Alleged Audi dealer email green-lights U.S. R8 V10 orders
Posted by admin on Feb 14, 2009
With the first U.S.-spec Audi R8 FSI V10 going on the block in Boca Raton, earlier reports that the V10-powered supercar might not make it to the States have been debunked. Further proof that Audi isn’t going to leave the U.S. out of the fun comes in the form of a directive to dealers (posted after the break thanks to one of our readers) that confirms the R8 V10 is on the way and, although pricing hasn’t been officially announced, buyers can expect to pay approximately $45,000 more for the V10 model compared to its V8-powered counterpart.
The directive goes on to state that the R8 V10 will be sold in the States as a 2010 model and due to high demand for the current V8 variant, production of the V10 model cannot commence “as rapidly as anticipated in order to produce more V8 models to satisfy existing customer orders.” Buyers who want to hold out from the V10 should expect a lead time of eight to ten months if demand and production of the R8 continues at its current rate.
Tags: Alleged Audi dealer email green-lights U.S. R8 V10 orders
Volkswagen unveils New Beetle
Posted by admin on Feb 14, 2009
Driving a New Beetle convertible alone is enough to make this 30-something, male blogger blush from embarrassment. Now there’s a new, tarted-up version of the neo-Bug called the Blush that sports special colors and trimmings to match the driver’s face. The Blush is painted up in a hue called White Gold – a metallic finish that will likely be the pride of the Real Estate Agent’s parking lot, especially when paired with the red leather interior. Fold the red top down, cover it with the red boot and hit the road. You’ll be spinning the car’s uniquely-patterned 17-inch wheels on your way to the next showing. There’s the standard kit underhood: a 2.5-liter engine and a six-speed automatic transmission. $27,000 is all that separates you from this hunk of awesomeness. We’d love nothing more than to show you a 50-image gallery of the Blush, but VW has released only two interior shots of the car. Maybe they’re embarrassed a bit.
Tags: Volkswagen unveils New Beetle
Transformers 2
Posted by admin on Feb 14, 2009
A commercial for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen aired during the Super Bowl last month that contained new footage for Michael Bay’s upcoming release. At 30 seconds long, however, the ad was more of a teaser than a trailer. The actual theatrical trailer from which the commercial got its footage is two minutes 15 seconds long, and a sneak preview of it was published today on YouTube. The preview was captured using a hand-held video recorder of some sort, so the quality isn’t that great, but we’re working on finding a higher quality version. In the meantime, follow the jump to view the full preview that you’ll soon be watching in theaters that features extended versions of the short clips we saw in that Super Bowl commercial.
Tags: Transformers 2
Sales of new cars in Europe continue to drop in January
Posted by admin on Feb 14, 2009
Sales of new cars in Europe plunged by 27 percent in January year-on-year, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said here on Friday.
A total of 958,500 new cars were sold across the continent in the first month of 2009, the lowest level in 20 years, the ACEA said in a statement.
In Western Europe, new car sales dropped 26.5 percent to 891,505 units.
Iceland, which has been hit badly by the financial crisis, saw the deepest fall of 88.1 percent in new car sales, followed by Ireland with 66.5 percent.
Other countries that suffered steep drops include Spain, which fell by 41.6 percent, Italy by 32.6 percent and Britain by 30.9 percent.
France performed the best, falling 7.9 percent; followed by Germany, which saw a drop of 14.2 percent.
In Eastern Europe, Romania and Hungary witnessed declines of more than 50 percent in sales of new cars, while in the Czech Republic the drop was 12.3 percent.
According to the ACEA, sales of new cars in Europe have declined for nine months in a row.
Statistics show that the auto industry in both Europe and the United States has been greatly impacted by the global financial crisis.
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Economic stimulus includes new car incentives
Posted by admin on Feb 14, 2009
Consumers are expected to receive a tax break for the purchase of a new car this year but it may not have much impact on the steep decline in auto sales.
The $787 billion economic stimulus, which Congress was considering Friday, would give consumers a state sales tax and excise tax deduction on new cars purchased before the end of 2009. Many new car buyers could see savings of hundreds of dollars in next year’s tax filing.
The incentives, worth $1.68 billion, were designed to boost auto sales and increase traffic in dealer showrooms during a dark period for the industry. General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are living off of billions of dollars in government loans and must convince the Obama administration that they can emerge as viable companies.
“No matter how much government aid we give to the Big Three automakers, they can’t survive if consumers don’t start buying cars,” said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who sponsored the legislation.
A car buyer’s savings will vary depend on financing terms, state and local sales tax rates and the buyer’s income. Mikulski’s office estimated a family with an income of $250,000 a year would save about $600 on a new $35,000 car.
Tax preparer Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. estimated that a single taxpayer earning $40,000 a year would save $300 in taxes on the purchase of a $20,000 car. A taxpayer earning $80,000 annually would save $485 in taxes when buying a $30,000 car.
Dealers say they will use the tax deduction as a selling point, but they don’t see it as a major boost to sales, which fell 37 percent in January compared to the previous year, dropping to the lowest levels in nearly three decades. In January, Chrysler’s U.S. sales dropped 55 percent and General Motors saw U.S. sales fall 49 percent.
“At the end of the day, I’m not sure this is enough to do it,” said John Hawkins, who owns eight dealerships in the Los Angeles area. “On the other hand, anything is probably better than nothing.”
An analysis by automotive consulting firm R.L. Polk & Co. predicted the tax incentive would increase U.S. light vehicle sales by 94,000 units this year — roughly 1 percent based on current projections of about 9.6 million annual sales, according to Autodata Corp. R.L. Polk said consumers would receive an average rebate of $330 for each new vehicle purchased.
Families who earn less than $250,000 a year, or $125,000 for individuals, can qualify. The tax break applies only to the first $49,500 of the purchase price and the deduction is “above-the-line,” meaning it can be used by taxpayers who itemize their deductions and by those who do not itemize.
The final version of the bill does not include a deduction on the interest of a loan for a new car, which would have provided a more generous benefit. Polk estimated if the loan interest had been included, the average rebate would have been $1,250 per vehicle and boost sales by 359,000 units in the U.S.
“Sales are so depressed now and consumer confidence has been low that I think it’s important that something is included for auto sales,” said John McEleney, a Clinton, Iowa, auto dealer who is chairman of the National Automotive Dealers Association. “We would have liked to have the whole loaf but I’m happy we got what we did.”
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