Gotham Dream Cars announces Legends Dream Car Tour
Posted by admin on May 17, 2009
It’s fantastic enough to get to drive a Lamborghini - any Lamborghini. Be it a Gallardo, Murcielago, Diablo, Countach, whatever… you won’t have to ask us twice if we want to get behind the wheel. Gotham Dream Cars, an exotic car rental company based in New York, is making driving some of Italy’s finest supercars even more enticing. They have announced the Legends Dream Car Tour, in which a handful of of people willing to part with $1495.00 get to pilot five different Lamborghinis during a half-day of driving. But wait, there’s more! As a bonus, each participant will also get to experience riding shotgun with Valentino Balboni, Lamborghini’s legendary test driver. The tour is only scheduled for two days in June, so those who are interested better sign up before the slots are filled. More details in the press release after the jump, where we’ve also stuck the classic Top Gear clip of Valentino taking Clarkson for a spin in the Diablo VT.
PRESS RELEASE:
MANHATTAN, New York – Gotham Dream Cars (GDC), New York and Miami’s premier “ultra-exotic” car rental company and membership car club, will hold their first-ever Legends Dream Car Tour™ on June 9 and 10, 2009. This intimate event will give car lovers and Lamborghini enthusiasts the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive the latest Lamborghinis alongside famed Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni on more than 150 miles of scenic, open roads in the New York area.
“The Dream Car Tour allows people to escape for a day while driving the cars of their dreams, whether they’re Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, or Aston Martins,” said Noah Lehmann-Haupt, Founder/CEO of Gotham Dream Cars. “We created the Legends Dream Car Tour to offer enthusiasts the chance to blow off some steam and at the same time have an up-close and personal experience with automotive legends. We are excited to announce Valentino Balboni will be our inaugural Grand Marshal, and are pleased to invite enthusiasts to meet, drive with, and commemorate Lamborghini’s most legendary driver in an adrenaline packed, four hour drive.”
The Legends Dream Car Tour will consist of a morning session (8 a.m. - 1 p.m.) and afternoon session (2 p.m. - 7 p.m.) on both June 9 and 10. The Tour will allow participants the chance to spend time with Balboni and pilot several of the newest Lamborghini models including the successor to the best-selling Lamborghini of all time, the Gallardo LP 560-4, along with the Gallardo Spyder, the Murciélago and the ultra-powerful Murciélago LP 640.
Each tour will include breakfast or lunch (depending on which session participants select) at GDC’s clubhouse in Northern New Jersey, a full vehicle overview and safety presentation, and a meet and greet with Balboni. The Tour will then put participants behind the wheel of each of the five cars, including time riding shotgun to Balboni as he leads the tour as the Grand Marshal. Seats for the tour must be reserved in advance, and can be purchased for $1495 per driver. Non-driving passengers can attend free of charge. There will be four tours offered for a total of two days, with space limited to a total of only 40 spots. For more information or to register for the event, visit www.gothamdreamcars.com or call 877.2.GOTHAM.
Gotham Dream Cars is the leading source for “ultra-exotic” vehicle rentals and driving experiences in New York, the Northeast, Miami and South Florida. With the country’s largest dedicated and company-owned fleet of exotic cars, GDC’s 20 plus vehicles are valued at well over $4 million and are available to its clients by the day, weekend, week or more. The company offers traditional rentals, group driving events (The Dream Car Tour™), and an exclusive fractional-style membership club (DreamShare™) that gives car lovers the joy of exotic car ownership without the hassles of maintaining, insuring, or purchasing the often finicky and always expensive high-end vehicles. Please contact Gotham Dream Cars at 877.2.GOTHAM and visit its website at www.gothamdreamcars.com for more information on what sets it apart from the ordinary.
Tags: Gotham Dream Cars, Gotham Dream Cars announces Legends Dream Car Tour, GothamDreamCars, lamborghini, Legends Dream Car Tour, LegendsDreamCarTour, Valentino Balboni, ValentinoBalboni
Vizualtech’s Volvo P1800
Posted by admin on May 17, 2009
Mattias Vocks is an engineer who loves Volvo’s and has done previous work on classic Volco vehicles like the 1967 Amazon wagon. Now he has teamed up with Vizualtech to create a set of renderings for another classic Volvo, the P1800. The car will be based on the classic car but will be modern throughout. There are some style changes like the front end extension of 70mm in order to make room for the Volvo V8 engine currently found in the XC90 and S80. The engine produces 4.4L V8 engine produces 315hp and there are plans to upgrade it to a turbo option that will jack up the power to 550hp. The rendering also shows off new front and rear lights, a rear diffuser, flat underside and wider wheels arches
Tags: Vizualtech’s Volvo P1800, Volvo, Volvo P1800
Novitec Supercharges the Maserati GranTurismo S to 600HP
Posted by admin on May 17, 2009
By far one of the most beatiful GT’s in the market, the Maserati GranTurismo S is also one of the most potent cars ever manufactured by the Italian automaker. But for companies like Novitec, there’s always room for perfection. The German boutique’s latest pitch straps on a supercharger to the GranTurismo S’ V8 boosting output from 440HP to 600HP while the mechanical upgrades are complemented by subtle aerodynamic package and 20 / 21-inch alloy wheels.
In detail, Novitec’s Tridente arm fitted a newly developed supercharger to the GranTurismo S’ 4.7-liter V8 while other changes include a water-to-air intercooler, a new intake system and larger injectors plus new mapping for the engine electronics. The conversion that is priced at €23,681 $31,800 boosts power from 440HP to 600HP while peak torque grows from 490 Nm to 588 Nm at 5,400 rpm.
Tags: Maserati, Maserati GranTurismo, Novitec Supercharges the Maserati GranTurismo S to 600HP
Hyundai Equus coming to the States
Posted by admin on May 17, 2009
Hyundai has been making noise in the luxury car realm with it’s Genesis model but apparently that’s not enough for the ambitious Korean automaker. Now they plan to bring 100 Hyundai Equus sedans to America that will be on display at dealerships across the nation. Hyundai is confident that introducing the Equus would continue a favorable shift of public opinion that was started with the Genesis sedan and coupe. The Equus is designed to go head to head with the BMW 7-series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Lexus LS460. The car is expected to be priced at $75,000. Now the question is will brand obsessed consumers who are in the market for this type of luxury car feel confident enough to choose Hyundai over the other brands mentioned? Would you spend that kind of money for a Hyundai luxury car or would you rather have a BMW or Mercedes? Let us know what you think?
Tags: Hyundai Equus coming to the States
1124 GM Dealerships Will be Terminated by Oct.2010
Posted by admin on May 17, 2009
General Motors has told 1,124 dealerships, most of them small and considered to be poor performers, that their GM franchise agreements likely won’t be extended past October 2010.
But the letters, which are arriving today, say dealers can appeal the decision.
The notifications are part of GM’s plan to trim its U.S. dealership count from 5,969 to 3,600 as part of its government-backed reorganization efforts.
Mark LaNeve, North American sales vice president, told Automotive News that the dealers who are receiving letters account for 7 percent of GM’s total annual 2008 unit sales and currently hold 8 percent, or 65,000 units, of the company’s unsold inventory.
“We don’t anticipate that there’ll be much reversing of these decisions,” LaNeve said. “If they have issues that should be brought to our attention, there is a Web site that they can submit that to. We may have made a mistake, and we may have had bad data.”
LaNeve said GM wants the dealers to wind down their operations, and “we will provide some support to do that,” he said.
“It would be inventory-based support,” he said. “We want them to sell down their inventory.”
Cheaper route
The support would be much less expensive for GM and better than letting cars hit the auctions, he said.
“It’s better for the dealer because he can have an orderly wind-down,” he said. “It gives us more time to migrate our customers to other dealers. It’s a win-win all around.”
LaNeve acknowledged GM will “get some vehicles back,” but didn’t know how many.
He said dealers would get more specific information on how to wind-down their business after June 1.
In addition to the 1,124 dealerships GM notified today, another 470 stores will be cut loose when GM sheds the Hummer, Saab and Saturn brands. GM also has 35 stand-alone Pontiac dealerships that will disappear away when that brand is phased out by the end of 2010.
That will leave about 4,300 dealerships vying for the target goal of 3,600 GM rooftops, LaNeve said.
“Over 90 percent of those will get a chance to stay with GM, but we’re going to communicate to them that they’ll need to step-up,” he said. “Be on channel, well capitalized, well trained etc.
“So those dealers who we have in our plan have a very good chance to earn a good return on their investment. We’ll have a smaller, leaner and more efficient dealer body,” he said.
Surviving dealerships
GM will communicate with the surviving dealers in the next few weeks, LaNeve said.
AutoNation Inc., the nation’s largest dealership group, said six of its dealerships were included in GM’s notifications today. Those six stores represent 0 percent of AutoNation’s 2008 operating income, the company said. Any charges the company takes for those dealer closing will not be significant, AutoNation said in a statement.
“We believe GM’s consolidation plan is a difficult but positive step that will strengthen America’s dealer network and improve dealer profitability over the long term,” AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson said.
“The consolidation plan is consistent with AutoNation’s long-term strategy that we implemented in 2000 to consolidate domestic dealerships and realign our brand mix more towards import and premium luxury franchises.”
Asbury Automotive Group, the sixth-largest U.S. dealership group, said GM will terminate the franchise agreements of two of its stores, both located in Kissimmee, Fla., west of Orlando. The stores affected are a Chevrolet dealership and a Pontiac/Buick/GMC store.
“Our hearts go out to the affected employees,” Asbury CEO Charles Oglesby said in a statement.
Back-to-back
GM’s announcement came a day after Chrysler LLC launched plans to terminate 789, or 25 percent, of its U.S. dealerships, effective June 10. Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 reorganization on April 30.
GM has until June 1 to convince President Barack Obama’s auto task force that it can become viable, in order to qualify for more federal loans beyond the $15.4 billion it has already received and thus avoid a Chapter 11 filing. CEO Fritz Henderson has said a bankruptcy filing now is “probable.”
It’s not clear what the appeals process would be if GM does file for bankruptcy protection.
The e-mail address for dealer questions is GMDealerNetworkquestions@gm.com, the letter said.
“Please understand that our planning in this regard is not finalized, and we are prepared to give you until the end of the month to submit any information you would like to us,” the letter said.
“We know this is a difficult situation. However, we feel that it is best to openly communicate our planning to you. The need for this review and analysis was forced on us by extremely difficult economic conditions both of us face in the industry.”
The U.S. Treasury, in a statement, said the task force was not involved in deciding which dealers, or how many dealers, were part of GM’s announcement. The task force also said it did not influence Chrysler’s decisions.
“The Administration’s commitment to this industry has given both companies a new lease on life,” the statement said.
“By supporting a restructuring that results in stronger car companies — supported by efficient and effective dealer networks — this process will not only provide more stability and certainty for current employees but the prospect for future employment growth.
Tags: 1124 GM Dealerships Will be Terminated by Oct.2010, GM Dealerships