Luxury Cars

2011-06-11T02:20:00.000-07:00

Reason No. 671 to go to Pebble Beach this August: The 1955 “Fred Astaire” Ferrari 750 Monza Spider by Scaglietti.
The car is one of only 35 750 Monza spiders built and was raced by Fred Astaire in his first non-singing, non-dancing movie role.

It debuted–snakeskin interior and all–at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1955, then was sold to Luigi Chinetti in New York, who promptly delivered it to Porsche importer John von Neumann in Los Angeles. Von Neumann raced the 4-cylinder, 260-horsepower Monza a lot around Southern California, where it quickly became notorious enough to be featured in Road & Track and earn a spot in the Gregory Peck-Ava Gardner-Fred Astaire apocalypse flick On the Beach.

The film was shot in and around L.A., with some frames taken at the Phillip Island race course and on Riverside Raceway. (In the plot, Fred Astaire’s character had always wanted to be a racing driver, and when Australia holds the world’s last Grand Prix, he buys the Monza to enter.) It didn’t exactly go smoothly: Eight cars were totaled in 12 days of filming the racing scenes, including a Jowett Jupiter, MG Special, Nash Healey, Austin-Healey, Jaguar XK120 and a Corvette.

Lucky for us the 750 Monza survived. It’ll go on sale Aug. 19 and 20 at RM Auctions’ Monterrey sale in conjunction with the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Expected price, according to Driven: $3.25 million.

Six Cars Everyone Wants But No One Can Get

2011-06-11T02:17:00.000-07:00

I’ve got a friend in Connecticut who loves the 2011 Ford Explorer–and planned to buy one as soon as they came to his local dealer. Thing is, he still has yet to see one there, let alone get a test drive.

It’s no surpise. NADA Guides just released its Most In-Demand report, which lists the most popular new cars with the most limited availability, and the Explorer figures prominently near the top.

NADA made the list by compiling the 25 most in-demand vehicles currently on the market based on overall sales during April and on consumer interest on NADAguides.com. Then it pared the group down to vehicles with fewer than 30 days-supply of inventory. (Day supply is the number of units currently in inventory divided by the average number of unit sales of that vehicle per month.)
Here are the six vehicles that emerged, along with a similar, more available car that could work as an alternative:

•    2011 Ford Explorer
Year-over-year sales for the Ford Explorer grew by nearly 138 percent, helping it rank No. 22 in overall industry vehicle sales during April.
Consumer Interest Ranking: 14
Day Supply: 29 days
MSRP: $28,360
Alternative: 2011 GMC Acadia ($32,000), which ended April with 68 days-supply of inventory.

•    2011 Honda Civic – The Honda Civic stayed relatively consistent in year-over-year sales with an increase of just over seven percent, ranking as the No. 5 overall most purchased vehicle in April 2011.
Consumer Interest Ranking: 23
Day Supply: 23 days
MSRP: $15,805
Alternative: 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer ($15,195), which ended April with 88 days-supply of inventory.

•    2011 Hyundai Elantra
The Hyundai Elantra increased nearly 117 percent in sales year-over-year, selling 20,918 units in April 2011 as compared to 9,657 units in April 2010, and ranking 12 in overall industry vehicle sales during April 2011.
Consumer Interest Ranking: 10
Day Supply: 12 days
MSRP: $14,945
Alternative: 2011 Suzuki SX4 ($13,499), which ended April with 94 days-supply of inventory.

•    2011 Hyundai Sonata
Hyundai Sonata’s year-over-year sales increased more than 17 percent, ranking eighth in overall vehicle industry sales during April 2011.
Consumer Interest Ranking: 1
Day Supply: 27 days
MSRP: $19,395
Alternative: 2011 Nissan Altima ($20,270), which ended April with 64 days-supply of inventory.

•    2011 Kia Sorento
The Kia Sorento increased in year-over-year vehicle sales by more than 41 percent, helping the Kia Sorento inch its way into the top 25 in overall industry vehicles sales, ranking 24 in April 2011.
Consumer Interest Ranking: 4
Day Supply: 29 days
MSRP: $20,995
Alternative: 2011 Mazda CX-7 ($21,990), which ended April with 67 days-supply of inventory.

•    2011 Toyota Prius
The Toyota Prius ranked 23 in overall vehicle sales and remained relatively consistent year-over-year from April 2010 to April 2011, decreasing by less than one percent.
Consumer Interest Ranking: 23
Day Supply: 10
MSRP: $22,120
Alternative: 2011 Honda CR-Z ($19,345), which ended April with 69 days-supply of inventory.

MEC Design Mercedes SLS

2011-06-10T02:40:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest Mercedes SLS tuning work from the guys at MEC Design. This sleek kit offers a variety of styling improvements to give the Mercedes an extra aggressive look. First is the addition of a new body kit consisting of a new front and rear bumper, front lip with optional carbon fiber in one or two pieces, side skirts with LED lighting, rear spoiler, roof scoop, and a rear diffuser. What really sets this Mercedes SLS AMG apart is the wheel package from MEC Design. The tuners installed their very own MECxtremelll 3tg rims measuring 10.5×20 up front, and 11.5×21 at the rear. These lightweight pieces come wrapped in high performance tires sized 265/30ZR20, and 295/25ZR21 respectively.

While the LED lighting under the Mercedes SLS is a unique touch, the tuning company turned to the interior for upgrades as well. Inside you will find customizations to the steering wheel, center console, and storage compartment all with carbon fiber trims. Another optional aftermarket part is the rear bumper, available in either the Extreme diffuser, GT3 diffuser, or Formula diffuser, which can also be finished with carbon fiber by MEC Design.

Cool Batmobile Replica

2011-06-10T02:35:00.000-07:00

Just take a look at this full sized replica of the Batmobile. It was made by one rich Swede and it’s simply amazing.

It was built on a 1973 Lincoln Continental chassis and it took $1 million US dollars (!!) and 3.5 years (20,000 working hours) to complete. Its interior contents: plasma TV and DVD, built in satellite navigation, voice recognition, height adjustment, reversing cameras and more. Nice work!

How Lincoln Cars Work

2011-06-09T03:07:00.000-07:00

Lincoln and Cadillac had a common founder: the stern, patrician Henry Martyn Leland, "Master of Precision." Leland and his associates formed Cadillac in 1902 from the remains of the Henry Ford Company -- which is why his first Cadillac and the first production Ford, both named Model A, are so similar. William C. Durant bought Cadillac in 1909 for his burgeoning General Motors. Leland, meantime, went off to build Liberty aircraft engines during World War I. Then, with son Wilfred, he returned to the car business by forming Lincoln -- named for the U.S. president, one of his heroes. When this enterprise ran into financial trouble, Leland came full circle by selling out to Henry Ford in 1922.

At first, Ford Motor Company did little to alter or update the Lincoln Model L that Leland had designed around 1920. Powered by a 385-cid V-8 with 90 brake horsepower, it was beautifully built and handsomely furnished. But by 1930 it was an anachronism: unfashionably upright and sluggish next to contemporary Cadillacs, Packards, and Chrysler Imperials.

Then Henry and son Edsel brought forth the 1931 Model K (why they went backward in the alphabet remains a mystery). Its new 145-inch-wheelbase chassis carried a modernized, 120-bhp V-8 that retained "fork-and-blade" rods and three-piece cast-iron block/crankcase assembly, Leland engineering features that let ads dwell lovingly on "precision-built" quality.

The new chassis was massive, with nine-inch-deep side rails and six crossmembers with cruciform bracing. The transmission gained synchromesh on second and third gears. Like the L, the K employed torque-tube drive and a floating rear axle. Other features included worm-and-roller steering, hydraulic shock absorbers by Houdaille, and mechanical brakes by Bendix. Stylewise, a slightly peaked radiator led a far longer hood, punctuated by twin-trumpet horns and bowl-shaped headlamps. The K was also longer, lower, and sleeker than the L, and it offered an improved ride, greater stability and, with its extra power, faster acceleration and higher top speed.

That changed the following year when the KA exchanged its V-8 for a smaller bore 381.7-cid V-12 with the same 125 bhp. This was also installed in the shorter Lincoln chassis, topped by Murray-built bodies made of wood, steel, and aluminum. KB continued as the senior line.

The K-chassis had been designed for an all-new V-12 that arrived for 1932 in a new KB-Series. This was a smooth 448-cid engine with 150 bhp -- Ford's answer to the 12- and 16-cylinder giants from Cadillac, Packard, and others. The V-12 provided better performance than the K's V-8, yet KBs sold for slightly less and came in a wider range of body types. A magnificent around-town car and a fast open-road tourer, the KB was an extraordinary machine that stood far above most contemporary automobiles.

Accompanying the 1932 V-12 was the V-8 KA-Series on a 136-inch wheelbase. Its chassis was dimensionally the same as the old Model L's but structurally equal to the new KB's. The bodies were less lavishly furnished than on 12-cylinder models, but the KA was high-class, not a middle-priced product. Still, this V-8 wasn't as smooth as the engines from Cadillac, Packard, or Pierce-Arrow.