Despite the crisis, automakers have not given up on selling dreams at the Geneva Motor Show, which opened this week with an array of eye-catching cars that are always shinier, faster, and ever more expensive.
“Geneva has always been a bit special, somewhere between the provincial and the chic,” said Carlos da Silva, analyst at Global Insight.
Garish colors help to highlight the array of concept, sports and luxury vehicles, which are still one of the principal attractions for the 700,000 visitors expected during the show until March 15.
As the doors opened to the public, overcrowded trains were spilling visitors from around Europe into Geneva while roads to the
exhibition hall were jammed.
Sports cars with prices above 100,000 euros (125,000 dollars), such as the new Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4 Super Veloce, inevitably capture minds in search of escape from economic gloom.
Crowds already pressed around the low slung, yellow sports car during the press preview, trying to imagine the effect of being slung by 670 horsepower to 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) in 3.2 seconds.
The Murcielago is “more extreme and more exclusive than any other car,” Lamborghini’s chief executive, Stephan Winkelmann, claimed.
Not to be outdone, Aston Martin unveiled the One-77 sports car with a price tag of 1.0 million pounds (1.2 million euros, 1.4 million dollars).
Only 77 will be built and the company claims to have received queries from about 250 potential customers.
Aston Martin also revived the luxury Lagonda name with a brash four wheel drive vehicle on show in Geneva, to try to appeal to new markets in the Middle East, India and China.
“The Lagonda is the luxury car of the future,” said Aston Martin Chief Executive Ulrich Bez. It might not be available for another five years.
Porsche claimed that its new 911 GT3 — displayed in an evocative bright red — is “more powerful” and “more efficient”, while Ferrari sought some of the thunder with ever more sporting engines.
Meanwhile, young men with feather dusters toured the stands to ensure the cars never lose their shine and wipe off finger marks, while “hostesses” handed out brochures or simply posed by the cars.
“They make us dream,” said Marcello, a young Swiss visitor whose gaze was fixed intently on the vehicles.
Amid the dominant theme of fuel economy and environmentalism, the carmakers freely admit that they are trying to stir emotions as well.
“Cars are very important part of the human psyche, because they are symbols of pleasure and prestige,” explained Simon Rochefort, the sales manager of US newcomer Tesla.
During a crisis “it’s even more important to dream,” said Frank Rinderknecht, owner of specialised Swiss firm Rinspeed, which presents a new and generally more outrageous concept car every year.
But this year Rinderknecht also sought to capture the mood of the moment by showcasing an array of environmental technology.
Even the elite end of the market is tentatively reaching out to the “ecologically correct”.
Bentley is trying out biofuels, which pollute less but are controversial because of their impact on crops, food prices and the amount of energy it takes to produce them.
Bentley’s chief executive, Franz-Josef Paefgen, admitted that the dreams might have reached their limits.
“It is a crisis that affects luxury cars as much as it affects other sectors,” he remarked
“This year it really hit the fan,” said Matt Adir, Image’s general manager, who saw the trend begin last summer.
Bob Schepps, president of the Southampton Chamber of Commerce, said merchants are depending on this summer to help recover from a winter he described as “the worst ever.”
Observers say car rentals are just the tip of the iceberg.
Noting the summer home rental market “drives the Hamptons,” Richard Finder of Prudential Douglas Elliman in Bridgehampton said a falloff “is going to trickle down to every aspect of the economy.”
“It brings a lot of people out here,” he said. “It fills the art galleries, the high-end restaurants, exotic car rentals. … The marinas will take a really big hit.”
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“It’s really complicated, sitting at your desk, discreetly trying to arrange to get the car towed into the dealer or trying to order a part,” he said in a recent phone interview. “Stepping out into a hallway or trying to find a conference room… kind of took all the fun out of it.”
Fuller, now 33, sold his Ferrari and in March 2003 pioneered (according to him) the business of exotic-car timeshares. As the president of Club Sportiva, which has six locations in the U.S. and Europe, he supervises more than 200 members, who save tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars each by sharing luxury cars, sports cars and exotic cars, rather than buying them.
In Pictures: The Hottest Cars, The Coolest Clubs
Demand is increasing for alternatives to traditional ownership of high-end cars. Membership clubs and organizations offering fractional luxury-car ownership are in their infancy, as are agencies that rent new-model supercars, but they are expanding.
More and more exotic-car drivers are finding they don’t spend enough time in their cars to justify owning them year-round and paying six-figure prices. If you’re a Manhattan executive with a Lamborghini, you probably don’t drive it to work each day. You might only use it on vacation. Or maybe you only bring out your Rolls-Royce. These are the kind of folks signing up.
Another advantage of membership clubs is that instead of having to choose which car to buy, you can get a variety of different vehicles delivered in the course of a year.
“It’s a bit of an addictive thing,” said Fuller. “Once you’ve driven a Ferrari and a Bentley and a Lamborghini and a Porsche, you ask, ‘What’s next on my hit list?’ ”
Ron Van Horssen, chairman of Phoenix’s Van Horssen Group membership club, agrees. In a recent phone interview, Van Horssen, 55, said, “The time is right for people to rethink how they’re enjoying the latest cars. The cars are depreciating assets, so there’s no reason to own them–fractionally or otherwise. But there are a lot of reasons to enjoy them and compare them.” (He did, however, state that “if you’re going to use it for more than 100 days, it’s going to be more cost-effective for you to buy the car.”)
Despite Van Horssen’s assertions of the superiority of membership clubs, George Kiebala, who says he pioneered fractional car ownership with Chicago-based Curvy Road, argues that fractional ownership offers a richer experience, in which you don’t have to worry about whether you have bought or accrued enough “membership points” to take advantage of all your club has to offer. Membership clubs often have different tiers you can buy into–buy a mid-level membership package, and you won’t have access to the club’s hottest vehicles.
Both membership clubs and fractional-ownership plans offer several advantages that traditional ownership does not. For traditional owners, exotic cars are expensive to own, store and maintain. And they depreciate, something that isn’t a big worry for sharers or fractional owners. With these alternatives, the parent companies change the shared vehicles’ oil, detail them, give them other maintenance and deliver them to you with full tanks of gas, so you’re always getting into cars that feel clean and new.
Membership clubs are also just that–clubs, with group activities. Club Sportiva recently took some members on a four-day tour of the Swiss Alps. They arranged hotels, airfare and dinners for its members and their spouses. On Nov. 17, several Club Sportiva members will travel to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where they will get to drive a million-dollar Formula 1 race car. This summer, Van Horssen Group members took a six-day tour of the best fly-fishing spots in the Rocky Mountains.
Fuller believes that membership clubs are superior to fractional-ownership plans, because they offer a variety of vehicles for you to drive, as opposed to partial ownership of one car. However, Curvy Road says that it should be able to arrange for its vehicle owners to swap cars as they wish.
The slide show should help you determine which alternative to ownership is right for you. Kiebala says Curvy Road is the only place offering fractional exotic-car ownership, but membership clubs are on the rise. Fuller says that in the last 12 months, around six competitors to Club Sportiva have appeared.
The slide show focuses on new-model cars. And an organization’s “location,” as listed there, usually indicates the center of a 50- to 100-mile area in which deliveries are available. For example,Image Rent-a-Car is based in Brooklyn, N.Y. and serves New York, New Jersey, Connecticut , Pennsylvania and Miami Orlando Ft Lauderdale West Palm Beach Florida.
Get to know your delivery people. Once you get used to having clean, detailed, new exotic models at your service, you’ll want to test all the models you possibly can.
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.
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.
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.
Prefer to drive the streets in a SUV instead of a luxury or sports car?
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