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Wednesday, March 30, 2011
India's rising number of millionaires is driving sales of luxury and super luxury cars. In the territory, luxury and super luxury cars are showing stable growth while the small and medium passenger car segments are slacking off.
Sales of passenger cars increased by 9.1 percent in May to 96,922 units from 88,863 in the same month a year ago. On the contrary, premium and super-luxury brands, including Nissan, Skoda, Mercedes Benz and Rolls Royce have been enjoying steady growth. Skoda's flagship Sedan, said to a company release. However, Skoda's total car sales, including economy and premium segments, dropped from 1,000 to 810, in the same period.
To stress, only 0.01 percent of India's population falls in the super-rich bracket, compared with 1.29 percent in Japan and 1.48 percent in Singapore. But the millionaires are significantly helping the luxury segments of the territory.
Daimler-Chrysler India, manufacturers of Mercedes Benz product lines, earlier shifted from importing completely built units (CBU) to manufacturing cars in the territory from completely knocked down (CKD) units. According to sources, Mercedes Benz sales have increased by over 100 percent in the last three months since it started rolling out CKD units.
This year, Mercedes launched two new models, including the Rs 1.7 crore new CL Class and the new diesel S Class. There was huge demand for these cars in the central and eastern parts of Maharashtra, sources said. But Daimler-Chrysler does not publish sales figures as a matter of policy.
The Mercedes-Benz CL-Class, a grand tourer, is currently available in two models: the CL500/CL550 and the CL600. The S-Class, on the other hand, is the world's best-selling luxury flagship sedan. The car features advanced drivetrain technologies, safety systems, and interior features. Remarkably, the car introduced the first anti-lock brakes, seatbelt pretensioners, airbag supplemental restraint systems, and the electronic stability control. The latest generation, the W221, debuted in 2005 as an all-new design. The latest S-Class is sold in standard and long wheelbase versions and offers V6, V8, V12, and diesel powertrains.
"Rising interest rates have a lower impact on the sales of luxury cars vis-a-vis economy cars. The reason for this is that buyers of luxury cars take finance for considerations such as tax planning, not because they need the money, while buyers of economy cars take finance because they actually need the money," said Ashwin Sanghi, the Director of Sanghi Motorcar Co, dealers for Mercedes Benz.
The Nissan Motor Co., another automaker that sells only premium cars in India, has seen orders for the new Teana go up significantly. "Since its launch in April, the Teana has crossed three figures in orders," said a source familiar with the Japanese automaker's operations. However, official confirmation of the orders was not available.
The Nissan Teana is a front wheel drive mid-size car introduced in 2003. It is exported as the Nissan Maxima and the Nissan Cefiro to some markets. This is done so as not to be confused with the Nissan Maxima sold in North America. It shares the same platform with the North American Maxima and Altima, as well as the Presage.
The Teana is equipped with the chic Nissan mirror and body parts. It is powered by either 2.3 or 3.5 liter engine which matches to the automatic transmission. Trim levels are 230JK, 230JM, 230JS, and 350JS. The car is also sold in Russia and Ukraine.
Separately, the Japanese automaker will introduce a new audio feature that can play music stored on an iPod through its CARWINGS-compatible HDD navigation system via Bluetooth wireless technology. It will first be available on the new Presage and will become a standard feature for all upcoming new models in Japan.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Mercedes-Benz has a new super car called the SLS AMG. With starting prices of around one hundred and eighty thousand dollars it is priced to directly compete with the likes of Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin. Aside from all the usual performance comparisons there is one thing this car has that the others do not - the gull-wing Mercedes is back. Entertainment: well, there is a 6.2 liter engine in the front providing a rumble to match anything to come out of Detroit. With over five hundred and fifty horsepower the SLS would be an entertaining drive even if the handling was poor. Fortunately that is not the case. It's agile, poised and although its feels quite stiff on the road the combination of engine of handling provides a fantastic drive.
In term of practicality the car is a bit of a mixed bag. Mercedes have obviously considered how this car is going to be used and the SLS comes with typical features to provide everyday usability like sat-nav and a decent stereo. However the gull wings, as iconic as they are, make it a pain to get in and out of the car, make the car very wide and you really have to stretch to pull the doors down once your inside. The design also means headroom is fairly tight as well.
Looking at value for cash - can any car at this selling price be regarded as fair value? Probably not but put along with its peers it is well priced. Let's look at it one other way - against the Mercedes McLaren SLR, the Mercedes SLS is quicker, handles better and is less costly to the tune of nearly 200,000 dollars.
Tuco is a car enthusiast and a fan, writes about car news and reviews, videos and pictures of a huge database of cars and car manufacturers. You can read information on Mercedes SLS at his blog: Mercedes SLS.
Detail Mercedes SLS AMG GT3:
The car pictured here features a heavily revised body which includes the front bumper with large central intake and lower splitter, canard air foils, hood, fenders with deep wheel well vents, huge side sills, that massive carbon rear wing integrated into the boot lid, fuel filler pocket in the quarter panels and rear bumper with purposeful diffuser. www.worldcarfans.com
Automobile fascination paired with spectacular race car design - that is the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. The racing version of the SLS AMG has been conceived as a customer sport vehicle for participation in race series based on FIA GT3 regulations. Meticulous lightweight construction and optimized chassis, brakes and aerodynamics deliver uncompromising dynamics. The extra special Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG will make its race track debut in 2011. www.netcarshow.com
