Posts Tagged ‘Exotic Car Rental Miami’

Ferrari F430 Spider - A Great Rental

Courtesy of http://www.ridelust.com/drive-like-the-rich-and-famous/

If you are like most car enthusiasts, your true dream car falls into one of two types: muscle car or high-end exotic cars. Since the dawn of the auto industry, men and women have challenged each other on the open road, eager to build it bigger, faster and more powerful than ever before. Of course, power and luxury come at a price, and in today’s economy many of us simply cannot justify the expense of buying our dream cars. Fortunately, there are several ways to experience your dream ride without making the investment in an exotic car of your own.

Rental Cars

If you are planning a trip to Las Vegas, Miami, New York City or another luxury destination, why not splurge on a high-end ride for the weekend? The travel industry is hurting badly in today’s economy, resulting in some truly amazing flight and hotel deals. With all that money saved on travel and lodging, it is easy to justify a rental car that will make you feel like a true high roller. Gotham Dream Cars / Dream Car Rentals and IMAGE Exotic Car Rentals are just few of the many rental agencies that specialize in exotic rides like the Ferrari F430 Spider and the ever-popular Porsche 911.

Make sure you read the fine print before committing to a rental contract. Most exotic rental car agencies require all drivers to be at least 25 years old, although some will allow younger drivers for an additional fee. Exotic car contracts usually limit the mileage per day or per week, with a very hefty charge for each additional mile. You also need to be certain that you select full insurance coverage, as many regular insurers will not cover specialty cars.

Be especially cautious when renting an exotic car overseas. Driving laws are often quite different than those with which you are familiar. Pick up an international driving permit before you leave home, and check into traffic laws in your destination. Depending on the country, you may be required to drive with your low beams on at all times, carry emergency flares or maintain a particular level of insurance on the car. Also keep in mind that in some countries you are expected to pay traffic fines on the spot, while in other places this will get you arrested for bribery.

Fractional Ownership

If you would rather have your choice of luxury car available where and when you want it, why not consider joining a fractional ownership club? The equivalent of time share for cars, fractional ownership clubs are popping up all over the country.

For maximum flexibility, look for a club that has numerous locations around the country and operates on a point-based system. This will allow you to reserve any car in your point bracket at any location, rather than being tied to a specific model or a specific “home” area.

Prices and structure vary widely between clubs, but some general guidelines apply. You will need to pay a one-time initiation fee along with an annual membership fee. Your annual fee will provide you with a certain number of points that can be redeemed for car rental days. Each car is assigned a point value per rental day. There is usually a system in place for purchasing additional points, which can get you a higher-value car or more rental days during the year.

Take In a Driving Experience

Driving experiences are becoming highly popular around the world. Sponsored by the major exotic car manufacturers such as Ferrari and Porsche, or a Corvette as well as by independent auto clubs, these events provide a wonderful chance to learn to drive an exotic car under the guidance of experts.

Depending on the experience that you choose, you might find yourself tackling an icy winter course in Canada, zipping around hairpin turns in the German mountains or attempting to break speed records on a Formula One track in the parking lot of Disney’s Magic Kingdom.

Driving experiences are available for virtually every exotic car and race car you could imagine. Your available time and budget will determine the length of your experience, from an afternoon to several days. Available experiences run the gamut from speed to winter driving to advanced technical maneuvers. If you prefer to leave the driving to someone else, many courses offer ride-along experiences in which you will ride with a professional driver.

Consider a Lease Buy-Back

If you will be traveling in Europe for an extended period of time, you may be able to enjoy the car of your dreams at a price much lower than a standard rental. The lease buy-back program was started as a means of avoiding the astronomical VAT (value added tax) on new cars in Europe. Here’s how it works.

A brand new car is leased to a tourist from outside Europe. The length of the lease can be anywhere from 17 days to six months. The deal is carried by the leasing agency of New York City, so all you have to pay is the lease fee, which is usually a lot lower than a comparable rental. At the end of the lease period, you return the car which is now “used.” It is then sold to a European buyer as a used car, bypassing the heavy VAT.

If you are a luxury or exotic car enthusiast who simply can’t justify paying for a high-end car of your own, why not try out one or more of the above options? Whether you rent a car for the weekend or join a fractional ownership club, there is no reason not to enjoy the car of your dreams.

We first saw BMW’s X6 ActiveHybrid Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and BMW is wasting no time with real-time development, and, as sources are telling us, you’re even looking at the production sheet-metal with the lightly bulged hood.

http://www.findexotic.com/1002_suvrental/BMWX6.htm

OFFICIAL BMW X6 Site

Styling

With the X6, BMW takes aim at a model that’s been relatively unchallenged in the
SUV segment: the Infiniti FX. The FX is a true performance SUV — it shares its
platform with the Nissan 350Z sports car — and it delivers a relatively engaging
driving experience. Like the X6, it looks more like a coupe than an SUV, though
both have four doors.

The X6 shares a number of design cues with the automaker’s X5 SUV, like a
large twin-kidney grille, pointy headlights and a scalloped hood. The X6,
however, strikes a more aggressive look thanks to large ports and mesh inserts
in the front bumper (see a side-by-side comparison with the 2008 X5).

When you look at the two of these models from the side, however, the
similarities quickly fade. While the X5 had the traditional shape of an SUV, the
X6’s roofline angles downward over the backseat, and it keeps dropping all the
way to the back of the vehicle, giving the X6 coupelike styling with a twist.
The twist is that this is one big vehicle, and many coupes aren’t. The massive
back end of the X6 gives it a hulking presence that seems a little excessive,
and the rear bumper height also makes it difficult to load cargo. Regardless of
whether you like it or are of my wife’s opinion, the X6’s styling makes you
choose a side.

Ride & Handling

The X6 surprised me here, and in a good way. Upon sizing up its aggressive
design, you might think that this is an SUV that’s all about delivering a
performance driving experience, even if it comes at the expense of ride comfort.
That’s not the case at all. While the suspension is definitely firm, it doesn’t
crash over large bumps in the road — which are unfortunately prevalent on the
roads I frequent in Chicago — the way other cars can. What made this even more
surprising was the fact that the X6 I tested came equipped with the Sport
Package, which features an adaptive suspension and can have P275/40R20
performance tires in front and P315/35R20 rubber in back. Even on a sports car
those would be considered extremely aggressive tires. Sharp rises in the road
are met with quite a bit of suspension rebound.

You can tell BMW wants you to think of the X6 as a performance SUV from how
the company has tuned its steering characteristics. Rather than having a
lightweight feel to the wheel, the X6 demands that drivers flex their muscles to
maneuver it. In fact, it doesn’t feel that different from the steering in BMW’s
new small two-door, the 128i. The X6 responds readily to your command, and while
I generally like heavier-feeling steering, non-enthusiast SUV shoppers might
find it to be tedious after awhile.

Going & Stopping

The twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six-cylinder that powers the X6 xDrive35i is the
same engine that impressed us in the 335i and 135i, and it shows itself to be a
capable SUV engine, too.

Even though the six-cylinder uses two turbochargers to make its 300
horsepower and 300 pounds-feet of torque, the engine doesn’t display any of the
negative characteristics in around-town driving — like power lag — that you
might associate with a turbocharged engine; you just get smooth power when you
press the gas pedal. Dropping the six-speed automatic transmission into its
Sport mode shows off the engine’s responsiveness better than regular Drive.

The inline-six should offer plenty of power for most buyers, but BMW also
sells a 400-hp X6 xDrive50i. Gas mileage for the xDrive35i is 15/20 mpg
city/highway; it dips to 13/18 mpg for the xDrive50i.

Toward the end of my time with the X6, an electrical problem cropped up that
nearly brought this SUV to its knees. All of the gauges and displays in the
instrument panel went dead and the drivetrain defaulted to a low-power mode in
which the SUV could still be driven, but with significantly reduced
responsiveness. A BMW dealer was able to bring the X6 back to health, but it was
disconcerting to experience a problem this big in a new vehicle.

The X6 comes with vented disc brakes at all four corners that stop this large
SUV handily. The brake pedal only needs light pressure to engage the brakes,
which are easily controlled.

The Inside

The X6’s cabin is something of a dichotomy. The severe dashboard angles and
technology-laden center console — which features a joystick-style gear selector
for the automatic transmission and the iDrive control knob — might be
intimidating to some drivers, but the rich, upscale materials like wood,
aluminum and soft leather invite you in a way that the design might not.

The front sport seats, however, are quite comfortable. They feature wide
bottom and backrest cushions, include adjustable thigh support, and are covered
in leather and suedelike Alcantara.

Climbing out of the driver’s seat is more of a chore than it should be; in
order to swing your left leg out to reach the ground, you have to clear a wide
rocker panel that without fail rubs against your pants, even when you’re trying
to avoid it. This has always been a problem with the X5, especially in dusty
regions and on road-salt-covered winter roads.

Most SUVs have a bench seat in the second row, but the X6 has two bucket
seats, so its maximum seating capacity is just four. There’s a center console
between the rear seats that has cupholders, storage bins and a 12-volt power
outlet. There’s decent legroom in the backseat, but the X6’s sloping roof
noticeably encroaches on headroom. The rear door openings and the position of
the bucket seats make graceful exits difficult.

Another downside of the X6’s coupelike shape is poor rear visibility; the
rear window is a mere slit in the rearview mirror.

Cargo

Despite the X6’s sloping back end, the SUV has more cargo room than a two-row
X5: 25.5 cubic feet as opposed to the X5’s 21.9 cubic feet. The FX, meanwhile,
has 24.8 cubic feet of space. If you need more room, the X6’s split-folding
backseat folds down nearly flat with the cargo floor to make 59.7 cubic feet of
space.

Safety

As of publication, the X6 hasn’t been crash-tested by the Insurance Institute
for Highway Safety. The SUV comes with a number of standard safety features,
including antilock brakes, side-impact airbags for the front seats, side curtain
airbags, active front head restraints and an electronic stability system.

X6 in the Market

You might be thinking to yourself: Why is BMW coming out with another SUV? Well,
the South Carolina-built X5 has been a solid seller for BMW, giving the brand a
foothold in the SUV segment, but the X6, which is built alongside the X5, seems
to better align with BMW’s Ultimate Driving Machine motto. From its looks to its
performance, the X6 holds to the idea of a driver’s car more closely than the
X5, but it does so without losing traditional SUV characteristics, like a taller
seating position and cargo versatility.

The X6 goes up against an established competitor in the FX, which Infiniti
has refined for 2009. The driving experience in the FX is much the same as the
X6, but what’s sure to appeal to many people looking for a performance SUV is
the all-wheel-drive FX’s significantly lower starting price, which is about
$10,000 less than the X6’s $52,500 base price. That’s a big difference, even in
this part of the market.

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Super stars like Zab Judah, the former welterweight boxing champion, Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson, Victor Hobson of the Jets and Plaxico Burress of the Giants drive exotic and luxury cars. These famous athletes drive cars such as the Rolls-Royce Phantom, a Bentley GT, a Maybach 62 Sedan or Maybach 62 Sedan. When out of town, many of these stars turn to exotic car rental companies to supply a similar automobile for them to drive. Such is the life for the rich and famous.

Ordinary people now have the chance to drive exotic and luxurious cars such as the Lamborghini Gallardo, Rolls Royce Phantom or Bentley Flying Spur to name a few. Luxury and Exotic car rental companies supply the car of your dreams for a day or for the weekend.

In New York, Image Rent A Car not only provides cars for the stars, but also rental cars that can make you feel like a star.

Image Rent A Car has a large fleet of exotic and luxury cars for customers to choose from. The classy Bentley Continental GTC, the

sporty PORSCHE CARRERA S CONVERTIBLE 911 Cabriolet, or the exotic Ferrari F430 Spider are available for your special event. Show up in style at your company gala, class reunion or for a special anniversary. Ann, of New York Image Rent a Car, says “we enjoy helping customers select the perfect car for their event. We especially like to help grooms pick a car for their wedding day.”

Groom to be, Roger Dutton, contacted Image Rent A Car in need of help. He not only needed a car to take his bride away in, but needed transportation for out of town family members. Roger didn’t want to rent a number of cars. He was in luck because Image Rent A Car also has a van rental company. They were able to supply him with two 15 passenger vans for his family members. “I made one call to Image and they were able to solve all my transportation needs,” says Roger.

Image Rent A Car can be found on the web at http://www.imagerentacar.com or by phone at 1-888-718-0001. Image Rent A Car serves the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Fort Lauderdale, Miami Florida areas.