Renowned entrepreneur and broadcast veteran Art Astor is selling off part of his famous car collection in Anaheim, California this weekend. The sale, conducted by RM Auctions, mainly features American cars with a few classic imports of the kind we're partial to thrown in. We're particularly fond of this 1970 Jaguar XKE Series II Roadster, for example, which with an estimate of only $40,000 - $60,000 is something of a bargain. Also included in the sale: a 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I "Playboy" roadster which was used as a movie car and has been driven by Bette Davis and Robert Redford, est. $175,000 - $250,000; a 1968 Jaguar XKE Series I.5 2+2 Fixed Head Coupe, est. $30,000 - $40,000; a 1961 Jaguar XK150 3.8 Roadster, est. $80,000 - $120,000; a rare 1941 Chrysler Town & Country Nine-Passenger Estate "woody" wagon, est. $250,000 - $300,000; and a 1954 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster. est. $125,000 - $150,000. See the gallery for pix, and place your bids online at LiveAuctioneers.com.

On Sunday June 8 London auction house Bonhams will stage its first ever auction in conjunction with the annual Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in Connecticut. The top-priced lots are rare racing cars prized by automotive historians, such as a 1931 Maserati Tipo 8C-2800 competition two-seater, est. $600,000 - $850,000, and a 1965 McLaren-Elva M1A Sports Racer, est. $250,000- $300,000. However, there are plenty of beautiful and highly collectible cars that one can actually drive on offer as well.

Among our favorites is this perfectly-restored British made 1956 AC Ace, est. $140,000 - 180,000, in British racing green, natch. Other highlights include: a 1963 Porsche 356B 1600 Super 90 Cabriolet, est. $110,000 - 130,000; a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 Coupe, est. $110,000 - $135,000; a 1974 Jaguar Series III V-12 XK-E Roadster, est. $50,000 - $70,000; a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet, est. $100,000 - $150,000; and the steal of the sale, a 1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II Saloon, est. only $25,000 - $35,000.

So the economy has been taking a hit lately, but as a general rule the highest of high end products haven't really been affected -- apparently those with money up to their ears haven't been feeling the pinch, until now.

Numbers are streaming in from luxury car brands reporting serious sales drops this year from 2007 -- Jaguar sales fell by 52% (whoa!), BMW by 27%, Porsche by 13%, and Land Rover by 17%. Even Ferrari (surprisingly) reported a decline for this past January, although they claim the drop from last year was both planned and expected.

It will be interesting to see what the rest of 2008 brings for the luxury car market.

Whether you own one of these luxury vehicles, or wish you could, the key pendants from Imperial Craftwork should be on your wish list. Choose the auto logo you desire from ten options, select sterling silver, sterling with white gold plating, or pure platinum, and add some panache to your keys for $130 and up. The only unfortunate thing is your gift may be on hold for a bit -- the only style in stock was the Audi pendant. Guess there is always Valentine's Day or St. Paddy's! (Any occasion is good for a gift).

iJag? Jaguar is turning over a new leaf thanks to Apple, who helped the automaker shake the big slab of wood out of the cockpit and back onto the tree. The Ford-owned premium brand, known for the stodgy wood accents in the interior, tapped the iPod maker's design team for help in redesigning the XF's interior for a more current look.

Ian Callum, Jaguar's design chief, told Car Magazine that Apple is contributing to the XF's control interfaces in what will hopefully be an improvement on infotainment interfaces everywhere -- BMW's control interface has been under fire for years, just as an example.

Callum says that cool blue lighting and big control dial will do the trick. Besides reportedly being more intuitive, the new control system takes up less space and introduces a range of infotainment options.

[via Pocket Lint]

Jaguar's new mid-range XF is on the slate for the Frankfurt Motor Show to take place this September, and boy, is this one important ride for Jaguar to get right. The brand, which Ford might sell off any day now, has come out with hit after hit, including the XK coupe and convertible, and the XF is next in the lineup of new launches.

Likely to be launched as a 2009 model, we're not sure how we feel about it... looks a bit like an XK coupe fathered a child with the Buick LaCrosse. The break from Jaguar styling tradition is interesting given how heavily it's based on its predecessor, the S-Type, including the double-wishbone/coil spring front suspension, multilink rear suspension and wheelbase.

More details on performance and infotainment should be available at the Frankfurt show, so we'll keep you posted. Pricing will also be confirmed, but we're probably looking at $56,000 and up.

[Source: Edmunds InsideLine]

Ford Motor Company has begun shopping around its Premiere Automotive Group, consisting of Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo and formerly Aston Martin. The news comes as no surprise as rumors floated about indicating Ford's interest in selling pretty much anything in its stable at the right price, though this time around, the rumors are accompanied by news that Ford has retained Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to find a buyer.

Ford reportedly broke off talks with Fiat recently regarding the group, though now it appears that potential suitors include Renault, David Richards (new Aston owner), and David James, who acquired the rights to manufacture a car based on smart roadster components and designs.Rumors also abound regarding BMW's interest in Volvo as it seeks to add a fourth brand to its lineup, supplementing BMW, MINI and Rolls Royce.

[Source: AutoIndustry.co.uk]

Ever since consumers gushed over the Bentley Brooklands limited edition coupe launched in Geneva last spring, Bentley has been preparing for early 2008, when the first of just 550 units of the vehicle will start reaching their owners.

At the focal point of the vehicle is the turbocharged 6.75Lengine, the most powerful V8 to come out of Crewe, England, Bentley's home of 60 years. The engine's 530bhp brings the heavy Arnage-based coupe up to 60 mph in just 5.0 seconds, boasting performance while offering unmatched luxury via 42 exterior paints, trimmed completely (even the headliner) with one of 25 hides and three veneers. The coupe joins the Park Ward Continental S1 and the Continental R and T in Bentley's historic line of coupe offerings.

Full release after the jump.

[Source: Bentley Motors]

Jaguar die-hards scoffed at the X-type when it came out, seeing it as the automaker's attempt to woo drivers with a Cadillac bank account to the high-end brand. Like any automaker's foray into cheaper waters, the volume helped the bottom line for Jaguar, but slumming it may have done damage to the brand. Those die-hards may be in luck -- it seems that the automaker is considering axeing the X-type from its lineup.

Jaguar introduced the X-type in 2001 to attract the typical BMW 3-series owner, but stuffy styling, a Ford platform and quality issues held the model back from breaking the 100,000 unit/year barrier. Despite the drawbacks, the model accounts for as much as 60 percent of Jaguar's sales depending upon the market. As Jaguar plans its future, it may axe the X-type, despite the model's impact upon the automaker's financial success.

The move comes as Jaguar aims to move back upscale to a lower volume, higher profit situation, which it may be pursuing in order to be more attractive to would-be investors should Ford decide to put Jaguar on the bloc k. Instead of the X-type, Jaguar dealers will rely upon the XF, the S-type's replacement, for its sales. More comparable to a 5-series or Mercedes E-class sedan, the XF as the entry level vehicle should move Jaguar back up the ladder perception-wise. Other new models, such as the XK, will also be important as Jaguar seeks to come back from its slump.

[Source: The Age]

The American Concours Foundation, a not-for-profit auction community, has put four classic automobiles up for sale on eBay with the benefits going to various concours-related charities. All four cars are now on eBay. They are a 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, a 1954 Jaguar XK 120 Drop Head Coupe, a 1933 Lincoln KA V-12 Model 513A Convertible Roadster, and a 1967 Jaguar E Type Vintage Roadster OTS. The cars are all in concours-ready shape and the auctions end today through March 13.

It's bad enough when you buy a gadget or small appliance that doesn't work correctly, but it's worse if you end up with a car that is a lemon. Worse still, since we do have a soft spot for high-priced vehicles, is if the car in question is a luxury car, especially if it only lasts 11 miles on the road. Estate Agent Claude Elmer only had his gold 2.7-L Jaguar XJ8 for three days when he noticed "a bit of smoke" coming out of the hood. He parked the $106,000 car and saw flames coming up from under the hood.

The remains of the Jaguar, which burned to a shell, are being examined by Jaguar to see if they can determine what went wrong. In the meantime, Elmer is being shipped a new car. "Once a Jaguar man, always a Jaguar man," he said.

Behold the supercar that very well may grace the silver screen in the 22nd installment in the Bond series: the Jaguar XF. Although a lot of this intelligence is speculation, it is relatively well educated speculation. Given the fact that Ford still has exclusive product placement rights for this next Bond film, one might presuppose that Aston Martin may want to continue their reign after the beautiful DBS aired in Casino Royale...However! It turns out Ford has placed the Aston Martin badge on the auction block, and it isn't expected to stay there long. So unless Ford wants to give up a 500GT (and really, I don't see Bond behind the wheel of a muscle car), I think we can assume Bond will be riding the cat in the next one. And what great timing too, as they've just recently released a ton of beautiful photographs, CG and sketches of the XF over at AutoBlog. I, for one, am rooting for her; and come on, who doesn't love to hear those crazy Brits say "Jag-u-ar"?

Jaguar isn't the first name you think of in golf clubs but like many other luxury car companies, Jaguar has a branded products line. Among the offerings is this new golf club (a driver, of course). The club is supposedly inspired by Formula One Racing technology. The golf club is made from aerospace grade magnesium, which is 60% lighter than titanium. The Jaguar driver has a special graphite shaft and is created by boutique manufacturer Doi Golf of San Diego, California and has the Jaguar Leaper engraved on the grip and the bottom of the club head. The club sells for $450 but don't think about putting it under the tree it won't be ready available until January.

Jaguar is giving away free cars - but only to people who can already afford them and live the "right" lifestyle, the "Gorgeous" lifestyle, as part of their Gorgeous marketing campaign. The luxury car maker is planting brand new $80,000 Jaguar XKs in New York (in the hands of Nico Bossi, one of the city's "beautiful people"), Los Angeles (with skateboarder Reese Forbes), Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver and Chicago., in the hopes that lifestyle envy will prompt more potential buyers to consider the car and the brand.

It's reality advertising because, though you see thousands of cars each day, this is the one that is put there with the sole purpose of being seen. The company sought out people who already did things that people aspire to do and go places where people aspire to go. Jaguar says that the campaign is "about people seeing Nico and the car and wanting to be part of that."  Nico doesn't reveal that he doesn't own the car to people who ask, but is happy to rattle off the price and specifications of the vehicle.

Jaguar is hoping that seeing the car in all the right places will convince younger buyers that Jags are not just for their parents.

[via the Wall Street Journal]

These gold and silver mini cars have been making the blog rounds lately. These little cuties from Premium Model Engineering are no Matchbox cars. These models of gold and silver with platinum and gold plating are the perfect desktop fidget to take the place of your real Mercedes or Jaguar when you are stuck in the office. The doors and hoods flip open. The models are made on a scale of 1:18 or 1:24 and come mounted on black marble in a special case. Each car takes 150 to 250 hours of work and is made from an individual mold. The car comes with a certificate of authenticity and a picture of the manufacturing process.

[Thanks, Creaza]
[Transport Trends via Book of Joe via Cigar Aficionado]