luxury cars

New Deal Means Infiniti Will Get Mercedes Power

New deals, mergers and joint ventures are constantly being brokered in the automotive industry. And many of them involve Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler. The ink on the German automaker's divorce from Chrysler is barely dry, and they recently penned a cooperative deal with Aston Martin. But now another could see increased cooperation between two of the world's biggest players.

The deal has been signed between Daimler chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche and Carlos Ghosn, who presides over the Renault-Nissan Alliance, including their luxury division Infiniti. The partnership will allow both to benefit from each other's strengths in a variety of ways. Among the first will see four-cylinder Mercedes engines transplanted into the Infiniti G range. Both automakers note that, while their products compete in the same arena, customers don't typically comparison shop between these two brands specifically.

Gallery: 2010 Infiniti G37 Sedan

Tags: alliance, carlos ghosn, daimler, dieter zetsche, dr dieter zetsche, infiniti, infiniti g, infiniti g37, luxury cars, mercedes, mercedes-benz, nissan, renault, renault-nissan alliance

BMW Catching up to Lexus in Luxury Car Sales

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Only a decade or so ago, it would have been unfathomable for a Japanese automaker to come even close to outselling the established German marques in the luxury automobile market. But it's a new millennium, and today Lexus sits at the top of the hill. However Toyota's premium division shouldn't get too comfortable in that position, as BMW's sales trends indicate that the Bavarian automaker could surpass its Japanese rival and take the top spot yet again.

Sales have been down across the market, so the real winner here will be the one that has lost the least, not gained the most. While Lexus has seen its sales decline by a whopping 40% recently, BMW's have dropped a comparably low 28%. The trend has placed BMW within spitting distance of Lexus, with less than 2300 units separating the two. So while it may not be a done deal yet, it could be in the very near future.

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Tags: bmw, bmw lexus, BmwLexus, lexus, lexus bmw, LexusBmw, luxury car sales, luxury cars, LuxuryCars, LuxuryCarSales

Luxury Car Club Membership, aka "I'll Take the Lamborghini Today"

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Services, Luxury Cars & Autos

Ownership is a double-edged sword -- it's yours, and you loved it enough to buy it. But if you're bored, or something goes wrong, or you just want a change, you may sometimes wish you could give it back and try something else. If you're in the NYC - NJ - LI metro area, you can do this with luxury cars by joining Vulcan Motor Club. Founded in 2007, the club focuses on "placing a select fleet of the world's most prestigious high-performance and luxury vehicles at your disposal." Membership tiers vary from a $1,240/one-time 5-hour drive to a $28,800/year plan that allows 40 days of annual use and 40,000 annual miles with access to the full fleet of 12 cars, with several membership levels in between. You can get in touch for more info, and also check out Vulcan's blog.

Tags: cars, club, clubs, luxury cars, LuxuryCars, membership, Vulcan, Vulcan Motor Club, VulcanMotorClub, wheels

REPORT: BMW Threatening To Oust Lexus As #1 Luxury Automaker In U.S.

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

2009 BMW Z4 sDrive35i - Click above for high-res image gallery

Life is hard at the top, whether that precipice happens to be at the top of the overall sales chart or of a specific market niche, such as Lexus' position as the best-selling luxury automaker in the United States. Toyota's Japanese brand has held the top spot since the year 2000, with BMW perpetually trailing in second place. Could 2009 finally be the year that BMW breaks through to number one?

So far this year, BMW's 76,819 total sales in the States puts the German brand slightly ahead of Lexus, which has moved a total of 73,186 units so far in '09. Both brands are down somewhat from 2008, though BMW's 30.5-percent decline is not quite as severe as Lexus' 37.2-percent fall. Neither automaker is interested in boasting of its successes in this market, though BMW will gladly accept the extra market share. Speaking to Automotive News, Jan Ehlen, a spokesman for BMW of North America, said:

This year's emphasis is on maintaining our market share and even growing our share a bit. If this results in remaining in the top spot of the premium market, that would be a nice bonus.

Gallery: Quick Drive: 2009 BMW Z4 sDrive35i

[Source: Automotive News]

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Tags: best selling, best selling luxury automaker, best selling luxury brand, BestSelling, BestSellingLuxuryAutomaker, BestSellingLuxuryBrand, bmw, bmw sales, BmwSales, lexus, lexus sales, LexusSales, luxury car, luxury car sales, luxury cars, LuxuryCar, LuxuryCars, LuxuryCarSales

Top Ten Luxury Cars From Barrett-Jackson 2009

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions, Events

Click above to see our top ten luxury cars from Barrett-Jackson 2009

The Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction may be best known for the many muscle cars that fill the tents in Scottsdale, AZ, but those in attendance are also welcome to bid on any number of other fine automobiles that pass through the auction block. We found ourselves among the bidders all day on Friday and Saturday, taking pictures and keeping track of each sale so we could compile interesting lists of the various vehicles that were scheduled to change hands, including quite a few beautiful luxury cars. From one-off Buicks to hand-built Rolls Royces, here are a few of our favorites. Note: This list is numbered chronologically in the order they were auctioned.

Gallery: Barrett Jackson 2009: Top Ten Luxury Cars

1942 Lincoln Continental Convertible - $44,000

1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Dual Cowl Touring - $95,700

1931 Cadillac 370 A Town Sedan - $79,200.00

Tags: barrett jackson, barrett jackson 2009, barrett jackson auction, barrett-jackson, barrett-jackson 2009, barrett-jackson2009, BarrettJackson, BarrettJackson2009, BarrettJacksonAuction, luxury car, luxury car auction, luxury cars, LuxuryCar, LuxuryCarAuction, LuxuryCars

Rolls-Royce Sapphire

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

The latest treasure from the bespoke department at Rolls-Royce is the Phantom Sapphire. The Sapphire is built on the long wheelbase spaceframe and painted a deep Milori Sapphire blue, a color inspired by the gemstone. The leather interior is available in either navy blue with seashell highlights or seashell with navy blue highlights. The walnut burr veneers are inlaid with handmade diamond-pattern marquetry. A two-bottle cool box lis located beneath the rear lounge seat and incorporates a drinks holder milled from a single billet of aluminum that can be concealed in the facia of the cool box. A lounge seat glass cabinet holds a pair of crystal tumblers and champagne flutes. The glassware bears the same diamond motif featured in the Phantom Sapphire's marquetry. A blue decorated Rolls-Royce clock is set with a sapphire and the driver receives matching blue accented silver key fobs and a Conway Stewart fountain pen set in a lacquered, walnut veneer box.

[via Autoblog]

Gallery: Rolls-Royce Sapphire

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Tags: bespoke cars, exotic cars, ExoticCars, luxury cars, LuxuryCars, rolls-royce, sapphire

Rolls-Royce Still Thriving

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

One company that doesn't seem to have felt the financial pinch yet is Rolls-Royce. The luxury car company delivered 129 vehicles in September, which is up 7.5% over last year bringing total deliveries since the start of the year to 827. Rolls-Royce cites emerging economies including India as their strongest markets. The company hasn't released details on how many current orders it has but has said it remains confident about the future. The next move is the plan for the "baby" Rolls known as the RR4 which will be available in 2010. The push to bring car deliveries up to close to 2,000 by then has necessitated the creation of 200 additional jobs at the factory at Goodwood, East Sussex.

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Tags: luxury cars, LuxuryCars, rolls, rolls-royce, rr4

Packard Name And Prototype For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Classic Packard automobiles are often the stars of concours and auto auctions but now it looks like there is a possibility the Packard name could be on a new car. Reuters reports that Roy and Barbara Gullickson, are looking to sell the rights to Packard along with a prototype car. Roy Gullickson acquired the rights to the name in 1995 and has a Packard Motor Car Co. website which shows pictures of the Packard prototype (reproduced in the gallery below). The new car has an all-aluminum V-12 engine and a traditional chrome grille. The sleek sedan was made in 1998 and was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2003. Gullickson formed his company in Phoenix and had plans to create a new luxury car brand but never got the big investors necessary to put it into production. He has since moved to a small town in Canada. He is interested in selling the brand and the prototype car for $1.5 million. He hopes a buyer might put the new Packard into limited production.

Gallery: Packard Prototype

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Tags: cars, luxury cars, packard, vintage cars

Generation Y's Hunger For Luxury Cars

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Generation Y is commonly touted as the generation of entitlement and immediate gratification, and although some might argue it seems luxury car sales and statistics are backing up the "I want it now" trend of young people. BMW's M3, for example, is a car that starts at $54,000, and although that price tag would normally mean an older and wealthier demographic its most popular buyer is in their mid-20s. It seems the young people of today not only want high-end luxury cars but they're stretching themselves and scrimping in other places to have them. Brands across the board are noticing the trend, which in today's economy is a little surprising (and scary!).

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Tags: Generation Y, GenerationY, luxury auto, luxury automobile, luxury car, luxury cars, LuxuryAuto, LuxuryAutomobile, LuxuryCar, LuxuryCars, Y

Luxury Car Sales Fall

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

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.

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Tags: auto, autos, BMW, economy, Ferrari, Jaguar, LandRover, luxury cars, LuxuryCars, Porsche, wheels

2007 Was a Great Year for Bentley

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

The luxury market may be floundering but it was the best year ever for Bentley. The luxury car company sold 10,014 units worldwide, outselling Rolls-Royce, which also broke through the 1,000 mark for the first time last year, by around 10 to one. As you might expect, Bentley's biggest increase was in China, where sales grew by a blistering 93% (with a total of 338 units). Sales in North America were up 4% with 4,196 units sold. It was the first year the cars were sold in Korea and 100 were sold.

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Tags: bentley, exotic cars, luxury cars, rolls-royce

The Most Anticipated Luxury Cars of 2008

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

The term "luxury car" can apply to autos priced from fairly economical $20,000 options all the way up to the indulgent $400,000 range and higher. It's a large class of vehicles. And although everyone may not agree (with that many cars in the mix there's bound to be varying opinions!) this list is a fun one: Forbes has narrowed the new 2008 luxury releases into their own top 10 most anticipated. Here's their list, but as in anything with cars to really get the effect you should see it in pictures.

Audi R8
BMW M3
Cadillac CTS
Infinity G37
Lexus LS 600h L
Maserati Grand Turismo
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster
Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet
Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe
Volvo C30

I can't help it, I love them all!

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Tags: 2008, anticipated, Audi R8, AudiR8, automobiles, autos, BMW M3, BmwM3, Cadillac CTS, CadillacCts, cars, forbes, Infinity g37, InfinityG37, Lexus LS 600h L, LexusLs600hL, luxury, luxury cars, LuxuryCars, Maserati Gran Tourismo, MaseratiGranTourismo, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster, Mercedes-benzSlrMclarenRoadster, most anticipated, MostAnticipated, Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet, Porsche911TurboCabriolet, Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe, Rolls-royceDropheadCoupe, top, top 10, Top10, vehicles, Volvo C30, VolvoC30

Gotham Dream Cars, Dreamshare Program

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Services, Luxury Cars & Autos

I recently received an email from Noah of Gotham Dream Cars that they have a new program known as DreamShare. The company, which rents out exotic cars, now has a membership program. Like other programs, they use a points-based system with several levels of membership which equal different amounts of driving time. The Platinum membership for $9,000 offers 20 driving days, the Titanium for $18,000 gives you around 45 days and the Elite membership, for $27,000 gives you three months worth of driving time. So far they have offices in NYC and Miami (the better for driving convertibles in the winter months) and are planning an office in Vegas. Their 17 vehicle fleet includes Aston Martin Vanquishes, Murcielagos, Gallardo Spyders, 360 Spiders, a Bentley GTC and more.

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Tags: car clubs, exotic car rentals, gotham dream cars, GothamDreamCars, luxury cars

Least Reliable Luxury Cars of 2006

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

While we'd like to think that all of our favorite luxury cars are as reliable as they are desirable, that is not the case. Autoblog just listed the five least reliable luxury cars of the year. The list comes from Forbes and was compiled using data from J.D. Power and Consumer Reports.:

Land Rover LR3 SUV (pictured is the 2007 model)
Land Rover Range Rover SUV
Lincoln Navigator SUV
Saab 9-3
Volkswagen Touareg SUV

The only questionable choice on the list is the Volkswagen - is a Touareg really a luxury car? If they had to reach that far down-market, it probably bodes well for some of out favorite wheels in terms of reliability.

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Tags: cars, land rover, least reliable cars, lincoln navigator, luxury cars, ratings, reliable, saab 9-3, touareg

Rolls-Royce, The Car Of Choice

by Matthew Collins (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Our friends over at Autoblog have uncovered a new survey that places Rolls-Royce at the top of the Ultra-Luxury car heap. Besting last year's top name, Maybach, Rolls-Royce scored higher in quality, uniqueness, and exclusivity than its German competition. This comes as no surprise the countless Rolls fanatics that simply cannot imagine driving anything other than a British-made behemoth. With the stellar Phantom and soon-to-come convertible, Rolls-Royce stands to maintain its edge with great innovation and a tradition of excellence that has made it famous all these years.

Via: Autoblog

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Tags: luxury cars, LuxuryCars, maybach, rolls royce, RollsRoyce

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