To some, the terms “high performance” and “fuel efficient” might seem oxymoronic when applied to sports cars, but that’s not necessaril...
Showing posts with label BMW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BMW. Show all posts
Driving the 2015 Chrysler 300, where every day is Father's Day
2015 Chrysler 300: First Drive Chrysler’s full-size, rear-wheel-drive 300 is America’s last true “dad car.” With its strong hood, broad ...
The 10 most expensive auction cars of 2014
According to the market experts at Hagerty, 2014 was a banner year for collector-car sales, with more than $1.3 billion in action from th...
Auto Expo 2014: 10 launches to watch out for
The 12th edition of the Auto Expo is all set to begin on 7th February. With as many as 70 new cars expected to break cover during the even...
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Showing posts with label BMW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BMW. Show all posts
Sunday, 8 November 2015
Fast And Frugal: 15 Quickest Sports Cars With The Best Fuel Economy
To some, the terms “high performance” and “fuel efficient” might seem oxymoronic when applied to sports cars, but that’s not necessarily the case.
Sure, some of the quickest cars on the planet get dismal fuel economy, like the 691-horsepower Lamborghini Aventador Roadster that’s rated at just 12 mpg in combined city/highway driving and roars to 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds. On the other hand, a base Porsche 911 Carrera that gets to 60 in a sufficiently swift 4.6 seconds and is rated at a combined city/highway 28 mpg, which is equivalent to what a far more passive compact crossover SUV attains these days.
We combed through the Environmental Protection Agency’s posted fuel economy ratings and compared them against the published acceleration times for all makes and models to identify 15 sports cars that can leap from 0-60 mph in less than six seconds, yet maintain a combined city/highway rating of 20 mpg or better.
1. Alfa Romeo 4C
Like all the cars presented in this slide show, the Alfa Romeo 4C is estimated to attain 20 mpg or better in city/highway combined driving, yet can reach 60 mph from a standing start in under six seconds. 4C: 24/34/28 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.3 seconds; MSRP (2015) $53,900.
2. Audi S5
18/28/21 mpg city/highway/combined; 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds; MSRP $53,100.
Sunday, 11 January 2015
Driving the 2015 Chrysler 300, where every day is Father's Day
2015 Chrysler 300: First Drive
Chrysler’s full-size, rear-wheel-drive 300 is America’s last true “dad car.” With its strong hood, broad shoulders and paternal gaze, the 300 sedan is bold, confident and unmistakably American. It’s been a successful car for Chrysler, too — sales are up 48% in the four years since its last redesign — and for its 2015 update, Chrysler seems bent on not messing with success when the updated 300 starts arriving in dealerships in the first quarter of 2015.
Compared to the massively reworked 2015 Dodge Charger (which, to continue the metaphor, would be your fun uncle's car), this is as safe as a refresh gets, involving only new front and rear bumpers, grilles, wheels, and all-LED taillamps. Sport-flavored 300S models also now get blackout window trim to go with darkened headlamp bezels and gorgeous new 20-inch Y-spoke wheels; if there’s a Hemi V-8 under the hood, the 300S also gets standard sill extensions and big lip spoiler. But at the end of the day, the 300 looks more or less the same.
Interior upgrades are just as subtle, which is fine, as dads are usually suspicious of anything that changes too quickly. The blue instrument cluster is the most obvious difference, with its chronograph-inspired gauges flanking an easy-to-use, seven-inch high-resolution driver information display. The gear selector has been replaced by a Jaguar-style rotary e-shifter, and a pair of USB ports have been added in back so that kids or, just as likely, livery customers can charge their devices without cluttering up the front half of the cabin. And as ever, an analog clock remains front and center on the dash, like a grandfather clock for the car.
The 300’s revised model lineup leaves no model underequipped, with even the base $32,390 Limited model boasting standard leather seats, Chrysler’s intuitive 8.4-inch touchscreen Uconnect system, keyless starting, heated 12-way power front seats, capless fuel filling, and more. Chrysler expects that about 45 percent of buyers will opt for the Limited, while 15 percent will choose the more luxurious $38,890 300C model with its standard dual-pane moonroof, Nappa leather, hand-sanded wood, polished wheels, rear window sunshade, and navigation. A select few (about five percent) will get the new-for-’15, fully loaded 300C Platinum model ($43,390) with its diamond-stitched hides, open pore wood, leather-wrapped dashboard, platinum silver trim, 20-inch wheels, and a 900-watt, 19-speaker Harman/Kardon surround sound system. The remaining 35 percent, Chrysler estimates, will come in 300S guise, which start at $35,890 and get everything in the Limited, plus piano black and “carbon hyrdographic” trim, a 552-watt Beats sound system and a slew of performance upgrades, which we’ll get to later.
All 300 trim levels come standard with Chrysler’s Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 and rear-wheel drive. Limited, 300C and Platinum grades get the 292-hp version of the V-6, while 300S models get a 300-horse version with a tweaked exhaust system. If that’s not enough, grunt, 300S, 300C and Platinum models are available with a 363-hp Hemi V-8, the only eight-pot in the class (save for the Charger, of coures), and for the first time, every 300s comes with Chrysler’s sweet, decisive eight-speed automatic.
We took Chrysler up on its offer to drive the 2015 300 on the beautiful Hill Country roads around Austin, Texas, spending some quality wheel-time in an all-wheel-drive 300 Limited, a rear-wheel-drive 300S, and a Hemi-powered 300C. Not surprisingly, we found that the V-6 models required some cajoling to get moving with any gusto, especially when sadled with all-wheel drive, which adds another 206 pounds to the 300’s two-ton weight. Efficiency remains impressive for a full-sizer, however, with 19/31 mpg for the rear-drive model and 18/27 for the all-wheel-drive version.
The V-8 models, on the other hand, handles any acceleration requests as effortlessly as dad opening a jar — Chrysler says that the eight-speed lobbed 0.2 seconds off the V-8’s 0-60 time, to under six seconds for the Hemi-powered 300S. The penalty? Like some dads we know, this one drinks a lot: just 16/25 mpg, an improvement of one mile per gallon on the highway, but still not great.
The 300C and every all-wheel-drive 300 ride on the same “Touring” suspension, which includes 19-inch wheels with all-season tires. Thus equipped, the 300 floats nicely over bumps and undulations but is nothing we’d characterize as fun — a feel familiar to 300 buyers after more than a decade of using the now-ancient Mercedes-based chassis. The 300S, on the other hand, receives a new-for-‘15 “Sport” suspension boasting stiffer springs front and back,
as well as unique shock tuning, a larger front stabilizer bar, and a unique electric power steering calibration. Steering effort and feel are increased considerably when the “Sport” button on the dash is pressed, which also puts the engine/transmission in a more excited state, quickening shifts. Thus equipped, the 300S becomes a far more gifted dance partner on country roads; finally there's a agile 300, albeit not quite at the level of the Cadillac CTS or a BMW 5-Series. If ever there was a car for “cool” dads, the 300S is the one.
So Chrysler chose not to change it too drastically even when it had the chance this time, but that’s just fine, as the 300 was already quite comfortable in its own skin. As a big, solid, rear-drive luxury sedan that come stacked with goodies for about the same price as the tiny Audi A3 or Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class, it’s easy to see why.
Chrysler’s full-size, rear-wheel-drive 300 is America’s last true “dad car.” With its strong hood, broad shoulders and paternal gaze, the 300 sedan is bold, confident and unmistakably American. It’s been a successful car for Chrysler, too — sales are up 48% in the four years since its last redesign — and for its 2015 update, Chrysler seems bent on not messing with success when the updated 300 starts arriving in dealerships in the first quarter of 2015.
Compared to the massively reworked 2015 Dodge Charger (which, to continue the metaphor, would be your fun uncle's car), this is as safe as a refresh gets, involving only new front and rear bumpers, grilles, wheels, and all-LED taillamps. Sport-flavored 300S models also now get blackout window trim to go with darkened headlamp bezels and gorgeous new 20-inch Y-spoke wheels; if there’s a Hemi V-8 under the hood, the 300S also gets standard sill extensions and big lip spoiler. But at the end of the day, the 300 looks more or less the same.
Interior upgrades are just as subtle, which is fine, as dads are usually suspicious of anything that changes too quickly. The blue instrument cluster is the most obvious difference, with its chronograph-inspired gauges flanking an easy-to-use, seven-inch high-resolution driver information display. The gear selector has been replaced by a Jaguar-style rotary e-shifter, and a pair of USB ports have been added in back so that kids or, just as likely, livery customers can charge their devices without cluttering up the front half of the cabin. And as ever, an analog clock remains front and center on the dash, like a grandfather clock for the car.
The 300’s revised model lineup leaves no model underequipped, with even the base $32,390 Limited model boasting standard leather seats, Chrysler’s intuitive 8.4-inch touchscreen Uconnect system, keyless starting, heated 12-way power front seats, capless fuel filling, and more. Chrysler expects that about 45 percent of buyers will opt for the Limited, while 15 percent will choose the more luxurious $38,890 300C model with its standard dual-pane moonroof, Nappa leather, hand-sanded wood, polished wheels, rear window sunshade, and navigation. A select few (about five percent) will get the new-for-’15, fully loaded 300C Platinum model ($43,390) with its diamond-stitched hides, open pore wood, leather-wrapped dashboard, platinum silver trim, 20-inch wheels, and a 900-watt, 19-speaker Harman/Kardon surround sound system. The remaining 35 percent, Chrysler estimates, will come in 300S guise, which start at $35,890 and get everything in the Limited, plus piano black and “carbon hyrdographic” trim, a 552-watt Beats sound system and a slew of performance upgrades, which we’ll get to later.
All 300 trim levels come standard with Chrysler’s Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 and rear-wheel drive. Limited, 300C and Platinum grades get the 292-hp version of the V-6, while 300S models get a 300-horse version with a tweaked exhaust system. If that’s not enough, grunt, 300S, 300C and Platinum models are available with a 363-hp Hemi V-8, the only eight-pot in the class (save for the Charger, of coures), and for the first time, every 300s comes with Chrysler’s sweet, decisive eight-speed automatic.
We took Chrysler up on its offer to drive the 2015 300 on the beautiful Hill Country roads around Austin, Texas, spending some quality wheel-time in an all-wheel-drive 300 Limited, a rear-wheel-drive 300S, and a Hemi-powered 300C. Not surprisingly, we found that the V-6 models required some cajoling to get moving with any gusto, especially when sadled with all-wheel drive, which adds another 206 pounds to the 300’s two-ton weight. Efficiency remains impressive for a full-sizer, however, with 19/31 mpg for the rear-drive model and 18/27 for the all-wheel-drive version.
The V-8 models, on the other hand, handles any acceleration requests as effortlessly as dad opening a jar — Chrysler says that the eight-speed lobbed 0.2 seconds off the V-8’s 0-60 time, to under six seconds for the Hemi-powered 300S. The penalty? Like some dads we know, this one drinks a lot: just 16/25 mpg, an improvement of one mile per gallon on the highway, but still not great.
The 300C and every all-wheel-drive 300 ride on the same “Touring” suspension, which includes 19-inch wheels with all-season tires. Thus equipped, the 300 floats nicely over bumps and undulations but is nothing we’d characterize as fun — a feel familiar to 300 buyers after more than a decade of using the now-ancient Mercedes-based chassis. The 300S, on the other hand, receives a new-for-‘15 “Sport” suspension boasting stiffer springs front and back,
as well as unique shock tuning, a larger front stabilizer bar, and a unique electric power steering calibration. Steering effort and feel are increased considerably when the “Sport” button on the dash is pressed, which also puts the engine/transmission in a more excited state, quickening shifts. Thus equipped, the 300S becomes a far more gifted dance partner on country roads; finally there's a agile 300, albeit not quite at the level of the Cadillac CTS or a BMW 5-Series. If ever there was a car for “cool” dads, the 300S is the one.
So Chrysler chose not to change it too drastically even when it had the chance this time, but that’s just fine, as the 300 was already quite comfortable in its own skin. As a big, solid, rear-drive luxury sedan that come stacked with goodies for about the same price as the tiny Audi A3 or Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class, it’s easy to see why.
Monday, 29 December 2014
The 10 most expensive auction cars of 2014
According to the market experts at Hagerty, 2014 was a banner year for collector-car sales, with more than $1.3 billion in action from the major events in Arizona, Pebble Beach and elsewhere. Here's the Hagerty list of the 10 most expensive cars sold at auction this year
Forget Wall Street, or Silicon Valley. Oh, to be a dealer in exotic cars. Your biggest problem would be where to stash all the loot.
Consider that 2013 was surely thought to be a high water mark in the collectible car world, with $1.2 billion in auction house sales. But 2014 will beat that, notching $1.3 billion in hawked sheetmetal — about a third of that during Pebble Beach’s iconic auction week — thanks in large part to vintage Ferrari sales that continue to beggar belief.
Consider that the 10 most expensive cars sold this year were all Prancing Horse models from the ‘50s or ‘60s, which combined brought in north of $125 million. For just ten cars.
Numero uno? A 1962 Ferrari GTO that Bonhams sold for $38 million. Second? A 275 GTB/C for $26 million hammered down by RM Auctions. Well, let’s see, what’ll it be today, a new sprawling ranch in Colorado, or a car?
“It was another banner year for classic cars, with gains at the top-end and more modest growth for the bulk of the market,” says McKeel Hagerty, CEO of the classic car insurer Hagerty, which tallied the 2014 auction stats.
While the Ferrari numbers don’t surprise Hagerty, interest in cars for far saner prices suggest 2015 may witness a new crop of stars coming to the fore. “For example,” he says, “as some people have been priced out of the Shelby Cobra market, they have shifted their focus to Sunbeam Tigers, a lightweight British roadster with an American V8.”
Conversations with execs from four top auction houses echo a few overlapping themes, while revealing some disagreement over some hot models will continue their meteoric rise.
For starters, everyone’s in agreement that these prices are no fluke. Unlike the crazy and largely speculator-driven boom in the late ‘80s, when seemingly anything exotic sold for comical multiples of its true value, today’s huge sales are for vehicles that could well be considered rare automotive art.
“There is a solid foundation around the current boom,” says Alan Squindo, vice president at RM, whose top three sales were the aforementioned 275, a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM ($11 million) and a 1967 Ferrari 275 ($10 million).
“What you won’t hear about are the cars that did not sell for $10 or $20 million. It’s only the cream that rises,” he says. “It’s the best color, the best restoration, the best history. You’ve got to have the perfect storm.”
David Gooding of Gooding and Company is adamant “we’re not in a bubble,” and in fact is not so secretly pleased whenever high-priced cars that perhaps aren’t quite superstars fail to achieve sales figures that should be reserved for truly rare steeds.
“Some cars’ (valuations) had been going up too fast I thought, which wasn’t sustainable, so it’s great to see sanity prevail,” says Gooding, whose top three sellers were a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT ($15 million), a 1955 Aston Martin DB3S ($5.5 million) and a world-record setting McLaren F1 GTR ($5.2 million). “Naysayers say cars not hitting their mark is a sign of weakness (in the market). No, I say that just shows that there is always strong demand for fresh, quality cars at the right price.”
Frank Mecum, 2014 represented “our biggest year of growth yet, in fact, we are enjoying peak years that I feel will continue for another two or three.”
Mecum’s outfit is particularly known for its sales of classic American iron, and this past year saw some big numbers for a range of machines. Topping the heap was a 1964 Ford GT40 Prototype, which fetched $7 million. Next was a 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda at $3.5 million, and third was yet another Ferrari, this one a 1961 Ferrari 250 Series II Cabriolet at $2.2 million.
“For 2015, I’m predicting more growth in a broader range of marques,” says Mecum. “And I’ll go ahead and say that the biggest growth could be in motorcycles. For such a long time it’s been a small hobby, but I see that changing.”
Drew Alcazar of Russo and Steele says he has been through three classic car booms and busts. And while he’s been the beneficiary of this most recent explosion in values — top three in 2014: 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL at $1.3, 1966 Lamborghini 350GT at $740,000 and a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona at $730,000 — he thinks today’s prices are causing some exotic owners to be overly optimistic.
“It’s interesting, today you talk to someone about consigning their (Ferrari) 330 GTC or even a Daytona or Dino, and they don’t want to sell them,” says Alcazar. “They seem sure their cars will be worth double soon. But will these prices leap exponentially as they have in the past 18 months? No.”
He uses the example of a classic ‘50s Mercedes Gullwing, which in roughly six years has tripled in value from $500,000 to $1.5 million. “Will that car triple again by 2020?” he asks. “I doubt it.”
Like all the top auto auction houses, Russo and Steele looks to the annual week-long car extravaganza in Pebble Beach as both a showpiece and guideline for the industry. While this past summer’s event raked in an impressive $430 million, Alcazar saw hints of sanity in the crazy sales.
“I noticed a leveling at Monterey this year, a hesitancy to perpetuate the exponential compounding of values for some cars,” he says, pointing specifically to Porsche’s legendary air-cooled 911 sports car. While very special editions of the model continue to see mushrooming values - such as rare RS, Turbo and Speedster variants — Alcazar says that 2015 may be the year that more pedestrian model values fall back to earth.
“The 911 is a special car, but it’s important to understand there are a ton of them out there,” he says, and Porsche itself brags that some 70% of its vehicles are still on the road today. “People will always pay for stellar, no stories cars. But the rest, they may not.”
As the new classic car auction calendar unfolds in Scottsdale, Ariz., next month with events from Gooding, RM, Barrett-Jackson and others, it will be interesting to see what their top sales tell us about the year to come.
Saturday, 1 February 2014
Auto Expo 2014: 10 launches to watch out for
The 12th edition of the Auto Expo is all set to begin on 7th February. With as many as 70 new cars expected to break cover during the event, the 2014 Auto Expo will be the biggest India has ever witnessed. As we are gearing up for the comprehensive coverage, here’s a look at the 10 hottest launches to watch out for.
- Maruti Suzuki is all set to launch the Celerio hatchback at the 2014 Auto Expo. Expected to be the most popular launch of the year, the Celeriogets a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder K-Series petrol engine that develops of 67bhp and 90Nm of peak torque.
Celerio will introduce Auto Gear Shift, which will have the flexibility of both manual mode and auto drive mode in the same car, with a simple shift of gear lever. Maruti claims a mileage figure of 23.1kmpl
Hyundai Grand i10 was one of the most popular launches of 2013. Hot on the heels of this grand success, Hyundai will unveil a sedan version of the Grand
Expected to be launched in February 2014, the Grand sedan will be priced aggressively to take on Honda Amaze and Maruti Dzire
Nissan has re-launched the Datsun brand after 32 years. Datsun will launch its first car early this year called the Datsun GO. The Datsun GO will be priced under Rs. 4 lakhs in India and will be powered by a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder engine, paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox
The same engine does duty on the Nissan Micra Active, producing 68 PS and 104 Nm. However in the Datsun GO, the company might detune the engine in the interest of boosting fuel economy
Honda will re-launch the revised Jazz in 2014. Although the first generation Jazz had a much-loved design, poor pricing resulted in bad sales
The 2014 Jazz will certainly be aggressively priced and will also have the advantage of a diesel powertrain and a futuristic design
VW's Taigun is likely to be the first car on the Up platform (codename: PQ12) to come to India. The Taigun concept, based on a stretched version of the VW Up's NSF (New Small Family) platform, made its debut at the Sao Paolo International Motor Show in October last year and previews VW's future SUV face
With its bold, clean styling, the Taigun is sure to appeal to the Indian psyche. It looks a lot less radical than the Ford EcoSport and its less controversial lines are designed to appeal to everyone and offend no one. As for the interiors, VW designed it to resemble the simplicity of the latest smartphones. Its clean, minimalist look aims at being visually clear and simple to use
Mobilio, the third car to be built on the Brio platform, marks Honda’s entry into the MPV segment in India. The Mobilio will be available with the 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol and 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel options
Both engines will be mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The production version of the Mobilio is expected to be unveiled at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo
Audi is all set to unveil its A3 sedan at the Auto Expo. It is Audi’s first compact sedan in the luxury segment to come into the Indian market
Along with the A3, Audi will also showcase special editions of Q3, Q5, the sportier SQ5, Q7 and its recently launched sports car Audi RS 7 Sportback
The BMW 3 Series GT will be one of the most important launches by the Bavarian carmaker at the Delhi Auto Expo
The GT model is 200mm longer, 50mm taller and 17mm wider than the regular 3 Series model. The GT 3 Series comes with a 2-liter diesel engine producing 184bhp, while the petrol variant gets 2.0-liter motor developing 245bhp of power output
Mercedes-Benz India will unveil the dynamically styled Concept GLA and CLA45 AMG at the 12th edition of the Auto Expo. Focusing on the company’s ‘Year of Excellence’ strategy, Mercedes-Benz will also launch its first SUV Guard
The AMG 2.0-liter turbo engine, with a maximum output of 265 kW (360 hp) and up to 450 Newton meters of torque, is the most powerful turbocharged four-cylinder engine in series production in the world
Hyundai will launch the new Santa Fe in India at the Auto Expo. The full-sized SUV is expected to undercut Toyota Fortuner in terms of pricing when it is launched. To achieve this Hyundai will assemble the Santa Fe at its Chennai plant
The new Santa Fe will have a more appealing presence, derived from Hyundai’s fluidic design philosophy
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