Slow Economy Brings Certain Collector Cars Within Reach

Getty Images Pontiac GTO: Accessible for collectors on a budget.

In the last few days I have happily wasted time leafing through the catalog for this weekend’s Sporting Classics of Monaco auction. The event is out of range in every way for me and for the average car nut. But it got me thinking of the collector-car market and where one can find a deal.

While the economic downturn drove down prices for antique cars, Monaco is about the worst place to go discount shopping. The sale that RM Auctions put together included brands like Ferrari, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz that were among those least affected by the recession. Indeed, prices of some European sports cars seemed to appreciate even faster during the recent hard times. But this it is a bargain-hunter’s market for fans of American muscle cars or other models that have yet to take off.

Cars like the Pontiac GTO, Ford Mustang Boss and Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda, essentially hopped-up versions of mass-market models, cracked the million-dollar mark a few years ago as demand from seemingly crazed collectors and speculators reached new heights. But when the economy sagged, prices for such cars fell like stones, driven by the same supply-and-demand rules we learned in Introduction to Economics. Compared with 1960s Ferraris hand-built in batches of less than 100, U.S. muscle machines that rolled off assembly lines by the thousand will never be truly rare.

But that shouldn’t stop you if you like driving and looking at them. There would be a lot less heartbreak in car collecting if people would just buy what they like and stop trying to turn old cars into investments. I cringe every time I hear the word “investment” in a discussion about cars because you are almost always better off buying stock.

I’ll never forget the teacher at my high school who avoided driving his 1978 Chevy Corvette, a special Indianapolis 500 pace-car edition, because low mileage would make it appreciate faster. Today, some 30 years after he made the comment the car is worth what? Maybe $20,000 if he’s lucky.

If the collecting bug ever bites hard enough to send me shopping for an interesting old car I think I’ll look for a “sleeper” –  something with potential that others haven’t yet discovered. I’m sure some of my favorite 1980s cars like the DeLorean and the Magnum P.I.-style Ferrari 308 GTS will eventually hit their stride, but I wouldn’t keep them in the garage while I waited.

Aston Martin DB9. Stunning Black on Black

Here we have for sale my stunning 2004 Aston Martin DB9.

The car has all the usual features that you would expect from an Aston martin and also has satellite navigation.

The car is finished in immaculate metallic black with black leather interior with has been regularly professionally valeted. Bear in mind, this is a very sought after combination!

The car comes with full Aston Martin Warranty and Break down cover until November 2010.

MOT until November 2010 and Tax till end of August 2010.

The car also comes with Full Aston Martin Service History.

Part Exchange: No Thanks

Advert Age: 2 days Location: middlesex, United Kingdom Contact: rakesh raithatha Phone: 07021550829

Email: CLICK HERE TO EMAIL Insurance Estimate For This Car... HPI Check This Car...

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Young Driver AMR fifth at Silverstone

Young Driver AMR fifth at Silverstone

Winning Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin excluded

Young Driver AMR finished fifth in today GT1 World Championship race in Silverstone with a Aston Martin DBR9 driven by Stefan Mucke (D) and Christoffer Nygaard (DK). The race winning Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 of Darren Turner (GB) and Tomas Enge (CZ) was excluded after the race.

The qualification race on Saturday brought a good starting position for Turner/Enge in Sunday's Championship race. Tomas Enge started the qualifying race from Pole-Position and clearly leaded, when the Young Driver AMR-Aston Martin DBR9 was penalised with a drive trough penalty and a stop and go penalty for crossing the white line on pit entry. Enge/Turner eventually finished fourth, giving them a good starting position for the Championship Race. Mucke/Nygaard were faced with bad luck in the qualifying race. They had to retire from due to a blown tire, resulting in a start from the back of the grid in Sunday's Championship Race.

The race also not started very promising for starting driver Stefan Mucke in the #8 Young Driver Aston Martin. Mucke had a contact with another car in the beginning of the race, which resulted in a blown tire. Mucke pitted for a tire change, luckily during an early Safety Car period, due to a burning car on the track, so he managed to stay on the lead lap. From the back of field, Mucke and later team mate Christoffer Nygaard showed an amazing speed and chased back to the front. Nygaard took the car in 13th position from Mucke. The young Dane was the quickest man on track in the second half of the race, driving almost two seconds quicker than all other cars and finally finished fifth after dramatic battles in the last minutes of the race.

"We saved one set of tires for my stint. With the new tires, I had a clear advantage and could go a really strong pace", Nygaard said after the race, in which he scored his first points in the GT1-Worldchampionship.

The race winning Young Driver-Aston Martin of Darren Turner and Tomas Enge was excluded after technical checks (Breach of Article 257.3.3.2.d.3 Appendix J and article 5 FIA GT1 World Championship Sporting Regulation). The measurement of the friction block of the flat bottom of the car #7 was found not to be in accordance with the minimum thickness. The team has appealed against the exclusion, the result of the race remains provisional.

Next stop for Young Driver AMR: Next weekends Le Mans Series race, the 1000km of Spa-Francorchamps (B).

-source: youngdriver-amr.com

Rent a fast car

By Pradeep Paul

IF YOU'RE reading this page, chances are you like cars.

If you like cars, chances are you like fast cars.

And if you like fast cars, chances are you drool at the thought of driving them but - like most of us - can't afford them.

Well, here's your chance to get behind the wheel of some really fast and fabulous cars... without forking out the fortune most of them cost in Singapore.

All you have to do is walk into Luxe Car Rental, satisfy them about your road worthiness - and of course your financial muscle - and pick from a range of seven sports cars that are guaranteed to make your inner James Bond or Lara Croft dance with delight.

The company, set up by Russian Pavel Zotov in 2008, has two categories of self-drive vehicles that you can pick from, depending on your age and driving experience.

If you are 25 or older and have at least three years of driving under your belt, you can choose from the Sports group: a Porsche 911 Carrera S, a Porsche Boxster S and a Maserati Spyder.

They start from $388 (the Boxster) and go to $588 (the 911) for a 24-hour booking.

If you have celebrated your 30th birthday and have at least five years of driving experience, you get the Exception group added to your selection platter: a Ferrari F430 Spider, a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, a Bentley Continental GTC and an Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster.

This group starts from $2,488 (the Aston) and soars to $3,988 (the Lambo) for a 24-hour booking.

Those who prefer the total luxe route can opt for the chauffeur-driven comfort of a Bentley Continental Flying Spur or an Audi A8 Quattro.

Luxe's sales director Denny Koh told tabla! that most of the cars stocked by the company are convertibles because its customer base leans towards young, successful professionals who prefer the flamboyant lifestyle.

And to ensure client loyalty, Luxe has a membership scheme called the Super Car Club which, according to Mr Koh, gives members 'almost 40 per cent in savings when they book our cars'.

When asked about the likelihood of clients being too heavy on the gas pedal - after all, who rents a Lambo to drive it at 60kph? - Mr Koh said: "We assess our customers before we hand them the keys and remind them about the need to drive responsibly. We even call them after they have taken delivery of the car to ensure that they are able to operate the functions properly."

Luxe can monitor each car's location and driving pattern.

When a client is noticed to be driving too fast or trying to cross the border (you can't take the cars into Malaysia), the company will call the client and request adherence to the rules.

When all verbal communication doesn't work, Luxe has the ability to stop the car's engine from its office.

pradeep@sph.com.sg

Save £800 a year on petrol

By contrast, the graph of Sale's driving shows that on sections of the track he is not using any fuel at all. This is when he's cruising in gear towards a roundabout, letting the car slow by itself. I, on the other hand, occasionally put the car into neutral and let it coast, which is a no-no. "Lifting off the throttle, rather than putting it in neutral, means you will use no fuel at all," says Sale. It's safer, too.

Speed bumps

Braking hard, accelerating, then braking hard for the next speed bump means your car will drink petrol, says Sale. He tells me I should instead drive along speed-humped roads at a steady 15-20mph.

Speed

Saving fuel is not just about driving more slowly. Sale is relaxed about whether I drive at 55mph or 65mph. The real cost comes at above 75mph. Your engine may not sound like it's labouring, but in reality it's when your engine starts glugging on the gas. "At very high speeds engines will rev higher and will no longer be in the economical 2,000 to 2,500 rpm band. At this point the engine will have to work much harder and start to drink far more petrol," says Sale.

Will I now change? Yes and no. The next day I was driving the mean streets of south London. Instinctively, I accelerate to get into the right lane, I dart away when lights change, and I frequently slam on the brakes at an unexpected speed bump. But I have started to look at the rev counter, listen to the engine in a new way, and slow down differently at junctions. I think I'll be saving on the petrol – although it may be hundreds, rather than thousands, of pounds ...

The truth and myths about saving petrol

Speed According to the Department for Transport, driving at 70mph uses up to 9% more fuel than at 60mph and up to 15% more than at 50mph. 80mph can use up to 25% more than at 70mph.

Tyres Over time, tyres will naturally leak a bit of air. The RAC says you can improve fuel consumption by up to 2% if you check pressures regularly, and keep them at the correct pressure. It's safer, too – dozens of people a year die because of poorly-inflated tyres.

Roof racks There's enormous disagreement. A report by car manual maker Haynes says get rid of the rack – fully loaded it can add 30% to fuel consumption. But AutoExpress says it's a myth – its test found that those with aerodynamic designs added little to the fuel bill.

Air con vs open windows At low speeds, such as driving around town, air conditioning can add 5%-7% to fuel costs, says Anthony Sale of Millbrook, so just wind the window down. But at higher speeds, the effects are less noticeable.

However, when driving at speed, an open window or sun roof increases aerodynamic drag and can add a further 3-6% to costs, according to some estimates. In 2005, Consumer Reports (the US equivalent to Which?) tested a Honda Accord. Using air conditioning at 65 mph reduced fuel economy by over 3 mpg. Opening the windows on the Honda at 65 mph was not measurable. But US car website edmunds.com found a minimal difference . "Do what's comfortable," it said.

Radio/CD In a survey by BP, 10% of drivers thought that turning off the radio improved fuel consumption. It doesn't.

Engine size Don't assume smaller engines use less petrol. A big car with a 2.0L engine may use less than the same car with a 1.6L engine as it strains to pull a larger weight. On test, a people carrier with a small engine recorded much worse fuel efficiency than one with a bigger engine.

Petrol vs diesel In general, diesels will use less fuel, but, as they typically cost more to buy, the savings aren't always obvious. The Environmental Transport Association has a calculator on its website, that gives you an indication of the costs of running on diesel, petrol, biodiesel, electric battery or fuel cells. Sale says: "I've driven diesels with dreadful fuel efficiency, and petrol cars that have excellent fuel efficiency."

Coasting Rolling downhill or approaching a junction with the car out of gear used to be a common practice to save fuel. But the AA strongly advises against it. "You lose the ability to suddenly accelerate out of tricky situations [and] you lose engine braking ... These days, coasting is still inadvisable and changes in vehicle fuel systems mean it won't save you fuel, either."

Running on chip fat Plenty of cars with older diesel engines can run on vegetable oil – either mixed in with ordinary diesel or, following some modifications, entirely on such oils. It sells for about 55p a litre – less than half the price of standard diesel.

The only downside is the smell that comes out of the exhaust, which has been likened to a fish and chip shop or a barbecue. In 2007 the Treasury relaxed the rules on the taxation of home-made and shop-bought oil, and drivers are no longer required to pay the HM Revenue & Customs fuel duty on 2,500 litres of vegetable oil a year for personal use. Users have to keep all receipts so they can prove they are not using more than 2,500 litres a year if they are stopped in a roadside check.

More details are available at Veg Oil Motoring.

Buying super-unleaded BP says you get around 28 miles extra from a tank of super-unleaded petrol, and that the same results can be achieved whether the car is new or old, high-performance or standard. Using super unleaded also reduces exhaust emissions and deposits in the engine.

But the drawback is that it costs that bit extra – adding at least 4p a litre.

Cheap petrol stations Website PetrolPrices.com gives you the cheapest petrol prices in your area once you have entered your postcode. Men cost more than women. OK, this is stretching it. But as men tend to weigh more than women, they use up more fuel being transported around. Having three men squeezed into the back seats of a car adds.

Rich Chinese driving growth of luxury auto market

Obama eulogizes civil rights leader Dorothy Height, hails her examples of public service By ANITA CHANGAssociated Press Writer

BEIJING (AP) - The businessman climbed into the Rolls Royce Phantom with the gold-plated Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament and sank his feet into wine-red carpet. He says he has a Mercedes S600 sedan and a Jaguar sports car at home but needs something for work.

"I just have to consider whether it's too flashy. But otherwise there's no problem. The price isn't a big problem," said the 32-year-old visitor to the Beijing auto show, who would give only his surname, Liu.

Free-spending new rich who have made China a key growth market for luxury goods makers are more important than ever to U.S., European and Japanese creators of high-end automobiles. Sales here are surging while they sag elsewhere and manufacturers are pulling out the stops to woo Chinese buyers.

China is "increasingly becoming the engine of our industry," said Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG. Sales of its Mercedes-Benz cars in China soared 112 percent in the first quarter of this year to 23,600 vehicles.

Volkswagen AG's Audi unit, BMW AG's Rolls Royce, Fiat SpA's Ferrari and other makers of high-priced wheels are seeing similar gains.

The surge has been propelled by an economic boom that created a new crop of Chinese millionaires and several dozen billionaires in a country that had almost no private cars 15 years ago. China's mainland now has 825,000 people worth at least 10 million yuan (US$1.3 million), according to Rupert Hoogewerf, a researcher of wealthy Chinese.

The new rich "need some luxury products to validate themselves," said Wang Honghao, editor in chief of the Chinese automotive magazine Trends Car. "Whether it's luxury cars or luxury luggage, or perfume, clothes, accessories, it's all the same."

China's auto market, the world's biggest since last year, defied the global downturn on the strength of Beijing's 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion stimulus), which boosted stock and real estate prices.

Luxury car sales in China soared 66 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, well ahead of 14 percent growth in the United States and a 6 percent fall in Germany, homeland of Benz and BMW, according to J.D. Power and Associates.

BMW AG's Rolls Royce says sales in China, its third-largest market after the United States and Britain, rose 200 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier to more than 20 vehicles despite a base price of 6.6 million yuan ($970,000).

Rolls Royce's China sales are so strong that it added a production line and hired more workers partly to meet Chinese demand.

"I see China will even overtake the U.K., our home market, this year and that we will see the Chinese market as the second-most-important market after the U.S.," CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said.

As China's jet-setting elite gets more sophisticated, luxury automakers are focusing on building their brand image with this niche audience.

Rolls Royce publishes a Chinese-language luxury lifestyle magazine and invites customers from China to visit its factory in Goodwood, England, to see their cars being made. Mercedes-Benz hired movie stars Zhang Ziyi and Li Bingbing to promote its cars. Luxury automakers are opening dealerships in cities as farflung as Chengdu in China's mountainous southwest and holds private gatherings for buyers who want to share their enthusiasm forcars.

Chinese customers are getting more discerning and companies need to work to reach them, said Matthew Bennett, regional director of Aston Martin Asia Pacific.

"It's simple things like increasing the number of people in the company who can speak Mandarin," he said. "The growth in China doesn't come for free. You have to invest and it will come."

China's most popular luxury car is the Audi A6L, favored by government officials. Sales were up 14 percent in March over a year earlier to 9,983, though that was driven partly by stimulus spending that is winding down this year.

Aston Martin - which showcased a DBS like the one James Bond drove in "Quantum of Solace" - sold about 80 cars in China in 2009. Bennett said China is likely to become the company's top market in Asia by next year, though he would not give a sales target.

Bennett got a surprise when he showed the company's concept Rapide, a 12-cylinder, four-door sports car, to VIP customers in Beijing in January.

"We had about five or seven people on the night who said, 'Yup, fine, I'll take it,'" he said. "They hadn't seen other colors. They hadn't driven the car. We hadn't confirmed the price at that point. They said, 'No, no, I'll have it.'"

The price: 3.6 million yuan ($530,000).

The luxury car market already is big enough that manufacturers are willing to make basic changes to suit wealthy Chinese customers.

Mercedes unveiled an extended E-class sedan at the Beijing auto show aimed at Chinese buyers, who are more likely to sit in back and have chauffeurs. The new Mercedes gives them an extra 5.5 inches (140 millimeters) of legroom in back.

Zetsche said the company is open to changing other cars.

"I don't think it would be wise generally to adjust and change the vehicles to become 'more Chinese,'" he said. "On the other hand, there are specifics in this marketplace. ... To acknowledge these specifics makes sense and therefore we have this extended version."

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Aston Martin One-77 at Silverstone today

Hi there,As usual I was at Silverstone today for the annual Supercar Run that forms part of the the Tourist Trophy event.I did not have a good day at all. I got to the track at 9am nice and early and signed on, collected my media bits and bobs and headed out to explore the new track layout. I found a couple of good spots and got some great shots of the GT1 cars in their free practice session.Then disaster my Cannon EOS 40D jammed, there was an error message on the screen and the camera just simply would not work. I messed a round with it for a bit taking the batteries out, lenses off, CF cards out but nothing. A quick call to a Canon specialist near home revealed the dreaded 'Error 99' meaning I probably need a new shutter mechanism. No back up camera for me so I was left with my I-phone as my only source of takings pics. I made a couple of calls to photographers I know but no-one was answering as they were probably all trackside taking pics. I knew the Supercar run was arriving around 12.45pm so I headed out to Silverstone village to watch the cars as they neared the circuit, armed with just my Iphone. While waiting I called one of the guys I know and yeepee he had a spare body I could borrow. I raced back to the track, met up with him grabbed the spare body and rushed to the trackside just in time to watch the Aston Martin One-77 do a couple of laps.Not bad pics considering the camera I borrowed was a EOS-1D which I did not have a clue how to work.In case any of you are popping up to Silverstone the One-77 is on display in the courtyard outside the BRDC building over near the Luffield complex.More pics of the other cars that took part to follow over the weekend. RegardsTim Edited by autofocus on Friday 30th April 23:15