If you are thinking of buying a brand new Porsche then you need to hurry up and get down to the dealership, because as from 1st August 2007, the price of a new Porsche is set to rise.

An increase of between 1.4% and 5% will be added across the whole range, but what’s 1.4%? Well when you are spending thousands of dollars it does actually all add up, especially when you have to put on the taxes and other charges too.

The details of the price increases will affect the Boxter S which is going up by a massive 5%, the Caymen S Porsche’s sports utility vehicle will cost 4% more, although the base model will remain the same, you pay your money and take your choice with that one! The legendary Porsche 911 models which include the Carrerra, GT3, GT3 RS will see a price rise of just 1.5%, but those wishing to cruise around in a 911 convertible will only see a rise of mere 1.4%, perhaps that because they save on not having a roof!! But if your are looking for the fantastic 911 Turbo then should be delay your purchase from today to the 1st August then that would cost you around $5,700 extra, that’s with just an increase of only 2.3%.

There is no mention as to want has brought on these price increases, but it is safe to say that the people who can afford to go out and buy a brand new Porsche in the first place, may not be put off by the increases at all.

Source [Auto Blog]

If you cannot get enough of Audi, then the Audi TV channel will be right up your street, it is available in both German and English, which is handy.

The overall design is very similar to what you get on a magazine; it has all the usual features, such as the technology of Audi, sport, lifestyle and the culture of Audi the cars and the people who love to drive them.

This is not a new direction for Audi because they have in the past dabbled in the digital TV arena with show that was shown in the UK, The Audi Channel, this went out in 2005 and reached around 7.5 million households, so they have gained some valuable experience through those times, which has given a base to build on.

The channels are live from immediate effect and from the first look it appears to be a very interesting, the dark colors give the pages a sophisticated look and feel while using it, the best way to see all that is on the channel is to simply explore, by visiting the Bode Museum in Berlin, profiles of the Audi DTM racing team drivers as they prepare for the LeMans 24 Hours and maybe just watch the Audi S4 Cabriolet in Florida.

Source [Auto Blog]

One of least best kept secrets came into fruition today, with the German car giant Daimler walking away from the US brand Chrysler that they paid a massive $37 Billion for around nine years ago.

It appear that the German car company will not be getting much of the $7.4 Billion that the private equity investment firm, Cerberus Capital Management have paid for the 80% stake. Most of the money will be reinvested into the Chrysler operations and finance arms.

The name Daimler will be transferred back over to Germany, while Chrysler will remain a US auto maker, but they are facing some very significant problems ahead, the amount of cash may seem to be a lot, but in the auto industry that amount can quickly disappear into the company and out the side.

Chrysler has found problems with the amount of gas that their cars drink, while on the other hand cars from Japan more in particular the Toyota Prius are making it harder for car companies like Chrysler to make any headway into the marketplace. This would be one area where a company like Chrysler could actually find a niche and take the battle to Toyota, it would mean smaller and light models but it could work.

The auto industry is seeing a major change what with the Chinese market opening up the way it has done, who could have predicted that, and what happens when they start exporting to the states?

Source [CNN]

We all know how easy it is to buy a car on finance these days, in fact it is totally possible to walk into a dealership and drive out in a brand new car without having to part with any cash at all. It is this very fact that increasingly is becoming a serious problem for some drivers.

For example you pick up your brand new car and drive it out of the dealership straight away the value of the car has now dropped by thousands of dollars, so what happens if you get around the corner and have an accident, the car is totaled and after an inspected is written off as the damage is far to great to even consider getting it repaired.

The insurance valuation is not going to be anywhere near the price that you have paid for the car, and to make it worse you had taken out finance, so with this all taken into consideration the insurance will make an offer, but this is not gong to clear the finance and as in many cases now days there is going to be a shortfall of several thousand dollars, of which you will need to pay.

However thankfully there is a solution to this headache, Gap insurance is product that will cover the difference between what the loan company want as a settlement and what the insurers are willing to pay up for the car. The price of this gap insurance varies as you would expect, but it can start at around $150 and rise up around $500, but whatever the price, for the first year it is worth paying for Gap insurance. The only other alternative is to pay a decent sized deposit on the car.

Source [CBS]

It has been a long tradition of what is probably the most famous and desirable sports car brand Ferrari to have a waiting list for customers; it is how the business of brand creation started. First you need a high end product, then create desirability by using motor sport and glamorous locations and then offer the product for sale, but with a catch, the price is high so only an elite can afford it, but there is a problem, to the so called elite money is no object, so this creates another problem for the likes of Ferrari how to limit the amount of people driving their exclusive product, the only way is the have a waiting list, this creates the desire within the elite group, and in some cases they are willing to pay a premium in order to get onto the list.

But that way of doing business is so yesterday, well in fact it is so last century, today’s elite does not care for waiting lists, they have the money and want the product, like yesterday. For Ferrari this creates a serious dilemma, how to provide their product to the people who want it, without damaging their exclusivity, well this does not matter anymore, Ferrari is desirable brand the work has been done and they are the brand that is wanted.

Yet in the US it appears that prospective buyers of new cars are being asked to wait up to two years for delivery which is very dangerous in a marketplace that is moving on so fast, take the Chinese market there are many more super rich people there who have the cash and want the goods now, but with Ferrari only producing around 6,000 cars a year, this is not enough and sooner or later there will be problems for the company if they do not change with the times.

It would be a shame to see Ferrari begin to fade, especially after all the good work that they have been doing after the years, but you only need to look at the other super sports car companies like Aston and other top brands, they have found out the hard way about supply and demand.

Source [AutoBlog]

FIAT the Italian car giant has for a while been looking for a suitable way of getting their sister brand Alfa Romeo into the new car market in the United States. Alfa Romeo has seen a great improvement in the design and style of the cars being produced, especially when compared to those of the 1980’s which see the company plummet to an all time low, those thankfully are long gone and the future is looking much more brighter now.

The vehicle that is to be used for the US launch of the Alfa Romeo brand is that Maserati dealership, the are said to complement themselves, the high end Masarati and small to mid sized Alfa Romeo will be competing for different buyers from different markets, so the competition element is non existent, which makes the partnership very viable indeed, and should prove to be a successful assault on the small sports car market, where there are some very wide spaces left open by the other manufacturers that are just waiting to be filled, can Alfa Romeo do this? It is too early to say, but no doubt they will be giving all they can and with the might of FIAT behind them, there would need to be some drastic problems for this foray to fail.

The problem for a company like FIAT is that they have a wide spread of vehicle, they are about to launch the much talked about FIAT 500, this will take a lot of the shine off of any deal for Alfa Romeo, yet they cannot really go it alone, it is possible that FIAT can over do it all, by bringing out too brands and models within a short time period, can the market sustain this? Only time will tell.

Source  [Left Lane News]

Just when you thought that there was nothing left to completely cover with the now legendary Swarvoski Crystals, US based company Crystal Art Inc has taken the BMW owned British marque the Mini Cooper and produced a spectacular design named the American Icon.

The design which has a symbol of all of the fifty states is made up from over million of the tiny crystals, which from a distance are not really noticeable, but only on closer inspection can the individual crystals be seen.

The project has taken four people nearly six months to complete, and the design has some famous landmarks work into it, they include the Statue of Liberty, The White House, Mount Rushmore, The Hollywood sign, the Space Shuttle and of course naturally the US flag and the symbol of America the Eagle, this a totally innovated piece of work combing art and design.

Anyone wishing to see the car close up can see it at the Jacob Javits Center at the 2007 New York City Auto Show, which is really the only place that this should be shown, as it displays the unique way that cars can be transformed by art, the car will be there on Saturday, April 7th 2007 at 0930 hrs.

Should there someone who feels that they would just love to be seen driving this car around their neighborhood, then they would have to pay the price, which is estimated at over a massive one million dollars!

Source [Just Elite]

http://justelite.blogspot.com/2007/05/mini-features-over-one-million.html

Imagine being able to travel to the Ferrari base in Maranello, Italy, walking up to gates and being waved through, check out the cars and drive off in one, no questions asked! Sounds to good to be true? Well you may be pleasantly surprised.

It has come to light that there is such a thing as a Ferrari Passport, yes that is what it is called and means the what it is says. Yet unlike your average passport that has its own value, depending on where it is issued, like the US passport, the must be one of the most desirable in the world for an ordinary person, but should you be a super rich high flyer then Switzerland may be your choice of domicile. But regardless of wealth or fame the Ferrari passport is not given out to just anyone, in fact you really have to be somebody quite special to be even considered for one.

What are benefits of having one? This is obvious, the passport gives the holder complete and total access to anywhere within the Ferrari complex which includes all the restricted places too, imagine being able to walk around there, but even more so you could go up to the car park where the new cars are waiting to be delivered and ask to borrow one, with no questions asked you will be given the keys and off you go.

My application has just gone off to the Ferrari Embassy, so hopefully I will be a citizen of Ferrari very soon, what do you think?

Source [Auto Blog]

Porsche Cars UK, have been given planning permission to develop a piece of land next to the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in Northamptonshire.

The centre will be open to customers of the sports car company who wish to gain performance driving experience from instructors on how to handle a high performance car and to cover the safety aspects of driving such an expensive car in many varying conditions. Drivers will also be given help and advice on fitness, stamina and reaction, all qualities needed to be able to drive an high performance car to the max, without the fear of accidents etc.

According to Porsche Cars UK, the centre will cover an area of just over 10 hectares and will be situated just outside of the area known as Becket’s Corner on the race circuit. Building work is set to begin sometime in the summer of this year and is expected to be fully operational by the same time in 2008!

The plans are to build a spectacular complex of buildings, which will include restaurants, fitness centre and of course the training facilities. The top floor of the main building will have panoramic views of the training centres circuit and of course the Grand Prix circuit itself.

The test track will offer the drivers an experience of driving in varying conditions, and can be split into four separate driving areas, depending on what training is taking place at the time or for a longer and more intense driving experience the circuit can be opened up into a 3.1 km track.

Andy Goss, Managing Director, Porsche Cars Great Britain commented: �The facility at Silverstone is a major investment for Porsche GB and it will allow us to create a unique experience for customers that cannot be bettered in the UK market. It makes perfect sense for us to combine our driving experience activity into one venue and this location is perfect with over 70% of our UK customers being within a two hour drive of the Silverstone area.�

This is not a totally new innovation, because Porsche Cars UK, have been giving expert driving tuition to over 7,500 of its customers over the past seven years, but the concept of having a purpose built centre is totally new and will give the new car owners and experience to remember.

Source [Car Pages]

Best known for his tough image, actor Steve McQueen was also a collector of rare cars. The car in question is a Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso, which has to said, is one of the Italian sports manufacturer classic cars, and it is said that this is the car that he used on a daily basis.

Steve McQueen had an habit of collecting the cars that were starring in his films, the two most popular being one of the Mustangs for the film Bullit and two of the Porsches from the car racing film LeMans, these were a 917and a 911s, but it is the Ferrari that is the most desirable car, probably because it was his own personal drive and as with many of these cars is believed to have been a personal build, it is this that makes this car so interesting.

The auction is due to take place in August this year, but the car will be on show at various locations across the US before then, the price is expected to reach around $1,000,000, but with an auction it depends on who is there and how much they want the car, so this will be interesting to watch.

The “Lusso” is the luxury car, which really set a precedent for sports cars, leading up to the type high end luxury cars we see now. This particular model has been totally restored to very high standards; in fact some believe that this could actually be the best example of this car in the world today.

The auction is being organized by Christies and will be held in Monterey in August.

Source [Auto Blog]