Luxury cars

Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet 2011 car review

Mercedes-Benz four-seat convertibles always impress, although most have bland styling. The 2011 Mercedes E-Class Cabriolet four-seat convertible radiates that old Mercedes luster with rakish styling. The new E-class two-door Cabriolet comes as the $56,850 E350 or $64,800 E550. They have a fabric soft top, when the trend has been to retractable hardtop convertibles. But that’s OK because this new Mercedes has a thick soft top that provides good protection and a quiet interior. Mercedes offers two retractable hardtop models, but they’re the SL and SLK two-seat sports cars. The E350 Cabriolet convertible is slower and softer than the E550 Cabriolet. It’s powered by a V-6 with 268 horsepower, at it’s no slouch. It propels the E350 from 0-60 mph in

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Hyundai Equus 2011 car review

Hyundai feels it’s ready for the big-time luxury sedan market with its new Equus. It’s designed to compete with the world’s top luxury sedans BMW to Mercedes-Benz to Lexus. Equus prices are $58,000 for the Signature model and $64,500 for the higher line Ultimate model. That puts it considerably below European and Japanese rivals. But resale value is a question mark. In these hard economic times, Hyundai feels that “modern premium” customers are willing to bypass products with established upscale names to get more value, no matter if it involves watches or cars. The Equus comes as a slickly styled, luxurious, equipment-loaded rear-drive V-8 model. It leapfrog’s Hyundai’s successful Genesis rear-drive sedan, which has been out two years and costs

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Bugatti remains world's fastest production car for 2011

Forbes loves car lists, the most expensive to most economical and worst gas guzzlers to safest machines on the road There are exceptions, but Bugatti makes most lists, including fastest production car for 2011. The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport is the fastest production car in the world for 2011 just as it was for 2010 or at least at its quickest top speed for the last six months. Here’s Forbes description of the Veyron’s speed. “It’s worth repeating. The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is the fastest production car in the world — faster than an underwater torpedo or a bullet train. “Racer Pierre-Henri Raphanel proved it in July, when he pushed the speedometer of this third and final edition

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Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Maybach top 2011 most expensive cars

Forbes loves to report on all things expensive, particularly cars. The business publication’s online version just published its list of the most expensive cars for 2011, the Bugatti Veyron to the Rolls Royce Phantom. The publication wrote in its introduction: “These cars have the über-engineered carbon fiber bodies, obscene amounts of horsepower and excessive creature comforts (silver champagne flutes and lambswool carpeting, anyone?) that draw big price tags.” “To compile our list of the most expensive cars going on sale next year, we scoured price lists from well-known manufacturers like Bugatti, Rolls-Royce and Maybach, and from lesser-known companies like Saleen and SSC. Some expected entrants (Aston Martin, Spyker, McLaren) didn’t quite have the stuff to make our list. Others, like

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Bugatti debuts online design your own Veyron configurator

Bugatti, the elite Italian manufacturer of the Veyron 16.4 and its exclusive siblings, has launched a new online configurator that allows hobbyists and high-rollers the opportunity to design their own cars. Available for the standard Veyron and open top Grand Sport models, the configurator option has one downside — it’s addictive. To configure a Bugatti, visit the web site: www.bugatti.com. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore

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Ferrari tops list of most expensive car auction buys in 2010

The most coveted vintage cars sold at auction in 2010 didn’t command the sky-high, record-setting prices of last year. But there were still collectors’ stunning rare purchases this year — Aston Martin to Talbot, BMW to Mercerdes Benz. Six of the most expensive cars sold at auction during 2010 occurred during Monterey Auto Week, the now nearly two-week festival of new and vintage cars scattered throughout the Monterey Peninsula. The most expensive auctioned car in 2010 was a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione. It sold for $7.26 million at the Gooding & Co. auction at Pebble Beach in August. According to the web site, Luxist.com, the Ferrari 250: “Is the only LWB California to feature an alloy

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Audi A8, 2011 review

The 2011 Audi A8 all-wheel-drive sedan has imposing styling, a fabulous interior and high-tech features that can be easily utilized if you spend some time studying them. This fourth-generation A8 — Audi’s flagship car — has a revised front end but looks basically unchanged. It continues to have the automaker’s nearly all-aluminum body/chassis structure that few Americans ever understood or fully appreciated. It makes this four-door very rigid and lighter than most rivals. The A8 is still a big guy at approximately 4,400 pounds, due partly to its all-wheel-drive hardware, and it has a longer wheelbase and overall length. It’s also wider. The new A8 4.2 comes in standard ($78,050) or extended-wheelbase ($84,000) forms and is powered by a sophisticated

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Author Patrica Cornwell donates rare Ferrari Superamerica for San Diego veterans' auction

Patricia Cornwell, the bestselling author, has signed over the title to her limited edition 2005 Ferrari 575 Maranello Superamerica, appraised at $250,000, to Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD), to be sold for public auction on Dec. 9th, 2010 at 7 p.m. ET. The rare, 2005 Ferrari 575 Maranello Superamerica is one of only 559 produced. It boasts a 540 horsepower, V12 engine, and has a top speed of almost 200 miles per hour. Its condition is “showroom new,” inside and out, with only 5,865 miles on the odometer. With the flip of a switch, the car goes from a hardtop to convertible with the unique, rotating glass roof panel that hinges back over the rear deck for open-air motoring.

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BMW reaches 95th birthday with new models, more U.S. production

For nearly 95 years, BMW has been synonymous with luxury, value and performance automobiles. With MINI and Rolls Royce Motor Cars also under the BMW Group umbrella, the manufacturer founded in 1916 as Bayerische Flugzeug- Werke (BFW), has vast and diverse offerings across its three-brand canvas. BMW car prices range between $30,025 for the entry level 1 series to $103,225 for the top-of-the-line M6 model. Beginning with its first brief tenure as a small company building military aircraft engines, BMW experienced rapid growth throughout its history. In recent years, BMW's commitment to "sheer driving pleasure" as a top priority throughout its lineup, has dramatically increased the popularity of the carmaker headquartered in Munich, Germany. In fact, from the year 2000

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Bugatti gets dubious honor: worst gas mileage averages

Bugatti is globally praised as among the world’s most innovative, powerful and expensive cars. But it isn’t often the renowned car gets recognition it would rather not have. In the recently released 2011 model list, the Bugatti Veyron has the lowest gas mileage average among all new vehicles tested by the Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA). The Veyron has average 8 mpg (city) and 15.5 (highway). While the Bugatti had the lowest average, several other cars known for their speed had abysmal averages. The Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG, the Bentley Continental GTC and Continental Flying Spur and the Rolls-Royce Phantom/Phantom Coupe/Drophead Coupe all have 11 mpg averages in city driving. Lowest 2011 gas mileage averages Bugatti Veyron, 16 cyl, 8.0 L, Automatic,

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Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson puts rare Ferrari up for auction

Reggie Jackson, the Hall of Fame baseball player and long-time car collector, is selling one the most unique cars in his collection, a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder. With chassis number 16835, Jackson’s car is among the rarest Ferrari models, and it will be one of the featured sale items at RM Auctions’ annual Automobiles of Arizona, Jan. 20-21, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Ferrari was also owned daredevil Evel Knievel, who died in 2007. The iconic motorcycle jumper sold the car to radio disc jockey Frankie Crocker after crashing while attempting to jump the fountains of Caesar’s Palace. Knievel’s injuries in the jump prohibited him from getting into the car. Crocker sold the original condition, Pininfarina-coachbuilt car to

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Lexus LS 460, 2010: The Weekly Driver Car Review

J.D. Power and Associates and Consumer Reports consistently praise the LS 460 for its dependability, with the 2010 model further adding to the car’s top-of-the-industry’s reputation. Unless they’ve driven or been a passenger, onlookers don’t know the powerful, smooth performance the LS 460 delivers. But the luxury sedan (my test vehicle had a finely finished black exterior) to the corner market or on the open road and people stare with a look of envy. It didn’t matter where I drove the car, it attracted near-constant attention. And once you drive the Lexus LS 460, it’s hard not to want to drive it. Get on highway and the 380-horsepower machine takes charge. From the push-button start to the effortless shifting and

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BMW, Rolls-Royce set to recall nearly 200,000 vehicles with braking issues

Nearly 200,000 luxury sedans from BMW and Rolls Royce and dating to 2002 are being recalled to fix a potential leak in the power-braking system. The cars included BMW 5 Series, 6 Series and 7 Series as well as the high-priced Phantom.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a power-steering probe of the BMW Z4 in July, following one crash and 107 complaints. The power-braking leaks create a vacuum loss that impairs a feature used when brakes are applied, BMW explained on its website. BMW will notify recalled vehicles owners by mail. Dealers will inspect the cars and replace the parts. Drivers who lose braking power should immediately schedule a service appointment. The recall covers the 745i/Li, 750i/Li and

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Mercedes-Benz named official vehicle of Luxembourg-based cycling team

“We look forward to be supporting the ambitious goal of winning the Tour de France for Luxembourg with this new team”, said Gerhard Roth, Administrateur Délégué of Mercedes-Benz Luxembourg S.A. “This partnership with the Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project fits well with our brand philosophy of ‘The best or nothing’.” According to the report, Mercedes-Benz will provide the new team with specially adapted cars, minibuses, trucks and and team tour buses. Nissan joined the cycling sponsorship as the second sponsor of the American team sponsored by RadioShack and featuring seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in 2010. Jaguar and Skoda, the Czech manufacturer, are also major sponsors and automobile providers in professional cycling. Jaguar is the official sponsor of the

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Italian newspaper reports Fiat considering selling share of Ferrari

Fiat, based in Italy, reportedly is seeking liquidity to allow it to finance the acquisition of 51 percent of Chrysler. Selling Ferrari could be the solution, according to the daily newspaper’s sources in Fiat’s headquarters in Turin. FOR MORE FERRARI INFORMATION, VISIT: Ferrari According to the report, Fiat, which owns 85 percent of Ferrari, would keep a majority 51 percent stake in the sports car unit which, it said, is worth $3.1 billion. Ferrari this week is debuting its limited edition convertible sports car at the Paris Motor Show. A Fiat spokesman denied the report, commenting to Reuters: “There are no plans for any Ferrari listing.” Fiat, which owns 20 percent of Chrysler, is expected to increase its holding to

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Ferrari limited series convertible will debut at Paris Motor Show

Only 80 of the 12-cylinder, front-engine roadsters will be manufactured. The first models are expected to reach the buyers by the end of the year and all of 80 new offerings have already been sold. According to a Ferrari release: “The SA Apera is a true roadster which allows its occupants to enjoy the superlative emotions afforded by our signature front-engine V12 architecture in a completely open-top setting. In fact, it has just a light soft top designed to be resorted to only if the weather gets particularly bad.” The roadster has a low-profile windscreen and crouches lower to the ground, and has “exceptionally aerodynamic sleekness,” according to the Maranello, Italy, manufacturer. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for

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