BMW Z8 doing great on the used car market

The UK fellows at Mirror Motoring made an interesting analysis of the current used car market in the United Kingdom. Despite the monthly decline in overall sales, the used cars have actually been appreciating with more and more luxury cars being in great demand: BMW 5 Series, Jaguar XF, Audi A4, Lexus GS and even the large Range Rover models.

Moving up the luxury scale a few notches, even the ultimate luxurious vehicles as the Bentley GT, Aston Martin or Lamborghini are seeing an increased demand. This brings us to the title of this article, the limited-edition BMW super-roadster Z8 is still valued quite high, priced between £60k-£70k. UK BMW dealer believes that the Z8 could actually reach the £100k mark.

As a comparison, in California, a 2002 BMW Z8 is listed on eBay with a Buy Now Price of $98,000.

According to Adrian Rushmore, editor of trade price oracle Glass’s Guide, the average price of a three-year-old car is actually higher in 2009 than it was in 2007. We mentioned this briefly in the past that the reduced number of vehicles built in the second half of 2008 might actually improve our odds to sell the cars we own at a higher price.

Now remember, this analysis was made on the UK auto market and might not entirely apply to rest of the world, but nonetheless it is still quite interesting to see how the used car market is reacting to the economy and what the future might bring.

[Source: Mirror Motoring ]

2009 LA Concours d'Elegance kicks off West Coast show season

2009 L.A. Concours d'Elegance - Now that it's almost officially summer, that means one thing: car shows. While those on the East Coast were treated to two days of fine automobiles at the Greenwich Concours this past weekend (photos from which are forthcoming), those of us on the West Coast headed over to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the fourth annual LA Concours d'Elegance.
As in past years, there was something for every type of car nut, with classes ranging from Horseless Carriages to Supercars and everything in between. A muscle car fan? There were plenty to enjoy including a black-on-black AAR Cuda, and a genuine Superbird. Like Italian sports cars? There were several Ferrari classes plus a Lamborghini class with two beautiful Miuras and a pristine '89 Countach 25th Anniversary. Are classic British roadsters your thing? Morgans, Austin Healeys, MGs, Jaguars, and Triumphs all graced the lawn. And of course there were European Classics like this 1938 Delahaye Type 135 MS and 1939 Bugatti type 57C, plus a class dedicated to the 300SL Gullwing, Shelby Cobras, Aston Martins, Hot Rods, and more.

Lamborghini adding solar power to factory, vows to cut range CO2 35% by 2015

In the grand scheme of things, the facilities and products of Lamborghini don't really amount to a hill of beans. After all, the company only has one main factory that produces a few thousand cars a year. While those cars are high-powered and consume a lot of fuel per mile driven, Lamborghini owners tend to drive those cars far fewer miles than the mainstream autos the rest of us hop into on a daily basis. As such, the Lambos' total emissions don't add up to much.
Nonetheless, Lamborghini is still somewhat sensitive to both social and regulatory concerns and has an ambitious plan to reduce CO₂ emissions. The automaker is in the process of installing a 17,000 square meter solar array to its factory roof that, when completed later this year, will generate 1,582 MWh of electricity annually. In addition to that, changes are being made inside the plant to improve insulation, lighting, and climate control as part of a broader effort to lower factory-related CO₂ emissions 30 percent by 2010.
As for the products coming out of the factory, Lamborghini is pursuing several paths towards a goal of 35-percent CO₂ reduction by 2015. In addition to expanding the use of technology like the direct injection that debuted on the Gallardo LP560-4 last year, the engineers are working on improved combustion, weight reduction, auto start/stop systems, hybrid drive and biofuel use.

Ferrari CEO confirms hybrid concept car, may come to LA in Dec.

We’ve been hearing about Ferrari going green for some time now. Last month, it was reported that Ferrari filed for a patent application for a four-wheel-drive hybrid system. It is said that the system could be fitted to Ferrari’s future front and rear-engine models.

Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa today confirmed that the Italian automaker is working on a hybrid concept car in order to study how it can better meet stringent 2014 European emissions regulations. 

Felisa said that Ferrari continues to study turbocharging, but insisted that the engines would “still have that high-revving Ferrari feeling.” He said that biofuel is also being explored by the engineers in Maranello.

So when will we see this new Ferrari hybrid concept?

“Not at Frankfurt,” Felisa said, “but shortly thereafter, probably at an American show.” Meaning we can probably cross our fingers for the 2009 LA Auto Show in December.

Source: CARandDRIVER