Auto clubs allow drivers with a taste for luxury to test high-end ...

Bryan Zagaro of Teaneck familiarizes himself with the dashboard controls for the 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo at Vulcan Motors in Chester.

CHANGING NEEDS

Like the cars they crave, the industry's clients come in a variety of molds. There are newlyweds and other one-off customers, like Victoria Kennedy, who once surprised her husband, Sen. Edward Kennedy, on his birthday by renting an Aston Martin Vanquish from Gotham -- the car James Bond drove in "Die Another Day."

Others are would-be buyers who are hesitant about buying an exotic car that could fall steeply in value during a time when the economy is shaky.

"People are becoming commitment-phobic," said Noah Lehmann-Haupt, the founder of Gotham. "They don't want to sign a lease for five or six years. A lot of people don't know what the world will bring them."

Then there are the "ultra-affluent" consumers, generally people with inherited wealth for whom several thousand dollars is "chump change," said Scott Rothbort, a professor of finance at Seton Hall University's Stillman School of Business. "These are people who will drink champagne out of glass slippers," he said.

Perhaps the biggest chunk of business, however, belongs to the class of "aspirational" consumers, who come and go as industries rise and fall. They pass through the exotic car business like it's a revolving door -- entering when they're flush with cash, exiting when their finances dwindle.

"One year it's Wall Street mortgage brokers, the next year it's oil and gas tycoons," Rothbort said.

These days, those customers at Gotham include entrepreneurs, a bill collector, an anti-piracy software developer and a building contractor who got a boost from the economic stimulus, Lehmann-Haupt said. "The reality is, even in a recession, there's always someone doing well," he said.

A NEW KIND OF CLIENT

Meanwhile, at Xotic Dream Cars in Toms River, owner Deric Tikotsky said business has soared 250 percent year-over-year, in part because the recession has ushered in a new kind of client: Former exotic-car owners who were forced to sell the vehicles after losing their money in the stock market.

"They're selling off their cars, they're selling off their boats and they've started renting because they don't want to lose that lifestyle," he said.

In these tough economic times, however, clients are trying to enjoy that kind of lifestyle with more discretion, so as not to appear insensitive. In recent months, Douglas, the wire and cable manufacturer, has avoided driving the glitzy rentals to work because "it wouldn't appear proper to my employees." Instead, he opts for his Porsche 911 Turbo or Mercedes minivan.

And yet, for those who can afford it, resisting an exotic simply because there is a recession takes backseat to the adrenaline rush that comes from having all that horsepower, speed and luxury at their fingertips, Lehmann-Haupt said.

"People still feel the need for an escape," he said. "It's exhausting not to spend money."

Leslie Kwoh may be reached at lkwoh@starledger.com or (973) 392-4147.

Speed and money: Monterey Historic Automobile Races

One of the highlights of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance weekend -- and, in fact, one of the highlights in all of motor sports -- are the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races. It’s the reason that most people schlep through Ferrari-laden traffic jams on the peninsula this time of year. Well, that and the Quail event.

Few events offer the kind of opportunity to see classic competition-prepped race cars compete like the Monterey races do. Started in 1974, the races bring cars and drivers from around the world to show off on the storied tarmac of Laguna Seca Raceway. It’s an amateur event, so anyone with a classic racer can join in with the likes of industry giant Vic Edelbrock Jr., Timo Glock, Mario Andretti and Stirling Moss around the famed "Corkscrew" turns on the track.

Though the rules vary from race to race, one regulation reigns above all. Because so many of the cars on the racetrack are rare or unique, anyone who causes damage to another vehicle is immediately pulled out of competition and banned from future events. Most races last about 10 laps and are broken up according to displacement and time period.

That said, none of these cars would be mistaken for a demolition derby car. Most of the cars that race -- a parade of vintage nameplates and models like Alfa, Bugatti, Maserati, Ford GT40 -- are worth "I can buy a condo in Pomona for this" money. Our favorite race was Saturday’s Group 6A, "1955-1961 Sports Racing Cars Over 2000cc," which featured not one, not two, but four -- FOUR -- Ferrari Testarossas, alongside two Devin SS models and a wonderful 1960 Maserati T-61 Birdcage.

This year, Porsche was the featured manufacturer, and the German company had a number of historic racers on hand to celebrate, including a 1962 Type 804. Although Porsche has chalked up innumerable victories in nearly every form of motor sport out there, it has only a handful of F1 wins, and the Type 804 supplied those in the early to mid-'60s. That car and others were on loan from the newly finished Porsche museum in Germany.

One of the most impressive events was a parade of Porsche club racers. A few hundred cars showed up and demonstrated just how pervasive the brand is in amateur racing. For those with enough cash to spend, Porsche offers engine and chassis building services. Something tells us racing would have to be more than a weekend hobby if one is picking up the phone and dial Stuttgart for a helping hand. 


We've selected our five favorites of this year's races for your drooling pleasure. Enjoy!

We love the sleek lines of the 1957 Ferrari 250 Testarossa V-12, which was in the Group 6A race.  This is one of 22 made. We estimate its worth at about $10 million to 12 million.

Jorge Arroyo piloted this 1963 Ford Falcon to finish the famous Mexican road race La Carrera Panamericana in 2006. That's dang cool for a Falcon of any age.

Maserati MC12 Tipo 61 “Birdcage,” named after its complicated bird-cage tube chassis. Built from 1959 to 1961, these Maseratis did well at Le Mans. Again, this car, in the Camoradi race team livery, was in Group 6A.

1969 Ford GT-40 No. 83 4736cc, chassis No. 1083. Raced well, beautiful car. This is the car that all car freaks draw in their spare time.

This is a 1957 Ford Thunderbird nicknamed “The Battlebird.” Only two of these weird-looking monstrosities were ever built, both for the 1957 Daytona Speedweek. This Battlebird flew at more than 200 mph at the event, but lives in weirdness forever.

-- Jon Alain Guzik

Guzik is editor in chief of DriverSide.com.

Top photo: The 1994 Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Photos of top five cars by Jon Alain Guzik

Shelby Daytona Coupe fetches $7.25M

The man who paid $7.25 million Saturday for a 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe probably won't be driving it 197 mph, the speed Bob Bondurant and Dan Gurney hit with a nearly identical racer to win The 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1963.

But with 275 horsepower and legendary aerodynamics, he could — and that's probably a big part of the allure.

The crown jewel of the Mecum At Monterey exotic automobile auction at the Hyatt Regency Monterey was designed by Peter Brock and built by Carroll Shelby to try to unseat Ferrari as the dominant racing machine in the GT race class.

Brock, who was on hand with Bondurant at Saturday's show, created the car — one of only six ever built — by putting an experimental coupe body on an existing Cobra chassis, an innovation that increased the race car's top speed by 25 mph.

The Cobra won its maiden race at Daytona, which prompted Shelby to adopt the Daytona name. It then made racing history when, in 1965, it became the first American car ever to win the Federation Internationale de Automobile World Manufacturers Championship.

Bondurant, now 76, was at the wheel that day in Reims, France.

"It's fantastic to be here, having raced this car in 1964 and '65," he said Saturday as he sat behind the wheel of the Cobra — which still bears the number 26 on its door — on the fairways of Old Del Monte Golf Course, adjacent to the Hyatt. "Our mission with this car was to beat Ferrari for the World Manufacturers Advertisement Championship and we accomplished that when we won the race in France."

After four decades, Bondurant was reunited with the famous car two months ago at the racing school he owns and operates in Phoenix, an experience that immediately brought back memories.

"I got in, fired it up and it sounded fantastic," he said. "I took it out on my race track, and halfway through that first lap I started feeling like I had never been out of the car. We had six of these cars — I drove three of them over in Europe — and this one just always had a little better feel than the others."

The difference, he says, was in Brock's aerodynamic design.

"It had a flat-tail back, and nobody had ever designed one with a flat tail," he said. "Pete had the vision to build a car in this shape, and Carroll said, 'No, it's not going to work.' In fact, nobody wanted to believe it would work — but it did."

Shortly before he had the honor of personally driving the car onto the auction platform, Bondurant grinned broadly at the expected sale price of at least $7 million.

"I think it's great," he said. "After we won the championship, Carroll sold out to Ford, and Ford decided to get rid of all of the Cobras. Carroll called me and said, 'You need to buy this car.'"

Bondurant scraped together the $4,000 asking price, and later sold it for $10,000 to a man who owned two gas stations in South Dakota. He used it to commute between the stations, full-throttle.

"I thought I had made a killing," Bondurant said Saturday with a laugh. "And today somebody's going to pay $7 million? I guess I should have held out a while."

Dennis Taylor can be reached at 646-4344 or dtaylor@montereyherald.com.

Truckers trusted with cars belonging to rich and famous

As a 1962 Ferrari GTO is unloaded from the trailer, Gary White nods toward it to point out just how valuable the assets are he hauls around.

"That there's a $3 million car," White said. "The owner brought it just to drive."

And while the Ferrari is the get-around car, the other cars in the trailer are the showpieces that were put on display at various car events this week, including today's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Though he spends most of his time with them, White doesn't own any of the fancy cars on display today or that have been zipping around the county this week. The only vehicle he owns is his big rig.

White is a truck driver who specializes in transporting high-end cars. He is one of seven truckers who recently broke away from the major car transportation companies to form the trucker co-op, The Independent Network of Automobile Shippers, or TINAS.

"This is all we do, is transport cars all around the country," said White, who calls Fremont, Ind., home.

They all drove thousands of miles to Pebble Beach, setting up camp on the polo field for the week and joining the sea of nearly 200 trucks that have brought cars to Classic Car Week. Some of the most valuable cars in the world, such as the Ferrari GTO and a one-of-a-kind 1929 Duesenberg, were brought here by the TINAS truckers.

Being called upon to transport vehicles as valuable as mansions means a lot of trust is placed in the truckers. It's a responsibility they take seriously.

"You Advertisement got to realize," said trucker Dale Bennett, "to somebody, that is their pride and joy."

The cars are also assets that require significant investment from the owners.

"When you're driving around with $5 million to $10 million worth of cars in the back that are irreplaceable ... I like to think we're special," White said.

It's an unconventional lifestyle, the truckers say, spending most of the year on the road. But they wouldn't have it any other way, said co-op member Dave Brewer, who said he spends no more than 45 days a year at home in Tulsa, Okla.

"I carry my wife with me and my little dog, so it doesn't matter," Brewer said. "We're at home wherever we are."

Brewer is known as "Beer Man," a name he proudly displays on his personalized license plate. His truck, which he said is worth around $500,000, has traveled 4 million miles.

"As a group we don't see each other but five, six times a year," Bennett said of himself and his fellow drivers.

But when they do cross paths, it's reunion time. They barbecue and hang out around their trucks. To them, it's time better spent than perusing the events that brought them to town.

"I'll go to some events if customers invite me," White said. "We generally just do our own thing here. We just relax and tell stories."

Keeping the customers calling isn't just about delivering cars in the same condition as when they were loaded, the truckers said. They take care of their trucks as well as they do the cars.

"If you show up in a piece of junk," Bennett said, "customers are going to say, 'If he doesn't take care of his own truck, what's he going to do with my car?'"

Their work doesn't end when they arrive at the destination. They have to unload the cars, which are packed five to seven per trailer, double stacked.

The co-op truckers work together to unload the cars, operating the lifts and giving hand signals to guide whoever is backing a multi-million-dollar vehicle owned by someone else out of the trailer and down a ramp.

On Wednesday, different trucks contained cars that needed to go to Carmel Valley for The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering held on Friday. So the truckers consolidated the Quail-bound cars into one truck and only one trip had to be made out.

"It's a jigsaw puzzle getting these cars in there," White said.

The truckers are also mechanically handy, a boon considering that while the automobiles they're hauling are very beautiful and valuable, they're also very old.

"A lot of them don't start right away," Bennett said, and it's up to the delivery men to get them going.

Even if a car comes off the truck easily, it will likely give the delivery men trouble some other way.

"One thing you learn is to carry baby wipes because you're going to end up smelling like oil by the end of the day," White said. "All these cars leak. It's never ending keeping your truck clean."

The job is never ending too. As soon as the Concours is over, the truckers will load the cars back on the trailers and head to their next destination.

"I've got to drop cars in St. Louis and Chicago, then be at the show Saturday in Milwaukee with that Daimler," White said, pointing to one of the cars he transports.

While the other shows and auctions around the country feature plenty of expensive cars, none of the other events measures up to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, White said.

"This is the holy grail of car shows," he said. "If you win this one, you've got the best car in the world."

And it just may have been one of TINAS men who delivered it to Pebble Beach.

Laith Agha can be reached at 646-4358 or lagha@montereyherald.com.

Road Test: Jaguar XKR

The XKR has performace and sophistication even beyond its �78,000 price tag

If you are a true car enthusiast, then you might feel frustrated at waiting so long for our report on the latest Jaguar XKR. So think of it as a build-up to a climax; Jaguar has launched three impressive new engines this year, resulting in numerous new permutations of XFs and XKs, and we could hardly report on them all in quick succession.

The supercharged XFR and the twin-turbo diesel XFD we have covered. The cars powered by the non-turbo V8 we have not, because in the XF's case you're better off with the excellent (and frugal) diesel, and in the XK's case ... well, let's just say the XK V8, fine car as it is in many ways, has strayed from what a grand-touring Jaguar should be.

I'll return to this theme later, but let me first introduce the XKR. I was blown away by the XFR saloon, transfixed by the torrent of effortless energy on tap and the feeling of unflappable security it imparts when travelling quickly on challenging roads. The XKR coup� is about 140kg lighter than the XFR. So fireworks are guaranteed.

Out on the public road I did not reproduce the tyre-smoking cornering style the XKR allows to those able to afford replacement rubber on a regular basis, but on the test track I did indulge my curiosity. First, though, the new XKR as road machine, updated with sharper detailing and the rotary transmission selector from the XF range. Its new V8 engine, exactly five litres in capacity and able to generate 510bhp as well as 461lb/ft of pulling power, has direct fuel injection and the promise of rather better fuel economy than its 4.2-litre, 416bhp predecessor. That peak pulling power arrives at just 2,500rpm and doesn't abate until 5,500rpm.

The Jaguar XKR was a very fast car before, but now it's close to bombastic. All that energy and the relatively light weight, that comes from the aluminium chassis and body structure, make the XKR feel like a car in which mass has been magically spirited away, as if it's being driven on the moon rather than planet Earth.

The engine's efforts are channelled through one of the best automatic transmissions made today, a six-speed unit which can either be left to its own, well-judged devices or controlled manually via paddle-shifters behind the steering wheel. What makes it so good is that the automatic mode is always smooth, unlike that mode when applied to a "robotised manual" transmission as offered in Aston Martin V8s, Lamborghinis, some Maseratis and Ferraris and the Audi R8, yet in manual mode it is virtually as responsive as those cars' systems and gives a similarly well-judged blip of the throttle to smooth the downshifts.

More than ever before, the XKR feels like a supercar of an ability and sophistication far beyond its price of between £72,400 for the coup� to £78,400 for the convertible. But with the new adaptive damping system for the suspension, continuously variable instead of switching between two settings, comes a firmness over bumps at the upper end of what a Jaguar owner's expectation range would consider tolerable.

That's acceptable for the hardish-core XKR, but the regular XK now shares much of this firmness and the much-admired ability of a Jaguar to "breathe" over bumpy roads has been sacrificed. Anyway, switch the "Jaguar Drive Control" to Trac DSC, and the stability systems are loosened and the XKR's "active" differential can show its metal's mettle. This, like Ferrari's E-diff and a similar Audi system, alters the torque-split between the rear wheels to ensure they always help the car to aim in the optimum direction without triggering the slowing-down effect of a stability system which relies on brakes.

On the road, it makes the XKR wonderfully interactive with your steering and accelerator inputs. On the track, the DSC still intervenes too readily so you turn it right off. Then you can drift the XKR as though it's an old-fashioned racing car, and make as much tyre smoke as you dare. All that torque, all that subtlety of control, all that beauty: the XKR is hardly cheap, but nothing comes close for the money.

THE RIVALS

Aston Martin V8 Vantage: from £83,191. Now with 4.7-litre engine and 420bhp, Vantage remains a beautiful car with enjoyable handling. Harder work to drive than XKR.

BMW M6: from £83,700. At 507bhp, comes close to Jaguar power, but uses V10 engine and high revs. Transmission complex and not always smooth, sound amazing, fun considerable.

Maserati GranTurismo S: £88,005. V8 with 433bhp, hot on pace and aural drama. It's the car the GranTurismo should have been from the start, but lacks XKR's musclepower.

New venue, traditional focus delight Concorso Italiano fans

They needn't have worried.

Advance tickets sold: 5,000. Cars entered for display? More than 1,000.

Last year's Concorso event was held at the Marina Airport: a dusty, perpetually windy venue that left many attendees literally gritting their teeth and vowing "never again." Concorso's new owner Tom McDowell of Mercer Island, Wash., would have none of that.

This year, Lancias with custom coachwork, Alfa Romeos, scores of Ferraris, Lambos, Maseratis and other marques spread in gleaming rows across the the rolling, verdant lawns of Laguna Seca Golf Ranch.

McDowell, a long-time fan of fine classic cars, says the first thing he did after buying Concorso six months ago was return it to a celebration of Italian style.

"This is an event that had lost its soul, and I really wanted to restore that soul," he said. Back came the focus on classic Italian high performance cars - more Daytonas, Testarossas, Muiras and the great sports and racing cars of the '60s and '70s - yet organizers still made sure to create a welcoming environment for enthusiasts who wanted to exhibit later cars. After all, any Ferrari is special.

In a down economy, McDowell says he worked hard to make people who attended Friday's Concorso Italiano feel they made a wise investment of time and expense.

Scott Grundfor of Arroyo Seco said he felt justified displaying his 1955 Ghia Streamliner X, known to collectors as "Gilda."

"I think they [the Concorso staff] are trying hard to bring it back to what it was," said Grundor, who has attended many of the 23 previous Concorso Italianos held in different locales on the Monterey Peninsula. "So far, so good."

One group of fans needed no extra persuading: a herd of dedicated Cub Scouts from Pack 60 in Spreckels. The cadre of volunteers were enlisted to work Concorso by their Scoutmaster, Pete Vasquez, who displayed a Fiat Dino coupe at the event.

-->(2 of 2)

"We did all the parking control for the non-Italian entries this morning, and now the kids get to check out the merchandise," said Vasquez, who likes to use his Dino, considered special because it shares the same V-6 engine as the Ferrari Dino 246, to take family members and special friends for vigorous drives on winding Monterey County roads.

Besides the cars, the Concorso featured plenty of eye candy: beautiful people, fashion models undulating their way along a checkerboard runway to upbeat, perky music, and a host of vendor booths offering unique wares for discriminating shoppers: ownership shares in high performance business jets, fine gold jewelry cast over genuine elephant hair, even fine Italian handcrafted purses for only slightly less than the price of a common commuter car.

The perfect setting for car connoisseurs such as Grundfor and Wayne Bier of Morada, a Ferrarista who drove one of his two Italian thoroughbreds to the show and dressed appropriately for the day. Bier accessorized his "rossa red" 2001 Ferrari 355 spyder with a vibrant one-off "rossa red" linen designer jacket with custom black onyx Ferrari logo buttons, Prada sunglasses (no fake shades here) and "rossa red" leather Ferrari-logo'd Puma driving shoes that were a special purchase made in Rome, Italy.

That's Amore.

Motor sports in Marin: Love still flogging his Ferrari after 45 years

MOST 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas live a sheltered life, driven a few dozen miles each year with one eventual destination in mind: the auction block. There they can fetch six and even seven-figure prices.

But that never seemed to be the destiny of chassis No. 0754, owned and driven since 1964 by San Rafael's David Love. After it was taken down from the tree which a previous owner launched it into at Laguna Seca in 1960, its appeal for collectors seemed to be forever compromised.

The only thing to do was race it. Love has flogged that Ferrari throughout most of the last 45 years, competing in over 250 races, a feat few Ferraris on earth can match. This Saturday the 73-year-old Love will again take the green flag at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

And if he finds victory lane he'll be no stranger to the locale; he won his class in the very first Monterey Historics in '74.

He has always been a formidable competitor. That comes not only from all the seat-of-the-pants understanding of what the car tends to do on the track, but also from what the car's mechanical weaknesses are. Since he's done most of the repairs and maintenance over the years, he has learned how to best eliminate mechanical surprises.

"It's more of a time machine than a racing car," Love said from his San Rafael home. "When you're in one of these things it's doing what it did when it was new with all the flaws as well."

The primary challenge for the car is not Advertisement so much a flaw as technology frozen in time. His model of Testa Rossa is the last to rely on drum brakes. Disc brakes were introduced the following year.

The sound of the 3.0-liter V-12 when it roars to life can take your breath away. Enzo Ferrari called it "the song of the 12." Fed by six Weber carburetors, the Ferrari generates 290 horsepower pushing less than 1,900 pounds unladen.

Long before he knew that there would be a market for thoroughly used race cars, Love had the foresight to save the original block which was unusable through wear and improper machining in rebuilds from previous owners. He had to wait nearly 20 years for welding and metal curing technology to progress to the point where the original block could be returned to factory spec and durability. Now the car is once again in "matching numbers" condition which is a big part of what has restored its appeal to collectors.

While the car has stayed the same, the driver hasn't. Around 23 years ago Love was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. While life off the track can sometimes be compromised, it doesn't carry over to his racing.

"That's the curious thing about it. I've talked to (former racer, writer and TV commentator) Sam Posey about it and he has Parkinson's and we've both come to the same conclusion: when you get in a racing car that's where you feel the most normal.

"Adrenaline is a brain chemical like dopamine, which the lack of is Parkinson's disease," Love said. "It seems to me that the adrenaline that this particular activity generates seems to compensate somewhat for the lack of dopamine. I've noticed over the years that after I've finished a (race) weekend and I go back into the real world everything works better."

His neurologist of 23 years agrees, even to the point of validating his racing appetite. Love couldn't ask for more.

"Who else gets to race under doctor's orders?"

Pit bits- Missing from the schedule at this Historics are vintage Formula One cars which will instead be featured on all three days of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Aug. 21-23. Marin residents include Larkspur's Dan Marvin in a '74 Brabham BT-44, San Anselmo's Chris Locke in a '76 Lotus 77/3, and Tiburon's Dave Olson in a Vels-Parnelli VPJ104.

- Also racing on the undercard that weekend at Infineon will be Sausalito's J.R. Hildebrand who looks to tighten his grip on the Firestone Indy Lights series title.

- With one race left for the Late Model division at Petaluma Speedway, Novato's Rod Arnold stands fifth in points but may be close enough to leapfrog to second in the standings if he runs strong and others falter at the season finale Aug. 23.

- Big-bore sprint car fans have two weekends of racing to look forward to. The Golden State Challenge will run on the fast, scenic 1/2-mile dirt oval at Calistoga the evenings of Sept. 5 and 6 while the World of Outlaws sprint cars visit Chico Sept. 10-12.

Todd Telford covers motor sports for the IJ. E-mail him at improbabletodd@gmail.com

LAGUNA SECA RACING

Monterey Historic Automobile Races at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Saturday and Sunday. Warmups in the morning with the first of eight races each day starting at 1 p.m.

- Tickets: Saturday: $75; Sunday: $60.

- Info: www.mazdaraceway.com or call 800-327-7322

Read more San Rafael stories at the IJ's San Rafael section.

The ugly ducklings at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering

1966 Cheetah -- Owned by Californian Mark Boen, who was tragically born without a sense of taste, the Cheetah was designed to go after Shelby's Cobras. Designed and built by Bill Thomas Race Cars, these cars would have "rewritten the record books," Boen says, if they had been built in enough numbers to be homologated.

The car's stupendously weird configuration, which puts the driver's butt on the rear axle, was intended to give the car better weight distribution. It also gives it the profile of a toothbrush. In any event, the car was fast and evil-handling, says Boen, who quested after this copy for 30 years. When asked why, he could only shrug.

 

1960 MGA with special "Savoy" body -- The question here is, naturally, what the hell? Someone stripped off the lovely bodywork by Syd Enever and installed sheet allow and wood that looks like it was designed in reform school shop class? There's sawtooth fins and walnut body pieces and carpet that looks like astroturf and a grille with high-tension wire that looks like a very large cheese slicer. And the atrocious shade of green looks like the rest room in some awful pro shop.

Architectural Digest to feature America's Garage-mahal

An MRI exam of Holger Schubert's head might reveal an inner space of bare, winter-white walls, polished concrete, wall-to-ceiling glass and halogen lighting. "I like very pure, minimalistic, empty space," says the 41-year-old product designer. Schubert's home, under construction on two acres in Brentwood, will be a symphony in spareness: three glass boxes as the main living quarters, a pool house with cantilevered roof, a Japanese tea house and a glass-walled guest house facing an enormous Zen stone garden. "I like to be in a space where things line up and nothing stands out," says the native-born German. The relentlessly orthogonal Schubert has allowed himself one concession to voluptuousness: a mint-condition 1984 Ferrari 512 BBi "Boxer," gray with black underbody. It took him 11 years to find the one he wanted. And now he's built a garage around it. That garage -- or is it an art gallery with a Ferrari parked in it? -- recently won Maserati and Architectural Digest's Design Driven award for best garage. The contest, with categories for "existing" and "concept" garages, drew 125 entries that can be seen at www.designdriven.us. The winners will be profiled in a special section in the October issue. "Once considered merely an extended function of the home, the garage is now a space where people are finding new inspiration architecturally," according to Giulio Capua, vice president and publisher of Architectural Digest. Schubert's Modernist "garage" -- hereafter I use the word with an asterisk of skepticism -- is a brilliantly lighted 1,200-square-foot space above what will be some kind of workshop/gymnasium. There's a lovely modular couch and two Dodo recliners by Toshiyuki Kita around a metal and stone coffee table. One wall is covered in Homasote, a kind of recycled paper-fiber lapboard, with a single-tier bookshelf built in. Two walls are floor-to-ceiling glass with retractable exterior shades to cut down on the afternoon sunlight. Overhead, the central skylight is artfully bisected with an aluminum enclosure for halogen lights. A flat-screen TV on tracks can traverse the length of the room. The "space" -- as designers insist on calling rooms -- is breathtaking. Beautiful. Exquisite. But a garage? Please. Where are the tools, the work benches, the girlie calendars? Schubert concedes that it isn't a typical, oil-on-the-floor garage, and he's comfortable with that. "I wanted to create a backdrop for the car as a piece of art," he says. The contest had a lot of garages attached to nice homes, but Maserati, which sponsored and judged the competition, "wanted something more. "This is a space whose only purpose is to enjoy the car." The Design Driven contest is, to be sure, mostly about promoting the Maserati and Architectural Digest brands, but let's take it seriously anyway. What does the Schubert garage exemplify about the changing nature of Americans' relationship to their mobility? First, the notion of the automobile's machine-ness has been abandoned here in favor of the car as objet d'art. There are no wrenches, screwdrivers or battery boosters lying around -- and Schubert will need them if the Ferrari remains true to form. Such a garage is consistent with the fact that modern cars are largely inaccessible to the tinkering, shade tree mechanic. Most people never open the hoods of their cars. And to the extent that self-sufficiency with automobiles is a masculine trait, Schubert's garage strikes me, at any rate, as an oddly neutered space, more like the waiting room of a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon than garage. Schubert's garage also suggests a growing intimacy with the automobile. For about a decade, amenities such as high-end audio, navigation, driver assistance, Bluetooth phones and even Web access have gradually turned the car into a work space, a living space. Schubert's garage returns the favor by bringing the car into the living space. "People in L.A. care so much about their cars and then the cars wind up stuck out in garages," Schubert says. There has always been good reason to separate cars from living space. Cars are kind of stinky and oily. In modern cars, the passive reeking of gas and oil has largely been overcome by strict clean-air requirements that limit out-gassing. (I think Schubert will find sharing a living room with a vintage Ferrari more of a nose-full than he expects. To avoid exhaust fumes when the car is started, Schubert built a hydraulic ramp into the floor. The ramp tilts up about six inches at the front, allowing the car to roll back across a bridge and into the street before it starts. Soon, however, emission-free electric cars will "really open up the design of houses," says Schubert, so that people will be able to drive directly into the home. It would make unloading groceries easier. Schubert looks forward to owning an electric car, and his garage is pre-wired for a high-capacity charger and has 49 solar panels on the roof. But the electric car will have to sleep elsewhere, he says. The Ferrari, he says, "has found its permanent home." To read Neil's reviews of home design and technology, go to latimes.com/majordomo. dan.neil@latimes.com.

Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times

Sign of the Apocalypse: Trabant Returns With an EV

This is as revolting a string of words as you’re likely to see for quite some time: the Trabant is revving up for a comeback. As an electric car.

If that thought doesn’t make a cold shudder run up your spine, then you don’t know what a Trabant is. Simply put, the Trabant is the worst car ever made. It made the Yugo look like the pinnacle of automotive styling and engineering.

We’ve got a soft spot for obscure marques here at Autopia, and you know we love EVs. But if this Cold War relic from what was once East Germany returns, we’re breaking out the stakes and garlic. We know just how bad this could be.

We know because we’ve driven Trabants. You can tell us about the aesthetics of a Pontiac Aztek or the chassis “robustness” of a Citroen 2CV or the reliability of a 1974 Triumph Spitfire, but nothing will prepare you for the incredible awfulness of a Trabant. They have no redeeming qualities. None. They’re slow. They’re aggressively ugly. They spew pollution like a tire fire. They’re so unreliable they make British Leyland look like Toyota. And they’re made out of something called Duroplast, a mixture of recycled cotton waste and phenol resin.

To experience a Trabant is to think you’re the target of some hideous practical joke. But no. The Trabant was a real car — the company that “built” them went belly-up in 1991 — and it really was that bad. Yes, we know the cars have a loyal following of zealots who love them dearly. So did Charles Manson.

The idea of resurrecting the Trabant, even as an EV, even as something squeezed through the Chip Foose filter on PhotoShop, strikes us as being the worst automotive idea since the Ford Nucleon. But that’s the news flying around the Internet today like a bad dream that just won’t stop.

First reported in the German newspaper The Local, it seems that a modernized version of the “car,” to be called the “Trabant nT” will make its debut at the Frankfurt auto show on Sept. 17. Herpa Miniaturmodelle, a toymaker that offers a model of the Trabant, came up with the idea and a “boutique carmaker” called IndiKar hopes to find investors. Good luck with that sales job, guys.

“It’s going to be simple, practical, and in the old tradition of the original,” the paper quoted spokesman Jürgen Schnell saying. “But it won’t be a retro model. It will have the newest technology and be purely electric.”

That’s a good idea, because Trabants were about as clean as the floor of a New York taxicab. Trabants produce nine times the amount of hydrocarbons and five times the carbon monoxides of the average European car in 2007.

“The original Trabant was a small, stinky car,” Herpa spokesman Daniel Stiegler told the BBC in an understatement that makes “Mistakes were made” look forthcoming. “Now we have an e-Trabant which is ecological and economical.”

The e-Trabi could have a range of 100 miles, according to the Financial Times, and Schnell told the paper the car will “be simple, light and easy to maintain.”

Lovely. But even if this new Trabant costs less than a Tata Nano, outperforms a Ferrari 458 Italia and runs as cleanly as MIT’s solar race car, it will only begin to have atoned for the sins of the original.

Image: Herpa Minuaturmodelle

Top 5: Reveals to expect from the Frankfurt Motor Show

August 14, 2009, 12:05 PM by Jodi Lai Hybrid, BMW, Top 5, Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, X1, Bugatti, Ghost, Frankfurt, X6, 7 Series, 458 Italia

With the days getting shorter and back to school ads bombarding our TVs and mailboxes, it means September is looming just around the corner.

For school-goers, September is a dreaded month, but motor heads all over the world anticipate it, as September is the month of the Frankfurt Motor Show: Ten glorious days of everything automotive from wacky concepts, to reveals of high-power art on wheels to a first look at brand new models soon to hit our roads.

The auto show in Frankfurt is one of the biggest and most prestigious in the world, with automakers from all over the globe congregating in Germany to unveil and show off the best of what they have. Besides its sausages, perhaps Frankfurt is best known for its auto show.

Here's a list of the Top 5 things to except out of the International Motor Show in Frankfurt this year, from Sept. 17 to 27.

1. BMW  Bavarian automaker BMW has a few interesting entries in this year's show. It  will be unveiling the much-anticipated X1, its first compact SUV, or "Sport Activity Vehicle," in BMW-speak. The newest entry in the 1 Series lineup, the X1 is aggressively styled and will likely come with a diesel option. It will arrive in Canada in 2011.

BMW is also set to premiere two new hybrid models, an X6 and a 7 Series. Both will run on similar hybrid powertrains and be powered by a 4.4-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 teamed with electric motors. Power output will be huge, but BMW says the X6 and the 7 Series ActiveHybrids will have 20% and 15% better fuel economy than their gas-powered siblings, respectively.

 

2. Ferrari 458 Italia   One of the most anticipated reveals is a brand new, built from the ground up Ferrari 458 Italia. The new sports coupe will have a radical new design that the Italian company says is a huge departure from anything else it has produced. Maybe Ferrari will be kind enough at Frankfurt to rev its mid-mounted 562-horsepower V8 all the way to its sky-high 9,000-rpm redline on the show room floor, just to assure onlookers that the sexy new car will still sound like a traditional Ferrari.

3.  Rolls-Royce Ghost  The maker of stately luxury cars, Rolls-Royce will debut its brand new Ghost at Frankfurt this year. No images have been released yet, but teaser images and artist sketches show four doors and a super low profile. We do know that it will be powered by a massive turbocharged 6.6L V12  that produces 563 hp and 575 pound-feet of torque.

4. Bugatti  The maker of one of the most expensive production cars in the world (the Veyron) is very likely to debut a second model, believed to be called the Bordeaux this September. Although there is no official word from Bugatti, it is said the automaker is set to unveil a W16-powered concept of the mysterious car at Frankfurt to celebrate its centennial birthday.

 

5.  Mazda MX-5 Superlight concept  For the 20th anniversary of the Miata, Mazda will present a new take on its affordable roadster at Frankfurt with a new show car MX-5. The concept roadster was penned at Mazda's design facilities in Frankfurt and features a sporty chassis and no roof, windshield or door handles. Not much else had been made official by Mazda other than the fact the roadster has lost some pounds, which improves performance, handling and fuel economy.

National Post 

Plugging In Long Beach, One Car At A Time

Fourteen years ago, I married my husband because he was kind, smart, trustworthy, had beautiful eyes � and he made me laugh. I didn�t marry him because he was any great environmentalist. Quite the opposite � he was (and still is) an engineer in the petroleum industry. In fact, we used to joke that my job is to clean up the pollution he helps create. So when he came up with the idea of buying the all-electric Tesla roadster, I was pleasantly thrilled � but I had nothing to do with it!After, oh, a good two years of waiting, it�s finally Tesla time. The car arrived two weeks ago and it is quite remarkable. The paint job is the first striking thing (for racing enthusiasts, the blue-and-white color combination was a traditional American color scheme � alongside Ferrari red for Italy, and British racing green). Next is what�s behind the �fuel door�: a glowing light surrounding a receptacle for the charging cord. The light flashes more or less slowly depending on the rate of charge. For now we can charge from a regular 110-volt outlet; at that rate it takes 10 hours to charge the car 40 miles. Since my husband�s one-way commute is only 3 miles (I know, in LA, isn�t that just sick?), this slow charge presents no problem. (A faster charger is available.) Another remarkable thing is the range of the car � theoretically, it�s over 200 miles, though that�s only under certain ideal conditions, including no heat or A/C, or driving much over 55 mph. Still, the car�s practical range is proving to be about 140 miles, and that�s not bad.Then there�s the ride. Last year during our test drive, we were confined to the congested surface streets of Brentwood, but now we can zip along any freeway, and zip we do. This car can go from here to there almost as fast as you can think it � it�s a little like teleporting. Whether you�re going zero or sixty, you�ve got all the pickup you could possibly want, or use (at least in my view). But for me the best part of all is the fact that nothing is coming out of a tailpipe. I�ve said it before, and I�ll say it again: it is wonderful to drive without polluting (on the spot). Of course the energy is coming from somewhere, and that was one of the topics of conversation at the Plug-In 2009 conference this week in Long Beach. Tuesday was �public night,� and following a whirlwind tour of the exhibit hall, we joined about 300 of our closest friends for a Q&A panel discussion with Chris Paine, who directed the movie �Who Killed the Electric Car?,� Chelsea Sexton, a former General Motors EV-1 specialist who appeared in the film, and Bill Nye, �The Science Guy.� All the panelists were excited about plug-in hybrid and electric cars, and were optimistic that their adoption is on an upward swing. Questioners who asked about the sufficiency of electric power if �everyone� switched to electric cars were reassured that this won�t be an obstacle. Using electrical energy to move an electric car, Bill Nye observed, is about three times more efficient, considering the whole energy loop, than the way we do it now using petroleum.I can�t imagine that power companies, whether municipal or private, won�t be happy to find ways to supply us with enough juice for our cars. My friend who works for So Cal Edison confirmed that there is plenty of off-peak power to charge vehicles. Some upgrading of local transformers will be needed to handle the power draw of several vehicles charging on one block. While we�re still a long way from this scenario, it�s worth noting that it�s far easier to control emissions from a central power plant than from millions of tailpipes. Even more intriguing is the idea that our electric vehicles can serve as a vast energy reservoir, storing power in their batteries and able to send it back into the grid when we don�t need it. Bill Nye advised that whoever comes up with that next battery-technology breakthrough is going to get �Bill-Gates rich.� So kids, hit those science textbooks!We concluded our evening in electric-car world by comparing notes with friends who had retrofitted a Geo Metro. A raft of batteries were stored in the rear of the car, connected with two different types of charging outlets for flexibility. Still plenty of cargo space left over, by the way. A repurposed solar panel adorned the hood to help keep the 12-volt battery charged for support systems. Being both ambitious and handy, this couple had done the conversion themselves, but commercial conversions are available. I know most people are not in a position to run out and buy a Tesla, but there are many paths to low- or no-emission cars, and it�s great to know that whatever their motivation, more and more Americans are starting to check them out.

Getting a charge from the Chevy Volt

MILFORD, Mich.--It was brief, but my ride in a Chevy Volt was decidedly fun, even exciting.

On Tuesday, I visited the sprawling Milford Proving Grounds in southeastern Michigan, where General Motors vehicles have been put through the paces since the 1920s.

I was one of the lucky few who got the last ride of the day in a mule, or test version, of the Volt, which was "almost stolen" from the car's development team by Frank Weber, the global vehicle line executive for the Volt, to give journalists a taste of the upcoming plug-in electric sedan.

In addition to being a key figure in the Volt's development, Weber clearly has got a car engineer's love of driving. His high-speed tour around the track gave me a feel for the "driving experience" GM executives tout with the Volt, which is due late next year.

I was prepared for the zippy acceleration. Models will vary of course, but electric vehicles can boast great acceleration--the Tesla Roadster is faster off the line than many sports cars, for instance--and they deliver their full torque at all speeds.

What surprised me though was the handling. As Weber dipped around the couple turns we took, the car seemed to really stick to the road, and I didn't slide off my seat at all.

It makes sense that it felt like the car "hugged" the road. The large, 400-pound battery pack, which is positioned under the back seats, gives the Volt a low center of gravity, and the car has a good weight distribution, GM executives said.

During the drive, Weber--obviously enamored with its performance--said that you feel much closer to the electric car when you drive because of the responsive acceleration. "It's more like flying than driving a vehicle," he said. And, of course, the ride was very quiet as the car was running on batteries.

I've never taken a Lamborghini or Ferrari around a test track, but I can say the Volt's acceleration and handling are noticeably sportier than sedans like the Prius or the alternative fuel SUVs I also drove at Milford.

Watching the video, you can get a feel for how Weber showed off the Volt's acceleration and, on the last turn, the handling.

Under construction
Earlier in the day, I took a tour of GM's pre-production facility at its Tech Center in Warren, Mich., where I gained a bit more insight into the interplay between the Volt's two power sources--its batteries and the internal combustion engine.

The power train, which GM is likely to use in other cars, is designed to go 40 miles on the car's batteries. After that, the engine, which can run on gasoline or E85 ethanol, kicks in. But the car is always running off the electric motors. By contrast, a regular, or parallel, hybrid, nearly always uses both the battery and gasoline engine together.

During the factory tour, though, I learned that it's a tad more complicated than simply switching from battery to gas after 40 miles--one reason why determining miles per gallon is so tricky.

The battery pack for the Chevy Volt at GM's Milford Proving Ground.

Cars and couture: Khaki's of Carmel Ferrari event a festival of ...

Jim Ockert is passionate about cut and color, shape and style, texture and taste. He recognizes it in the landscape and the seascape, in architecture and art, in cars and couture. And every morning, he wakes up early in Carmel, heads outside for some vigorous exercise in the beauty of it all, then composes an ensemble from one of the most enviable closets in the country and heads to work at Khaki's Men's Clothier of Carmel for another day of actualized bliss.

When he and his wife Connie opened Khaki's in the Barnyard Shopping Village some 18 years ago, his goal was to create a life for his family, cater to the lifestyle of his clients, and contribute to community. His dream was to live in a coastal town, raise children in a place that fostered positive experiences, and invest in a business that promoted his passions. His children thrived, and his boutique has become, reportedly, one of the most recognized purveyors of men's premium apparel.

"Every day," he said, "I wake up into my dream. I look around and say, 'Are you kidding me? I live here? I'm doing this?' Every house, every door, every roofline inspires me. What people are doing, where they live, the environment, the events; they all create a context for what I bring to Khaki's."

In an upscale town whose fashionable seem to bring it with them, Ockert took a risk. He went outside the lines to establish a designer apparel store 1 mile outside storied Carmel-by-the-Sea, in a place called "The Barnyard." They Advertisement said no one would find him. He said, "Fashion begins at home." He brought in the finest American and European designers the sartorial savvy would buy. They said no one would buy from him. He now has an international mailing list. His store has doubled in size and has attracted the world's top-tier vendors.

Connie, the back-house maven, is shrewd, subtle, savvy. Ockert operates from center stage, striding, heel-toe throughout the store, his long, lanky frame a moving mannequin draped in spendy apparel. Clients come in to browse, to buy, to socialize and spend time in a place that is equal parts club and couturier.

"Khaki's isn't just a store in this community," said a client. "It is a community."

Saturday afternoon, Khaki's will invest in the wider community by hosting its 11th annual Khaki's of Carmel Ferrari Event, a festival of food, wine and world-class Italian automobiles. Proceeds, at $40 a ticket, will benefit the Carmel Youth Center and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Monterey Bay Area Branch.

"That Khaki's came to us, wanting to donate the proceeds from their event, is extraordinary," said Sandra Silvestri, whose son Joey, now 19, was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at age 2, and who founded the local branch of JDRF so her son would have the impact of support in his community. "Our only other fundraising event is our annual JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes, and we just don't have the manpower to do a second event. For Khaki's to reach out to us and designate us as a co-charity with the Carmel Youth Center, which we support as a family, is perfect for us. Everyone, from the local businesses that contribute to the silent auction, to the participants, seems thrilled that Khaki's is doing this event and that they support this cause."

Saturday the parking lot that flanks Khaki's will convert to an outdoor showroom, featuring Ferraris, Maseratis, Lamborghinis and Alfa Romeos. The automotive atmosphere will be enhanced by live jazz and blues played by the Carmel Rotary Band, and some 12 vineyards and eight restaurants will complement the cars with fine food and wine.

"This event comes off remarkably well, is amazingly successful considering we're not actually events people," said Ockert. "It's a big classy party that's more like a fancy picnic, where everyone has fun. Local businesses and my vendors have contributed generously to the silent auction, which always generates a lot of money for our charities.

"Among the offerings, Alan Silvestri is donating an evening of music and food at his home, and Rich Pepe from Little Napoli has put together an evening of food and music. Walter Georis of Casanova Restaurant put together a special presentation of food and wine pairings, and Sheid Winery will host a party for 10 at their tasting room. The Clement Hotel donated a $500 gift certificate. Canali will donate a handmade suit, Paul & Shark gave us a waterproof Italian jacket, and there will be Stetson hats, billfolds, ties, knits and beautiful sweaters."

Ockert's favorite part of the Khaki's of Carmel Ferrari Event, he says, is that he's doing something good for the community. "We really put the business of Khaki's to the side for the day. This is not about couture; it's not even about cars. It's about charity to this community. And, at the end of the day, that's what really feels good."

For more information about Khaki's of Carmel Ferrari Event, call 625-8106 or visit www.khakisofcarmel. To learn more about JDRF Monterey Bay Area Branch and its annual Walk to Cure Diabetes, scheduled on Oct. 25, visit www.jdrf.org.

If you go ·What: 11th annual Khaki's of Carmel Ferrari Event ·When: 4:30-7 p.m. Saturday ·Where: The Barnyard Shopping Village parking lot next to Khaki's Men's Clothier of Carmel ·Tickets: $40, benefits the Carmel Youth Center and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Monterey Bay Area Branch ·Information: 625-8106 or www.khakisofcarmel

La Dolce Vita Automobili SALE: 1970 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 is among ...

1970 Ferrari 365 GT 2 + 2 will be for sale at La Dolce Vita's  auction

2009 is the first year for a very special event to benefit the Shriners Hospital for Children of Northern California, and a new scholarship foundation that will help send an aspiring auto design student on to college: LA DOLCE VITA AUTOMOBILI. It has been a tradition for the better part of two decades to either show off your Italian car at  Black Horse Golf Course or show up as a guest ready to stroll on foot while "sightseeing" touring through hundreds of exotic cars and unique ultra-luxury vehicles on display during the famous Monterey Car Week in Northern California. It's also been a long standing tradition for car clubs to host Concorso style events  (car show Concours D'Elegance festivals) complete with judging and competitions set on the lush green grass at a country club setting that overlooks the Pacific Coast scenery. Cars like the 1970 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 and some of the finest examples of other Italian exotic cars will be on display for all to see in Monterey, California this week. Fun for families, fun for kids, fun for exotic car lovers, and for car collectors? The rumor is true -- you'll be able to make a bid on this famous and classic Ferrari.

 

Shriners, Masons, come out come out wherever you

are and show your support

for the Shriners Hospital for Children

by attending La Dolce Vita Automobili during Monterey Car Week

 

 

 

SPECIAL FERRARI HEADED TO AUCTION

Drew Alcazar, owner of Russo and Steele Auction Company, holds an evening auction during this very 
weekend. Russo and Steele specializes in the sale of exceptional Muscle Cars and Sports Cars and
this year, he's displaying one of his star cars by day on the green at La Dolce Vita Automobili at Black Horse -- the tantalizing beauty cited in the title to this article.

This impeccable 1970 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 recently had a 35,000 mile engine rebuild by Bob Wallace
in Phoenix, Arizona. The interior has been completely restored. The trunk has been completely re-outfitted with all the bells and whistles including spare, tools, books and jack. The car is flawless.

This Ferrari received a Gold award at the 2006 FCNA Cavallino event and scored the coveted FCNA
Platinum award at last year's 2008 Monterey weekend. Awards like this are tough to achieve and every
single inch of the car is reviewed in the judging process including things like whether or not the hood and both doors are perfectly aligned.

Awards like these make Vintage Ferraris as well as other classic cars highly desirable to collectors and enthusiasts and typically mean the car will bring much higher dollar values when sold at an auction than if the car hadn't competed and actually won high honors.

Following the show, the car will be up for grabs to the highest bidder at the evening sale over the weekend. As such, ladies and gentlemen -- if you are a famous exotic car collector, you'll want to have your pen and checkbook or American Express Black Card ready.

 

La Dolce Vita Automobili: Taste the Italian Flavor

 

BACK TO SCHOOL BLUES? EDUCATIONAL VACATION ACTIVITY "THING TO DO" FOR FAMILIES  WITH CHILDREN

You won't want to miss the family friendly exotic car festival LA DOLCE VITA AUTOMOBILI at Black Horse on Friday August 14, 2009.

Hosted by a core group of some of the finest volunteers and car show event promoters across the country who were tired of the shows that provided a feeling that the general population of the peninsula community would be excluded, the event promised to be the most elegant yet family friendly way to spend a summer day with children and fellow like minded car enthusiasts.

And the best part? IT WON'T END UP COSTING YOU A FORTUNE. Ticket prices are very reasonable, and with each adult ticket purchased guests will receive a complimentary FREE ADMISSION ticket for CHILDREN. That means La Dolce Vita, while celebrating the good life and all things Italian, really and truly is recession proof and all-American.

 

 

Matching pedigrees?

INTERVIEW NANDHAMALEE BHIROMBHAKDI

Matching pedigrees? With a well-heeled local joint venture now in the saddle, Italy's 'prancing horse' seems well positioned to service its customer base here Writer: ALFRED THA HLA Published: 14/08/2009 at 12:00 AM Newspaper section: Motoring

What do you do with small change of 100 million baht doled out in equal portions by a beer-brewing entrepreneur and the maker of the world's best-selling energy drink?

Easy. Start flogging Ferraris.

A recent meeting with the new official face of Ferrari in Thailand starts off badly when this writer's MP3 recorder decides not to cooperate right at the start of the interview. Then things get even more awkward after I make the gaffe of implying that Nandhamalee Bhirombhakdi is a housewife (just because she's the mother of three-year old twins). If looks could kill ...

(Let it be noted for the record that long before she became managing director of Cavallino Motors Nandhamalee had carved out a successful career for herself in banking.)

"You could say it was by luck that we ended up with this project [the Ferrari distributorship]. It was a dinner meeting between my husband [Voravudh Bhirombhakdi] and Khun Chalerm of Krating Daeng [maker of the Red Bull energy drink] who happened to be among the first to receive a letter of invitation from Ferrari SpA to pitch for the licence."

Cavallino Motors - the firm's name comes from Ferrari's prancing horse (cavallino rampante) logo - has Vudha Bhirombhakdi and Chalerm Yoovidhya as chairman and president, respectively, of the board of directors.

Females are few and far between when it comes to heading up car operations in this part of the world; and this is also a first for Ferrari in Thailand. So how does she view this challenge and what does she have to offer?

"I was raised abroad for over half of my life and have been with Citibank for eight years which gives me an edge on professionalism. The way I work, the way I deal with international brands won the trust of the management team [Vudha and Chalerm] in addition to the approval of Ferrari SpA despite this being a male-dominated business."

Yet I find it difficult to believe that the bona fide socialite sitting here in front of me is capable of getting passionate about Ferraris, let alone tag along with her hubby to Formula One races (where Ferrari fans are referred to as tifosi).

"I share my husband's passion for the brand," Nandhamalee protests. "I began dating him when I was 16. And for the past 20 years, be it at F1 races or when he's fixing his father's cars, I'm always listening to him talk about the allure of Ferrari and why each car is distinctively different.

"Ferrari is the top supercar; it's the most perfect. I drove a 430 and a 599 on the race track and that gives me an edge."

Given the frequency with which Ferrari licence-holders change here, they're practically a dime a dozen. The quest for a legitimate distributor has been a long one but Cavallino Motors would seem to fit the bill given that it is a joint venture between two highly respected local business empires who appear to view their investment as long term and who, in addition to the aforementioned dosh, have earmarked a three-rai plot on New Phetchaburi Road for an integrated showroom and service centre. And there are surely back-office synergies to be gained from Singha and Red Bull, both long-established brands.

"Ferrari has an Asia-Pacific presence in Shanghai, which contributes to our ability to work as the same family. From the outlook of the investment in training, it definitely is a long-term business but the most important element is passion!"

A Motoring source once described the local Ferrari distributorship as "a carcass with vultures hovering". There certainly were many takers for what was seen as a prestigious prize but most soon realised the difficulty of making ends meet due to the limited number of Ferraris sold here.

Nandhamalee concedes that sales alone won't generate sufficient revenue and notes, "servicing with a commitment to world-class standards of the roughly 350 Ferraris [new and classic models] in Thailand is how to view this business.

"Service will be our strength since high import taxes place natural limitations on the number of Ferraris sold. But we still hope to grow our business."

She won't disclose Cavallino's sales target but reveals that a temporary showroom will be built next month at 2124 New Phetchaburi Road and that the number of work-bays will be expanded from the initial two to seven by the end of the first quarter of 2010.

Relate Search: Khun Chalerm of Krating Daeng, Vudha Bhirombhakdi and Chalerm Yoovidhya

Review: Nissan 370Z

The 240Z turned into the 260Z, which was a 2+2, gained a bit of weight in the 80s and became the 300Z.

In the 90s, Nissan (the Datsun name was long gone) added a lot of horsepower and a couple of turbochargers and it became the 300ZX Turbo.

Then Nissan stopped making it and the world was Z-less until 2003, when it launched the 350Z.

Now you know the history of Nissan's sports car and I've proved I'm a proper car anorak and proud of it.

History might be repeating itself because here we have the 370Z
(though like the 350 it's only a two-seater).

What the £26,690 370Z gives you is a very broad grin. I would say the grin that developed while larking around in the Nissan was perhaps a few millimetres wider than the one measured in last week's £99k Audi R8 V10.

The Z's a bit like an oriental Ford Mustang. It's a little crude, blunt instrument - and extremely easy to enjoy.

You'd expect transforming the 350Z into the 370Z would mean drilling larger holes in the engine and bumping it up to 3700cc.

But Nissan has also made it shorter by 65mm and its wheelbase is 100mm less.

It should make the 370Z more agile but I'd be surprised if you noticed it on the road. You will notice the performance.

The extra 200cc has lifted power from 309bhp to 326bhp. It'll do 0-62mph in 5sec and has a top speed of 155mph.

By modern standards that's not amazingly fast but it's still swift for a car under £30k.

The V6 starts with the press of a button and ticks over with a nice burble.

The engine, though it likes to rev to 7,000rpm to produce full power, is a bit lazy. Prod the throttle and it slowly revs as the sound gets fruity.

You can buy an automatic Z but the standard six-speed manual is right and proper for this car.

It also comes with a new bit of tech: it can do the heel and toeing for you.

If you think that's something to do with ballroom dancing, I'll explain... If, when on a track, you come to a sharp corner after a long straight and change from sixth to first,
the engine screams and the rear is unbalanced as you turn in, which might put you
into a spin.

To avoid this, racing drivers blip the throttle with their heel and press the brake at the same time. This smooths the gear change and doesn't unbalance the car (best practised off the public road - if you get it wrong you might go through a shop window.) Press a button and the 370Z blips the throttle for you.

All semi-automatic gearboxes do it but the 370Z is the first with a traditional box to do it.

Just like the 350Z and the old 240Z, the 370Z is a simple sports car that gives almost all the thrills of cars costing four times as much.

It's an old-fashioned hairy-chested sports car for people who don't necessarily have hair on their chests.

Like my wife Mindy, who has a soft spot for it.

THE FACTS
Nissan 370Z
Price: £26,690
Engine: 3696cc, V6, 326bhp
0-62mph: 5.0sec
Fuel consumption: 26.9mpg

Road America: Risi Competizione Ferrari ALMS Race Preview

Posted by: MSulka on Sunday, August 09, 2009 - 06:15 PM Dixon Wins At Mid-Ohio, Now Leads IndyCar All-time Win List By Anne ProffitGanassi IndyCar driver Scott Dixon celebrates his victory with teammate Dario Franchitti who finished third.Credit: PaddockTalk/Paul Hurley

Scott Dixon posted a dominating, 29.7803-second victory in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and secured his 20th Indy Racing League IndyCar Series victory, giving the reigning champion sole possession of the most wins in series history. He passed Sam Hornish Jr., who held that distinction with 19 IRL victories until today.

Dixon took the lead (for the final time) from Justin Wilson on the 37th lap – using rolling chicane Milka Duno to accomplish the feat – and, aside from pit stop swaps that made the five lead changes between three drivers, Briscoe, Wilson and Dixon, the winner leading the most laps, 51.

Dixon made his fourth win of the season look easy as he ran the last portion of the race on the primary tire while many of his pursuers opted for the optional, red Firestone Firehawk rubber.

“The car was great from the get-go,” he said. Dixon only used his Honda button seven of an available 15 times in posting this victory. “It helped in a few circumstances but I never used it when I wasn’t actually racing somebody. The button helped with gearshifts and on the back straight we were about a mile and a half quicker” than without it. Read more... (12640 bytes more) Hot News! · USA-Mexico FIFA World Cup Qualifying Delivers Record Audience for ESPN Deportes (Aug 14, 2009)· Grand-Am To Hold Special Test At Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Aug 13, 2009)· Michigan: JTG NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Aug 13, 2009)· MIS Unveils New And Improved Infield Bus To Lucky Fan (Aug 13, 2009)· Aston Martin Asia Cup: Highly Charged Races See A Change Of Leader (Aug 13, 2009)· Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge Awards Ceremony Joins Rolex Champions Banquet (Aug 13, 2009)· MX-5 Cup Round Seven Heads to Road America (Aug 13, 2009)· RCR To Celebrate 40th Anniversary Fan Day (Aug 13, 2009)· Road America: Risi Competizione Ferrari ALMS Race Preview (Aug 13, 2009)· Wood Brothers Sporting New Colors And Sponsor At Michigan NASCAR Sprint Cup Race (Aug 13, 2009)· F2: Natacha Gachnang Targets Top Ten At Donington (Aug 13, 2009)· Road America: Team CytoSport ALMS Race Preview (Aug 13, 2009)· Michigan: Robby Gordon NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview (Aug 13, 2009)· F1 Analyst Matchett Gets Unprecedented Access Behind The Scenes At Ferrari HQ (Aug 13, 2009)· FIA Presidential Candidate Ari Vatanen Announces Cabinet Members (Aug 13, 2009)· U R Fired (Aug 13, 2009)· F1: Canadian Grand Prix A Done Deal ??? (Aug 13, 2009)· Brno's MotoGP Weekend Warms Up With Thursday Activities (Aug 13, 2009)· Announcement - Engines Sealed For New MotoGP Class Regulation (Aug 13, 2009)· Road America: Patron Highcroft ALMS Race Preview (Aug 13, 2009)· TRG Takes Rolex Koni Porsche To Trois-Rivieres (Aug 13, 2009)· Road America: Bryce Miller ALMS Race Preview (Aug 13, 2009)· Atlantic Championship Battle Moves North of the Border to Grand-Prix de Trois-Rivieres (Aug 13, 2009)· IOC Approves New Events For 2012 London Olympic Games (Aug 13, 2009)· Michigan International Speedway Implements Fan Texting Service In Grandstands (Aug 13, 2009) Latest Road Test · Road Test: 2009 Chrysler Town & Country Touring and Dodge Grand Caravan (Jun 30, 2009) [ Click Me ] Past Articles Sunday, August 09 ·

F1 Analyst Matchett Gets Unprecedented Access Behind The Scenes At ...

Posted by: ASkyler on Monday, August 10, 2009 - 03:30 PM Watkins Glen: NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Results - Stewart, Chevrolet Win!Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Old Spice Chevrolet, won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at Watkins Glen International on Monday in Watkins Glen, N.Y.Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

Worrying about fuel all the way to the checkered flag, Tony Stewart and his No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet won the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen (23rd Running), his 36th victory in 378 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. This is his third victory and 18th top-10 finish in 2009. This is also his fifth victory and ninth top-10 finish in 11 races at Watkins Glen International.

Marcos Ambrose won the NASCAR Nationwide race on Saturday, today he and his No. 47 Little Debbie/Kingsford/Clorox Toyota grabbed second to post his second top-10 finish in two races at Watkins Glen International. It is also his sixth top-10 finish in 2009.

Carl Edwards and his No. 99 Aflac Ford took the third place result as he posted his fourth top-10 finish in five races at Watkins Glen International.

Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle rounded out the top five with Juan Montoya close behind in sixth.

Kurt Busch gave Dodge their best result of the afternoon, he finished seventh.

Max Papis (eighth) was the highest finishing rookie.

Tony Stewart leads the point standings by 260 points over Jimmie Johnson. Read more... (29834 bytes more)

The fast and the curious

Calvin Joa Geis with his Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder in Dubai. Stephen Lock / The National

If you feel the need for speed � preferably in one-hour doses � then Calvin Geis is your manCalvin Joa Geis took out his business card and held it up proudly, as if it were a snapshot of a newborn infant. �Look at the phone number,� he said. �What does it spell?� It was hard to say � the card was a constellation of names, numbers, addresses, logos and other sundry details. �Look,� he said again, pointing to the bottom right-hand corner: �055-No-Speed�. He waited a beat before moving his thumb, which had been obscuring an additional word, written in parentheses: �Limit�.

�See?� the German entrepreneur said, beaming. �See?�Meet-Speed, the company Geis brought to Dubai six months ago, represents a rather novel business concept � part car rental firm, part driving school, part bungee jump. Visitors to the online marketplace Dubizzle might have noticed the outfit�s frequent postings: �Has it been your dream to experience the thrilling, exciting and heart beating drive in a Lamborghini or a Ferrari?�

The idea behind Meet-Speed is this: there is a certain type of individual (young, male, automotively inclined) who will happily shell out between Dh1,000 and Dh1,500 to spend an hour behind the wheel of an extravagant sports car � shades on, top down, a jaunty elbow resting on the driver�s-side door. Included in the price is a crash course in driving the car, conducted mostly on the road, at high speeds. Clients are also provided with photographic proof of their trip, along with the opportunity to post a review on the Meet-Speed website.

�This is my idea, my concept,� said Geis. �Nobody else is doing this.�Geis was sitting in the lobby of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, which serves as an informal base for his company (Meet-Speed has an �understanding� with the management). He had just dropped off a client, an accountant named Vincent who was staying at the hotel. Vincent had taken the deluxe �Freedom Tour� � which allows you to drive out of town rather than around it � in a bright orange Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. �I feel like a celebrity,� the young man said, his face dripping in the afternoon sun.

When Vincent was asked what kinds of speeds he reached during the drive (the 520-horsepower Spyder is capable of topping 330kmh), Geis interrupted. �He can�t remember,� he said with a laugh, adding, �It�s hard to watch the instruments � you have to keep an eye on the road and an eye on the cameras.� He was understandably eager to point out that he has never had an accident in one of his cars. �Never filed an insurance claim,� he said.

Geis, 42, has the look of a 1980s New Wave icon: black clothes, gel-spiked hair. He used to be a fairly high-profile DJ in his native Frankfurt; his success allowed him to buy his first Ferrari back in the mid-1990s. It was his love for that car, he said, that gave him the inspiration for Meet-Speed. He founded the first incarnation of the company in Stuttgart in 1999, selling one-hour slots on eBay. �It was a big success,� he said. �I had five Ferraris, all kinds of clients.�

Even so, Geis wasn�t really making any money. The overheads in Germany were too high, the season too short. �There were only three or four good months, and even then it was raining,� he said. �And, you know, these cars in the rain, they are really deadly.� So Geis started looking to places with more sunshine, like Italy or Spain. By chance, he visited Dubai a while back and decided he�d found the perfect spot. He sold his fleet of Ferraris, shut down his operations and headed for the Middle East.

�Dubai was all about style, appearance and luxury,� he said. �Sitting on the plane on the way here, I was making all these plans in my head.� Thanks to the economic slump, however, Geis�s plans have had to be revised. The company now operates two vehicles as opposed to five � the Lamborghini and a red Ferrari F430 � and these are leased rather than owned. �It�s been difficult to establish the business,� he said. �I�m not so happy with the timing, of course.�

Having endured a slow summer, Geis is confident things will pick up, and is looking to expand when they do. �People have a passion for this,� he said. �I took a man out and he told me after: �If I die tomorrow, I die happy.�� Another client, in a review on the company website, wrote: �Obviously the main thrill is driving the car, but with that you also get to �live the life� � to be a millionaire playboy for an hour.�

Asked if he expects to ever live the real playboy life on the back of Meet-Speed, Geis laughed: �No, no, no, no, no, no, no.� Later, with this reporter driving the Lamborghini at dreadful speeds through Dubai Media City, Geis looked more relaxed than he had all afternoon. Every time the vehicle lurched forward, or shuddered to an uncertain halt, he got happier still. �Listen to that!� he shouted above the car�s urgent growl. �Music! A symphony!�

When the white-knuckle joyride was over, the Lamborghini was returned to the hotel car park, where it remained overnight. Geis, it turns out, makes a policy of not driving company vehicles after hours; he likes to keep the mileage down. So how does he get about? �I drive a small rental car,� he said solemnly. �A Toyota.�* Chris Wright

Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni (2009) CAR review

Because the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 isn't quite enough for everyone, there's now a less-is-more version. With no front driveshaft and all the power from the 5.2-litre V10 going to the rear wheels, this is the limited edition LP550-2 Valentino Balboni, and a chance to help shift a few more cars, deflect attention from the new Ferrari 458 Italia, and finally silence those whingers who claim that Lambos aren’t real drivers cars. Wonder how many have actually driven one?

So what’s the Balboni bit about in the Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni name?

Valentino Balboni is Lamborghini’s recently retired test driver, a man who worked under Ferrucio Lamborghini himself when the company was still knocking out Miuras. Just 250 units of this special Gallardo will be made to honour Balboni’s 41 year association with the firm. And since much of his time was spent wrestling with lairy rear-drive supercars, Balboni the car fittingly does without the standard Gallardo’s front differential and driveshafts.

That’s not all it does without, judging by the name. Where did the 10bhp go?

Ditching the front shaft and diff has cut the weight 30kg to 1380kg, although that’s without fluids – say 1480kg measured the conventional way. That means that the rear-driver still delivers a better power to weight ratio even with 543bhp (550ps) instead of 552bhp. But why reduce it at all? Because Lamborghini doesn’t want the rear driver overshadowing the four-wheel drive car.

And does it?

On paper, no. Zero to 62mph takes 3.9sec, two tenths longer because of the inferior traction and it suffers the ignominy of failing to crack 200mph thanks to the power reduction. Oh, the shame!

Forget all that and remember the power-to-weight ratio. Where it counts, on the road, the Balboni is every bit as rapid as the 560, whatever the performance figures and oddly muted exhaust note suggests. Compared with the Murcielago’s V12, the direct-injection V10 is buttery smooth and was perfectly matched in our test car to an old fashioned six-speed manual gearbox. Don’t be intimidated by the open metal gate – the change is slick and the clutch no heavier than a family car’s. You can still pay extra for the e-gear semi-auto if you wish.

>> Click 'Next' below to read more of our Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni first drive

Doug Casey on Cars – Past, Present, and Future

Doug Casey on Cars � Past, Present, and Future

(Interviewed by Louis James, International Speculator)

L: Doug, last week we talked about energy, including your thoughts on what�s in store for the oil markets. That naturally leads me to ask about something that I know has been near and dear to your heart: the automobile. Especially high-performance cars � which were the basis of your first capitalist venture.

Doug: It�s appropriate that we talk about cars now, with the recent bankruptcy of General Motors. I�ve always been interested in cars. The first car I had was a 1964 Pontiac GTO, with the tri-power and all the extras. Throughout my life, I�ve always had high-performance cars. I had a couple 289 Cobras. I had a 427 Cobra.

And yes, the first business I got into was importing Ferraris to the United States. This was in 1967. In those days, there was a relatively small middle class in Europe. So you could either afford a new Ferrari, or a new Fiat, but there was no market for used Ferraris, because of the maintenance costs and social strictures that came with owning one. On the other hand, in the United States, there was even more of a middle class to society than there is today, and everybody wanted a used Ferrari.

I was in college at the time, but I saw the opportunity and decided to act on it. I bought a 1962 250 GTE 2+2, in Milano.

L: Was that the four-seater?

Doug: Yes, although the backseats were pretty cramped. It was the car that Ford copied for their 1964 Mustang 2+2, and it was a lot of fun; it had a 3.0 liter V-12 with three 2-barrel Weber carbs. I drove it through a lot of Europe and went to a couple of driving schools, one at Montlh�ry, the autodrome of Paris, the other at Monza in Italy. I then sold it, sight unseen, to a guy in Ohio. The price was so good, he couldn�t resist it.

I went back to Milano to pick out a second Ferrari, a 330 GT 2+2. I had the bit in my teeth � I had plans to refine the business. Who knows, if I had done that, my entire life would have been different. But� Stroke of fate. There was a truck passing a tractor on a blind curve in between the towns of Fribourg and Bern in Switzerland, and I had a catastrophic accident. It put me in the hospital for six weeks.

That put paid to my first business venture of importing used exotic cars to the United States, but I�ve stayed interested in cars since then.

L: What�s your favorite car today?

Doug: Well, I�ve got to say that dollar for dollar, pound for pound, you can�t beat a Corvette. It�s too bad it�s a General Motors product � it�s one of the very few that General Motors makes that�s a decent car. More than decent; the Corvette is a fantastic car. It�s a high-performance, light-weight, fine-handling economy car.

I have a Corvette I bought in 2004, and the car averages about 23 mpg in the city, and about 26 or 27 mpg on the highway. In fact, I�ve noticed that while cruising in it over 100 miles per hour, even then, it averaged 26 mpg, according to the instant readout.

L: I always thought you were joking about Corvettes being economy cars, but it�s true. My 2008 gets 30 mpg at 70 on a level highway � at that speed, it�s barely ticking over at about 1,500 rpm. My average fuel economy, for the entire time I�ve had the car, including city driving and some racing, is 23.4 mpg. I bought the car at your suggestion, because most of the time I drive, I�m driving by myself to an airport or to business meetings. It was silly to be driving my nine-passenger SUV like that � it gets literally half the mileage, and it�s hard to park the beast in Vancouver to boot. For folks who drive a lot by themselves, or with just one passenger, the Corvette actually is an economy car.

Doug: Yes, they�re fantastic cars. They don�t need maintenance. They use very little fuel. They don�t rust. If anyone�s looking for a high-performance car, I�d suggest the Corvette be the first on their list.

In New Zealand, where I live three months of the year, I�ve got a Toyota Supra Twin Turbo, which is almost as fast as the Corvette but isn�t nearly as much fun. I�ve also got a Mazda RX-7, fantastic car, but I�m just too big to drive it comfortably. I let my normal-size friends who come to visit use it.

In Aspen, I�ve got a Porsche, the last of the air-cooled twin turbos with four-wheel drive, and it�s a lot of fun to drive. But when I�m driving into town and I have to decide whether to take the Porsche or the Corvette, I usually take the Vette. The Porsche is actually faster, handles better, and in a road race, it�d probably win, but the Corvette is just more fun to drive.

�L: So, what�s the ratio, dollar for dollar, as you say. The Porsche is a little faster, handles a little better, but it costs � what � three times more? Four?

Doug: In 1996, the year I bought my Porsche, it cost $105,000. That�s about $144,000 in current dollars. In 2004, when I bought my Vette, I paid about $40,000 for it, which is about $46,000 today. So in real terms, the Porsche is more than three times more expensive � but it�s not three times as much fun. And the Porsche doesn�t even give you a cup holder. [Laughs] And I promise you, when you change the oil or have anything done on the Porsche, it�s going to cost you two or three times what it costs on the Vette as well.

The only car I�m looking at that I�d kinda like to get right now is a Ford GT. Perhaps that�s because I have a soft spot in my heart for the Cobras from the �60s. I�ve driven one of the GTs � which they no longer make � and they�re actually fantastic cars. The problem, however, is that the roads in the U.S. are full of police, and they�re full of other cars. These days, if the police pull you over for driving a car like the GT at the speeds that would be the whole point of owning the car, they�ll take your license and they might even take your car.

I mean, in the �60s, when I was a bit wild and crazy, I was in a few road races with the police. And what would happen? They might throw you in jail for a night, give you a series of $50 tickets, and it was no big deal. I speak from personal experience.

But now it�s serious business, and not just in the United States. In many countries in the world, if you�re caught exceeding the speed limit by too much, you�re in for some very serious consequences. That�s one of the pluses about Argentina. Wide-open roads, few police, and they have a very Italian attitude towards speeding. Actually, I�m thinking of putting in a quarter-mile dirt track near Estancia de Cafayate as an additional amenity� dirt-tracking some cars with roll cages with a few friends is my idea of a good time.

�L: You�ve got that right � fortunately, there�s a race track not far from where I live. With GM having gone bankrupt, what do you think will happen to the Corvette?

Doug: With GM having become a state-owned enterprise, I wonder if � just on general principles � I wonder if they won�t finally kill the Corvette. The administration might like to see it replaced with some dim-bulb Birkenstock car. So, not only should anyone looking for a performance vehicle put the Corvette first on their list, they should think about moving quickly if they want a new one.

Actually, when it comes to exotic cars, I think the market in them is going to collapse in the near future. That�s especially so for Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Aston Martins, things of that nature.

That�s for several reasons. First, there�s every reason to believe that the price of oil is going to go way up, so people are going to be driving a lot less. Second, the social environment is going to be one in which you don�t want to look like some rich guy who�s still living in the �80s or �90s, driving an exotic car. Third, people are just not going to be able to afford these kinds of cars in the same numbers � and a lot of the people who have them are going to be selling them.

There was a huge boom in exotic cars from the late �80s to the early �00s, so I think the prices on them are going to collapse. Plus, the world really is going to switch over to hybrids and electric cars. So, if you want a Lamborghini and are willing to wait a few years, I think you�re going to be able to pick up a real bargain.

In the mid-�80s, in the newsletter, I recommended buying �60s muscle cars as a speculation. I personally bought a 1970 Herb Adams modified Trans Am, but sold it way too soon because I didn�t have a practical place to store it� really dumb of me. The peak came about four years ago when I saw a couple of Baby Boomers, guys my age, who bid a 1970 426 Hemi Dodge Charger up to $2 million. I couldn�t believe it. Obviously they really wanted that car back in the day, but couldn�t afford it then.

But those days are over for a good many years to come. Probably a couple generations. Lots of cars like that will wind up in barns, and what was once $4,000, then $2 million, will again go for whatever the equivalent of $4,000 is then�

L: So, how about those hybrids and all-electric vehicles � have you test-driven a Tesla Roadster?

Doug: No, but I�d like to try one. I have driven a Prius, which is not an unpleasant little car to drive, but it�s just simple transportation. Hardly what I�d call a fun ride.

L: If I recall the numbers correctly, the Tesla Roadster accelerates at about the same rate as my Corvette � but it does it constantly from zero to 125 mph. And it does it without changing gears. So, in any situation in which you�re not worried about your top speed, I could imagine that being a lot of fun.

Doug: Yes, I�m all for the new generation of electric cars that are going to be coming out. Some of them are going to have excellent technology and be great fun to drive.

I think it�s criminal, the way the government is trying to keep dinosaurs like General Motors and Chrysler alive. These things have been brain-dead � run by accountants � for decades. Whereas there are new companies, like Tesla and others, being put together by a new generation of car guys, that look to be able to build fantastic cars that are fun to drive. Unfortunately, the governments of the world make it so hard to start a new venture, with all the regulations and so forth. So, instead of having hundreds of new electric car companies, which we would � and should � have, just as we had hundreds of gasoline-powered car companies a hundred years ago, we�re going to have just a few. The state is the enemy of everything good and enjoyable in the world.

When I think of things as simple as cars, it really brings me back to a basic question I often ask people. It draws the line. And the question is: Do you hate the state or not?

You know my answer. The state is really the great predator. It�s stalking you, and your standard of living, and your life. The state is not only keeping automotive technology twenty or thirty years behind the times, but it�s keeping all technology from reaching levels most people think of as being only science fiction, like Star Trek.

L: I hope you�re right, because forms of government change over time, and I believe the state as we know it was an industrial-era form that will not last long in the information age. Once it�s out of the way, we may get to see some of your Star Trek technology.

Meanwhile, what about investment implications today? Obviously, you�re not a GM fan, but they are coming out with an all-electric vehicle, and so is Ford and the Japanese too. Would you buy any of them or just the new innovators like Tesla?

Doug : I wouldn�t touch the big companies, but getting into a start-up company in heavily regulated environment is really tough. With the government trying to keep the old dinosaurs alive and to keep their bloated, overpaid labor forces in their uneconomic jobs, they are not going to make it easy for the real green shoots � which would be the new entrepreneurs. Fact is, as I said before, that there should be hundreds of new auto companies, but there are only a half dozen or so serious ones around the world at this point.

Would I invest in them, if possible? That�s very iffy. They are now going to be competing against what is becoming, effectively, a government monopoly.�

L: Okay, well, how about farther up the food chain? What about suppliers, especially the battery manufacturers, and the energy metals miners?

Doug: Sure. I�d be much more prone to invest in a company that produces lithium, for example, because everyone�s going to need it for car batteries. And that�s true whether it�s a government-run car company or an entrepreneurial company. That�s because lithium batteries deliver the most power per weight of any battery technology on the market. So I�d be much more inclined to bet on something like a lithium explorer or producer than on a new car company.

Remember, Warren Buffett didn�t become as successful as he is by buying every new start-up idea that comes along (in which everything that can go wrong usually does). He can�t look at small companies because of the size of the assets he manages, but if he could, he wouldn�t even think of them unless they fit Graham-Dodd parameters. That means they�ve got to have a solid balance sheet, five years of growing earnings, etc., etc. Buying into a new car company is pure pie-in-the-sky speculation, not investing.�

L: So, in your view, the best way to bet on the current automotive trend is to buy stocks related to the metals that will go into new generations of car batteries, and the energy commodities that will generate the electricity needed to charge those batteries. These are the kinds of speculations we follow in the Casey Energy Report and the International Speculator.

Doug: Right. And if it�s driving fun you�re interested in, check out the new Corvettes. The Z06 packages give the new Vettes an agility more like that of a fast motorcycle than a car.

L: I sure love mine! Thanks for your time.

Doug: It�s been fun. Till next week.

Do you have a question for Doug?

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