all know that NBA players can be well-compensated for the work they put it, and one of the more visible ways they tend to reward themselves for their hard work is by buying really nice cars. But with great vehicles come great responsibilities, as we saw through a few social media posts this week.

First, Bulls forward Carlos Boozer went to a dealership to check out a Lamborghini and posed for a photo inside the car. But as he discovered, it wasn’t the being inside the car that was a problem — it was getting out of the car…

Carlos Boozer

 

Meanwhile, somewhere along a highway yesterday, Evan Turner‘s Ferrari ran out of gas. Luckily, one of his former Ohio State teammates was there in another car to not only get him some more gas (in one of those little red plastic containers), but also to document the incident on Instagram…

Evan Turner

Source http://allball.blogs.nba.com/2014/06/24/nba-players-struggle-with-luxury-cars/

 

 

 

Luxury cars are looking to overtake pickups in the American market

Buyers in America are more likely to purchase luxury cars over other more traditional brands of choice. Drivers are clamouring for BMWs , Audis, and Infinitis this year, buying plush vehicles at a far faster pace than other cars or even the traditional favourite Ford F-150.

In the first five months of the year, luxury automakers sold almost 66,000 more vehicles in the U.S. than they did a year earlier, an 11 percent increase. Lincoln and Lexus in particular were stomping on the sales pedal. Sales of midsize cars such as the Honda Accord—the biggest segment of the U.S. market—slipped 3.6 percent, while truck sales—another huge chunk of the market—were up 4.6 percent.

Why are so many U.S. buyers springing for an opulent car? A relatively robust stock market helps, as does an improving overall economy. But there’s something far more interesting going on. A lot of Americans aren’t really buying new BMWs and Benzes after all; they’re renting them—or leasing, to be specific.

Leasing now accounts for a bigger share of auto sales than ever, according to Bloomberg Industries analyst Kevin Tynan. Consumers are feeling fairly flush but are still spooked about taking on large amounts of debt, Tynan says. What’s more, resale values are up, so companies are offering better leasing terms, confident that the vehicle will still be worth a tidy sum when the agreement runs its course.

Luxury drivers are more likely to lease than those to choose less pricey vehicles. About half of the Mercedes  sedans rolling off of lots these days are leased, compared with 13 percent of big trucks like the Chevy  Silverado.

For those who want to buy, it’s gotten easier to be a luxury car owner. Mercedes is now selling its CLA for about $30,000. (It doesn’t have the company’s famed rear-wheel drive, but it does have the logo on the hood.) Audi is making a similar play with its new A3, and BMW is shifting down-market as well with its 2 Series. Not surprisingly, aggregate sticker prices for the luxury segment aren’t nearly as high as they were last year.

So the car-buying process now includes a socioeconomic strategy question. Namely, is a starter Mercedes or a run-of-the-mill Lincoln more luxurious than a Mazda  or a Ford Fusion with all the extras? That’s for drivers (and their neighbours) to decide.

Source http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-23/bmws-and-other-luxury-cars-leave-pickups-in-the-dust

Rodriguez poses on Mercedes-Benz

We like pictures of fast cars, and we like a gossip story about a celebrity. Here we have both! Michelle Rodriguez’s latest Instagram pic looks like a still shot out of her Fast & Furious movies.

The 35-year-old actress posed with a rifle tucked under her left arm while she kissed the muzzle of a handgun in her right hand. “Ready for the chaos boulevard of broken dreams… Monopoly where’s the suicide door @alecmonopoly,” she captioned the pic. Alec Monopoly is a New York City graffiti artist that uses the Monopoly man in many of his works.

Michelle used a sepia-toned filter for the photo where she’s dressed in khaki cargo pants, black work boots, a white snow helmet, black leather jacket and sunglasses. She sat on the hood of a black Mercedes-Benz convertible.

The star of movies like Avatar and S.W.A.T. is currently filming the seventh installment of Fast & Furious. The cast lost its lead Paul Walker in a fiery crash last November.

Michelle broke up with her supermodel girlfriend Cara Delevingne in May. The couple, with a 14-year age gap, was first spotted kissing at a basketball game in February.

She confirmed her relationship with Cara and gushed about her new girlfriend at the time.

“It’s going really well. She’s so cool. When we started hanging out I just thought she was awesome, and we have the best time together,” Michelle told The Mirror.

“She’s hard though. You wouldn’t want to mess with her in a fight.”

With Michelle’s new toys, Cara might not want to mess with her ex.

Source: http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/152994/1/Michelle-Rodriguez-Poses-With-Rifle-And-Handgun-On-Top-Of-Luxury-Car#hd1VmpE15B0GrzKQ.99

Goodwood Festival of Speed McLaren debut

The annual Goodwood Festival of Speed starts on Thursday this week and we are hearing lots of rumours about what is going to debut and be seen by the massive festival crowd.

McLaren has announced a global premiere for the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed and has released this teaser image to whet our appetite. The global premiere will be a new track-focused version of one of McLaren’s supercars, developed by the automaker’s McLaren GT motorsport offshoot.

Rather than the highly-anticipated P1 GTR that was recently confirmed by McLaren, the global premiere is more likely to be a new 650S-based race car to replace the 12C GT3 or possibly a track-focused version of the 650S similar to the previous 12C GT Sprint. If you look carefully at the teaser, the design of the side intakes is more like the one on the 650S than on the P1.

The new car will be revealed on June 27 at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where McLaren Formula One driver Jenson Button will drive it up the event’s famous hill climb.

McLaren will also have its full collection of cars on show as well as some race cars from its past, including an M7C F1 race car driven by McLaren founder Bruce McLaren. In addition to this, there will be a 650S unveiled that has been worked over by the men and women at the McLaren Special Operations personalization department.

This year’s festival is once again taking place on the grounds of Goodwood House in the UK, and runs from June 26-29.

Source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1092828_new-track-focused-mclaren-to-debut-at-goodwood-festival-of-speed

Jay Kay’s green Ferrari

If I say Ferrari, you think of a red car, correct? Yesterday we shared the story of the model Ferrari that may provide an insight into the future design, and it was red, as always.

It’s safe to say that the bulk of LaFerraris destined for production will be painted various shades of red, but at least one of the cars has received a bright green finish nicknamed, for obvious reasons, ‘Kermit Green’. This particular LaFerrari belongs to Jamiroquai lead singer Jay Kay, an avid car nut and owner of various exotics including previous special series Ferraris like the F40, F50 and Enzo.

A year ago that the singer visited the Ferrari factory in Maranello to take a look at the LaFerrari, and was likely among the car’s first owners. Interestingly, Ferrari released a photo back then showing Kay looking at a piece of green trim material while at the Tailor-Made department… now we know why.

Photos of the completed car, posted to enthusiast site FerrariChat (via The Supercar Kids), confirm it’s linked with the singer and that the green theme continues into the interior.

“It’s an amazing car and, just looking at it makes you want to drive it,” Kay said when first seeing the LaFerrari. “I think it’s hard to imagine such a concentration of style, technology, performance and excitement all in the one package.”

The green LaFerrari is expected to make an appearance at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed running from the 26th to the 29th of this month.

Source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1092680_meet-the-green-ferrari-laferrari-of-jamiroquais-jay-kay

Does model reveal 2015 Porsche 911?

A Porsche always looks good, and the joke gift when someone says they want one is the model. If someone you know is interested in the new Porsche 911, you may actually be best to pick up the scale model for a design insight.

Porsche was meant to reveal its new 911 GT3 RS this summer but decided to delay its arrival following the discovery of a fault with the 3.8-liter flat-six engine in the 911 GT3 that the 911 GT3 RS was to share, albeit in uprated form. The German automaker is yet to announce when we might finally see the covers come off, but has the car already been revealed… in scale model form?

This photo of a 911 scale model was posted on the website 4WheelsNews and may potentially depict the new 911 GT3 RS. The scale model is clearly based on the latest 991-series 911 GT3, but some unique elements suggest that it is actually representing the more extreme RS variant.

Those elements include wheels styled like those fitted to prototypes for the new 911 GT3 RS, an oversized rear wing also like the one on previous prototypes, and some new vents on the front fenders not seen on the regular 911 GT3.

Hopefully we’ll find out soon, because it seems that with each passing month more and more rumors concerning the new 911 GT3 RS start to emerge. These include the possibility that the car will be turbocharged, and that it may also end up replacing the 911 GT2 as the most extreme 911 variant. We’ve also heard that it will come with Porsche’s PDK dual-clutch transmission only, as well as the automaker’s new rear-wheel-steering system.

Source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1028807_2015-porsche-911-gt3-rs-revealed-in-scale-model-form

Gran Turismo in real-life

Is your luxury car ownership confined to the walls of a video game? If you like Gran Turismo and have always wanted to own the car in real-life, now could be your chance.

Volkswagen’s new concept GTI Roadster, Vision Gran Turismo is meant to blur the line between “virtual and real worlds,” having originally been created for the Sony Playstation 3 Gran Turismo 6 video game.

The Golf GTI automobile is a two-seat convertible with a 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbocharged engine that gives 503hp and 413 lb-ft of torque, propelling the luxury car 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds to a top track speed of 192mph.

Sony asked the car brand to create a real version of the virtual GTI to mark the Gran Turismo’s 15th anniversary. An in-house competition was launched, asking young Volkswagen designers to submit designs to be judged by Klaus Bischoff (Head of Design) and Kazunori Yamauchi (Director of Polyphony Digital and Vice-President of Sony Computer Entertainment and the inventor of the Gran Turismo series).

“The Vision GT project offered a wonderful opportunity to sketch out extreme ideas and design elements of the GTI that are portrayed as vibrantly, dynamically and emotionally as possible,” says Bischoff. “Further development of an unmistakable design and a love for detail reflect the high standards shared by the Volkswagen GTI and the Gran Turismo by Sony PlayStation product brands.”

Source: http://www.justluxe.com/lifestyle/luxury-cars/feature-1955398.php

Seizing supercars

It seems odd that there are many people who can afford a supercar, but then cannot or will not pay for insurance. London’s police are getting serious with these offenders.

Police have seized some of world’s fastest and most desirable supercars in a crackdown on uninsured drivers, including a classic Bentley, a Tron-style Lamborghini – and also a £1million crane.

Scotland Yard has impounded 100,000 uninsured vehicles in London since October 2011, among them valuable McLarens, Bentleys and BMWs.

In November 2013, a six-litre Bentley Continental GTC was seized in Bromley after the driver was found to be uninsured, and in October last year, a £400,000 customised Lamborghini Aventador was taken off the road when the motorist’s insurance policy was found to not cover such an expensive vehicle.

Other supercars seized in the last year include a Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche Boxsters and a Lamborghini Spyder.

Uninsured drivers face six penalty points and a £300, and they could also see their cars either sold at auction or crushed if they fail to reclaim them in time.

A police spokesperson said: ‘It needs to be stressed that the MPS does not just focus on high value cars but any vehicle that is not being driven in accordance with the law.

‘High value cars are not automatically sent to be crushed. If the owner doesn’t come and collect them within a designated time, they will be auctioned off.

‘Uninsured drivers are five times more likely to be involved in a road collision, and many are more likely to be involved in criminal activity.’

Since Operation Cubo began, the Met has raised more than £5.5 million at auction by selling seized vehicles, including selling a bright orange Aventador for £218,000.

MPS Commander Stephen Watson said: ‘Operation Cubo is strong, visible action that demonstrates the MPS’ commitment and determination to serving the public and making London’s streets safer.

‘Working alongside our partners we have achieved significant results through large scale seizures of uninsured and un-roadworthy vehicles.’

He added: ‘While in addition making numerous arrests of suspects wanted in connection to a variety of offences, some of which impact negatively on our communities such as drugs and firearms related.

‘We are targeting criminals by denying them the use of the roads so it’s much harder for them to commit crime.

‘We have arrested robbers, burglars and rapists as a result of Operation Cubo and will continue to arrest these people as they attempt to travel around the capital.

‘We’re also helping to make London’s roads safer for all that use them and will continue our efforts.’

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2656122/Crackdown-uninsured-drivers-sees-100-000-vehicles-seized-London-3-years.html