Eric

There is probably no shortage of people who would love to see Tom Cruise careening down the street at 200 mph with only inches separating him and the asphalt.  Well, it appears that Mr. Cruise is about to grant those anti-fans their wish. 

Tom Cruise placed the first advance order for the new Ducati Superbike.  The Ducati Superbike is composed of, among other things, titanium, magnesium, and carbon fiber and is said to reach speeds of up to 200 mph. 

Cruise is expected to take delivery of the Ducati Superbike sometime next week.  Making this event more special is the fact that only 1,500 of the Ducati Superbikes are being produced.  Have to give some love to the cool cats that read the SF Chronicle for their commentary on the Cruise-Superbike story.

As for the price, you know what they say, if you have to ask…Cruise is reportedly shelling out just under $75,000 for his serial 0001 Superbike.  But don’t shed too many tears for the speed-loving celeb.  Cruise is reported to have spent roughly $1 million on just fuel in 2006.  This would be to propel his many other cars, motorcycles, and planes. 

Cruise is, of course, fortunate that his near limitless wealth enables him to splurge on such toys.  Typically, the need-for-speed crowd has a difficult time dealing with the high costs of their exotic vehicle tastes.  For this reason, many are turning away from the high costs and stress of direct ownership of such exotic machines. 

With respect to cars, exotic car clubs now exist all over the country.  Don’t believe me?  Check out www.exoticcarclubs.com for a nationwide listing of these exotic car clubs.  DFW Elite Car Club (www.dfwelitecarclub.com) is an example of one such exotic car club that caters to those who love exotic cars but either don’t want to deal with or can’t afford ownership of many different exotic cars.  The club boasts an impressive assortment of exotic cars and allows members to choose from several different tiers of membership.  This allows nearly all budgets to gain access to some incredible machines.  Check out this video link to see how the exotic car club operates:

Some people are satisfied with the occasional exotic car fix.  For these people, exotic car rental may be the best solution.  www.rentexoticcars.net provides a nationwide listing of agencies that specialize in exotic car rentals.  DFW Elite Auto Rental (www.dfweliteautorental.com) offers a huge assortment of exotic automobiles for rent.  Everything from vintage classic cars to exotic sports cars is available for rent.  This particular entity has embraced technology by allowing reservations online and posting weekly car rental specials. 

Finally, for those that truly want to submerge themselves in the exotic car experience, there are exotic car tours.  These exotic car tours typically feature day long trips throughout scenic areas and permit participants to sample several different exotic cars.  In the case of DFW Drive Your Dream (www.dfwdriveyourdream.com), the tours are eight hours long and take drivers through some of the most scenic roadways in Texas.  Additionally, there are several different exotic car tour packages to choose from, each with its own set of five exotic cars. 

These options can at least help you pretend to be Tom Cruise for a day.  That is, if you want to.

Written by G.D. Gregory.  If you are interested in having me write stories for you or seeing my portfolio, please contact me at ggpsu@yahoo.com.

 

Source: DUCATI SUPERBIKE READIES FOR TAKEOFF

By Bill Visnic

After the giant outpouring of product at last month’s Detroit auto show, there’s barely time for anyone to come up for air before taking in this week’s Chicago auto show.

At Chicago, automakers, rushing to grapple with a rapidly transitioning U.S. market, will stage a bevy of facelifted models and continue to promote fuel-efficient options such as more-powerful but more-efficient four-cylinder engines.

But more important will be new models and concepts that hope to revive interest in two flagging market segments: vans and compact pickups.

Vans At Center Stage? Vans?

Volkswagen AG will roll out one of the Chicago show’s most-significant production models with the planned unveiling of its Routan, the badge-engineered version of Chrysler LLC’s Dodge Grand Caravan/Chrysler Town & Country – and VW’s first-ever true minivan. There was scant detail prior to the Routan’s unveiling, other than another of VW’s persistently ill-advised names seems certain to once again displease dealers and befuddle the public.

And Ford Motor Co. is expected to show a U.S.-spec version of the Transit Connect commercial van that is enduringly popular in Europe, in what may be a stab to realign the paradigm and instill the Euro “sensibility” (read: fuel economy) in that market.

The Second Coming – Or is it Third – of the “Compact” Pickup

And high gasoline prices are beginning to reinvigorate automakers’ attention to small- to mid-size pickup trucks – a market all but written off a couple years ago. Data from Edmunds.com indicate buyers once again are considering smaller pickups as an alternative to the thirsty full-sizers into which automakers for years have lured them – largely via outsized incentives.

Most intriguing of Chicago’s lesser-than-a-fullsize pickups is General Motors Corp.’s GMC Denali XT concept, a unibody revival of the’70s and’80s Chevy El Camino (few remember GMC’s versions called the Sprint and Caballero). The Denali XT concept doesn’t appear particularly small – unless considered in relation to today’s hulking Sierra pickup – but is built on the new GM global rear-wheel-drive platform slated to underpin the still-gestating new-generation Chevy Camaro. GM’s Pontiac also has suggested it could market a similar car-truck as a family partner to its new G8 sedan.

Suzuki Motor Corp. shows up in Chicago with its new Equator midsize pickup, built courtesy of a new deal with Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. Equator is a rebadged variant of Nissan’s Frontier. The deal may help Nissan deal with some excess capacity at its Smyrna, TN, assembly plant, given Frontier sales nose-dived to around 64,000 units last year.

And although it may not convince many of its save-the-planet credentials – particularly with the V8-toting Alpha model – GM’s Hummer brand unveils its H3T, a version of the flagging H3 SUV with a 5-foot bed and 22 inches added to the wheelbase.

Facelifts And Reworked Engines

The Chicago show’s facelift brigade includes:

• The Ford Edge Sport is a new version of the popular crossover; it will be introduced as a 2009 model in the fall. It looks like a factory-cutomized vehicle with an exterior body kit, special interior and -- believed to be an industry first on a crossover -- standard 20-inch wheels; 22-inch wheels are optional.

• The Mitsubishi Galant sedan and Eclipse coupe. Galant also gets some V6 reworking, while Eclipse mainly sports the Japanese variation of the Audi gaping-trapezoid grille. Its V6 is slightly retuned for a couple extra horses.

• Hyundai’s ’09 Sonata has reworked sheetmetal and what is said to be an all-new interior, reflecting how quickly the standard is rising for luxo-perception in mid-market sedans. The Sonata’s not at all old in the market, yet since the current model’s launch, Hyundai has watched new generations of  Toyota’s Camry and the Honda Accord come to market with markedly richer interiors. The Sonata also features a revised 2.4-liter 4-cylinder that delivers more power yet better fuel economy.

• GMC also will show the ’09 Sierra Hybrid, its fullsize pickup that utilizes GM’s  innovative but pricy Two-Mode hybrid-electric drivetrain to boost combined fuel economy by 25 percent.

• And Chrysler ends the misery by finally unveiling the ’08 Dodge Challenger SRT8. The Challenger is the two-door the world insisted was immediately necessary when the Charger sedan was launched, meaning Chrysler’s enjoyed nearly three full years to dribble out teasers and innuendos about the Challenger. After the protracted buildup, the horsepower wars are winding down; now the Challenger stands a fine chance to set a new record for the most-anticipated new vehicle to launch into immediate irrelevance.

Photos by the manufacturers
1 & 2 - GMC Denali XT concept
3 - 2009 Ford Edge Sport
4 - 2009 GMC Sierra 2-Mode Hybrid
5 - 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8

Source: Chicago Auto Show: Nibbling Around the Edges

Toyota posted a profit that set a new record for a third quarter, thanks to strong sales in emerging markets, but the quarter demonstrated that Toyota’s growth is slowing.

Toyota reported a profit of $4.29 billion, up 7.5 percent from the year ago for the October-December fiscal quarter. Revenues rose 9.2 percent to $62.79 billion. Toyota sold 2.281 million vehicles in the period, up 5.8 percent from a year ago.

Despite setting a quarterly profit, the 7.5-percent increase in income represents the smallest gain since December 2006, and the 9.2-percent sales increase was the smallest gain in 2 ½ years, according to Bloomberg News’s records.

Higher sales in China, Africa and South America offset declining U.S. sales – where sales fell by 8,000 vehicles to 756,000 in the quarter -- and the stronger yen, which cost Toyota $187 million in currency exchange in the quarter.

For the first nine months of its fiscal year, Toyota has earned $13.11 billion in profits, for a 16.4-percent increase, on 11.9-percent higher revenues of $184.54 billion.

Toyota warns fourth-quarter profits may decline due to slowing consumer spending in the U.S. and a stronger yen that is eroding profits, especially from the Japan-made Prius and Lexus models.

Still, Toyota is sticking with its sales forecast for the fiscal year, which ends March 31, at 8.93 million vehicles, up 4.8 percent from the previous fiscal year. The automaker predicts emerging markets ultimately will make up for weak markets of the U.S., Europe and Japan. In North America, Toyota lowered its forecast by 20,000 units to 2.97 million vehicles; it also cut its projections for Japan and Europe. At the same time, Toyota raised sales forecasts for Asia and other regions.

Analysts project Toyota’s full-year profit will be %15.91 billion on $238.61 billion in sales.

Source: Toyota’s Record Quarter Buoyed by Emerging Markets