Old Top Gear: Buying a Previously Enjoyed Silver Shadow
“For a choice Royce,” caveat emptor: “Remember that rough cars and rough people often go together.”
NYIAS: 2013 Lexus ES300h Video
You know what would probably make that crazy grille actually work on the Lexus ES300h? If Lexus just moved the L-badge onto the hood as they did on the second and best looking generation (XV10) ES300. Audi did the same with the R8. That simple adjustment would likely do wonders. That and scrapping those boring headlights.
Live From New York: It’s The Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG
Definitely digging the orange brake calipers against the graphite paintwork. Sehr gut!
It’s Showtime In New York: 2012 NYIAS
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Chrysler via Autoblog ::: 2012 New York Auto Show / 2013 SRT Viper
POINTEDLY, the 2012 New York Auto Show’s press days are not overlapping this year’s Shanghai Auto Show. And that’s a good thing. Last year, Gotham’s automotive showcase got upstaged by those upstarts in Shanghai. China was and remains the world’s fastest growing car market, so, it stands to some reason that every car maker save for Chrysler, Subaru, and Saab (sigh) splashed out for more razzle dazzle in the PRC and left Gotham as an afterthought.
Bah, New Yorkers never had a strong relationship with the automobile anyway.
Sadly this rendered NYIAS 2011 feeling like some glum after-after-after party where they ran out of booze (they didn’t have anything besides Coors Light anyway) and the host crashed hours ago.
With any luck, that won’t be the case this year. And with Chrysler leaking some tantalizing pics of the 2013 SRT (don’t-call-it-Dodge) Viper, NYIAS 2012 may prove to be a showcase worth seeing. Hopefully. Fingers crossed. Because in the automotive world, New York deserves its turn in the spotlight.
[Autoblog]
Calculating Costs of Ownership: 2010 Rolls-Royce PDC
by Gunnar Heinrich ::: img Rolls-Royce ::: Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé
LET’S see… I was never very good at math. Original price tag on a M.Y. 2010 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé (with teak deck option) $495,000. OK. Now, we’re just in the first third of 2012 and with, let’s say, 7,000 miles on the clock the Rolls’ buy-it-now price on eBay is $329,500. OK. So, we subtract $495,000 – no – wait $329,500 from $495,000 (that’s right) and we’re left with a difference of $165,500 or $11,000 shy of a US Senator’s annual pay. Then, we take 95% of Senator McCain’s gross salary from last year and divide that figure by the mileage (7,000) and we get 23.5714286. Let’s call it 23.60.
So, for every mile the first owner drove his cherry Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé, the Royce convertible lost $23.60 in value. That’s like paying for a quarter tank of gas for every mile traveled. Or to put it another way – if you wanted to take a brief jaunt from Fort Lauderdale to Miami, those 27 miles will knock $649 off your Rolls’ value. To say nothing of having to pay for gas, insurance, and for some guy on the street to watch it for you while you’re inside the restaurant.
Breathtaking depreciation. Or is it?
Let’s say you wanted to take to the open seas in high style but wanted to do it to a price. So, you go yacht shopping and find a 60 foot Hatteras from 2004 with 2,465 hours for $1.475 million. Now, if that’s just out of your price range, you could opt for a 2002 63 foot Hatteras with similar engine time for $1.15 million. By opting for the Hatteras that’s just two years older you could use the money that’s left to buy a lovely 2010 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé – or two senators. Whichever.
You see – it’s all just a matter of making the numbers work.
