The 2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage is a rare British luxury sports car attached to a royal price tag, and it is thirsty! This exotic car was slapped with a $3,000 gas-guzzling penalty for its 11-mile per gallon city and 17-highway habit. And the price? That will just be $194,000, thanks.
This unquenchable thirst for fuel stems from a 5.9-liter V12 engine pushing out 510 horsepower with a 6-speed manual gearbox.
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Read More… from Thirsty Aston Martin Slapped with Gas-Guzzling Penalty
BMW is certainly stealing headlines this year, taking over as the leading luxury carmaker in India, and now unveiling a shocker in the form of its most modestly priced luxury SUV ever, the BMW X1. What does this mean for luxury car rivals Mercedes-Benz and Audi in India?
Currently neither Mercedes nor Audi have a presence in the lower-priced luxury vehicle segment, which only serves to give BMW an added edge to their lead in the India market, if not consolidate it. BMW’s India expansion has been a smashing success.
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Read More… from A BMW Luxury SUV for $66,000 and Under? BMW Unleashes the X1
The unthinkable has occurred. In the luxury vehicle and exotic rental car world, the idea of an upscale Hyundai is more material for a stand-up comedy tour than a reality, and yet, online today I stared-down a $65,000 Hyundai in stunned, silent, suspended disbelief. While it did not stare back, I did take note of its nonverbal cues, including an impressive grille.
Not easily impressed, I needed more information. It seems that the sneaky Hyundai brand has been working toward a luxury fleet for some time, first introducing a few low-key models like the Genesis (which looks like a Civic) in efforts to compete with the BMW 7-Series, Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS. This attempt was a ‘Fail’, if you ask me, but the Genesis did win North American Car of the Year somehow, boring aesthetics and all.
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Read More… from A $65,000 Hyundai? Sneaky Branding Creeps Into Luxury Car Market
Luxury auction house Christie’s certainly knows how to rev up engines, as in the exotic car rentals and more that often end up on its chopping block. But now the good people at Christie’s are offering up something on the sexy side, in the form of centerfolds, art and photographs and life-sized plexiglass sculptures from the Playboy of Hef’s prime! Come to think of it, Hef’s prime seems to be permanent, he is way cooler than 007 and all of his Aston Martin rentals put together.
Now that I have your attention, the rare centerfold auction will be held December 8th, 2010, and will offer the nude and naughty figures of Playboy celebrities of years gone by, including Paulina, Elle, Brigitte (Bardot and Nielsen) and a Marilyn or two. Yum.
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Read More… from A Delicious Auction of Rare Centerfolds, Thank You Christie’s!
Forget lofty and extravagant Christmas bonuses intended to bolster employee retention-Billionaire Clive Palmer has outdone them all by gifting luxury cars to his staff! I think an exotic rental car like an Aston Martin rental Miami may have sufficed, yet why bother with the pain of returning it?
So how big is this gift? The bar for bonuses has now been set impossibly high, as he has given all 750 of his long-term employees at his Yabulu nickel refinery in north Queensland a stay at a luxury resort in Fiji, and showed his appreciation to his 50 most valued employees with a brand-spanking-new Mercedes-Benz B-Class Hatch luxury car, mostly production workers. For the record, I would have been impressed by a Mercedes-Benz rental Miami style!
The final bill for his generosity was an extravagant Christmas party that cost an estimated $2 million, including more than 20 performing artists, the 50 Mercedes Benz cars, the 750 luxury resort vacation packages and trips for 50 new hires to a Queensland resort, for an estimated $10 million.
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Read More… from Billionaire Gifts Luxury Cars to Staff at Christmas Bonanza
Imagine Lifestyles Chicago Announces A New Home
After an extremely successful first summer open for business in Chicago, Imagine Lifestyles is proud to announce a new showroom and warehouse opening soon in Lincoln Park. It seems all the pretty ladies, ie. Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Bentley would prefer to sleep comfortably next to each other, and we have no problem with that at all. The new space will be conveniently located right off of 90/94 providing our clients and new customers with easy access to the new showroom and is a perfect way to view our fleet of Chicago luxury rental cars.
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Read More… from IL Luxury Rentals Chicago Announces a New Showroom
Paris Hilton Pink Bentley GT Coupe
Looking at this eyesore-extravaganza makes me wish Bentley, or whoever is responsible for this monstrosity of a custom paint job, had the heart to tell Paris Hilton NO. Has anyone ever done that, by the way? I can only assume that she did not get to color enough Easter eggs as a child. This would never survive as a luxury rental car, so I shudder to think of what will happen to this Bentley once Paris tires of it. Speaking of tires, scope the rims she has on it, ouch.
Pam Anderson Jag
Up next we have the luscious Pamela Anderson! Oh and the Jaguar is not too shabby, either. Anderson is always on top of her game, and I like the classic white Jag, it will go with anything, unlike Hilton’s pitiful pink Bentley.
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Read More… from Famous Celebrities and The Luxury & Exotic Cars They Drive
Note to would-be buyers of the Mercedes-Benz SL Class convertibles: Be prepared for speeding fines! Seriously!
According to a new study by Verisek Analytics Inc, people driving one of these luxe babies are more likely to get a traffic ticket and are cited four times as often as the average U.S. motorist. This is quite a statistic, and it is always interesting to research how ticketing practices for drivers of standard cars and drivers of luxury cars differ. 

In fact, 3 models of the Mercedes line are among the top ten most ticketed per mile driven. The NJ-based agency that put out the study compiles data for the insurance industry, and analyzed record for a 12-month period from February 2009 to February 2010. I for one can certainly understand the urge to press the pedal and my luck behind the wheel of an exotic or luxury car rental, like our fleet of Mercedes-Benz rentals Miami from Imagine Lifestyles.
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Luxury car makers BMW and Mercedes-Benz seem to be having a bit of a marketing squabble as of late, with nasty quotes being tossed back and forth like punches…soft, luxurious punches.
Yes, the race for the coveted top slot in the Indian luxury car niche seems to be rough, and is getting dirtier as both luxury companies spray a bit of mud from under their pricey tires. Arch rivals and world-renowned luxury car companies BMW and Mercedes-Benz do not seem to be seeing eye to eye, but rather, seething ey
e to eye, via the press.
Mercedes-Benz has been pointing an accusing finger at BMW, saying they feel that BMW is offering lavish discounts and de-contenting its exotic cars, in particular the 3-Series sedan in efforts to rise to the top. BMW has countered this accusation by saying that Mercedes-Benz is feeling the pressure of competition and therefore losing composure. Ouch! It seems to me that BMW is the ‘Frazier’ of this battle, with a witty and sophisticated approach to engagement.
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With the increasing chatter about the Chinese and Indian markets being the new luxury market leaders, there certainly is plenty to discuss. Now Bugatti is giving us a bit more to talk about, by bringing the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport to India. But will the Indian market be interested in investing in a $3.6 million dollar supercar, the fastest and most expensive car in the world, to drive on predominantly poorly maintained, single-lane roads? There are multi-lane roads available in areas, but they are often just like the photo above.
By contrast, India is also where the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, originated. I suppose you could say India has come full circle! Bugatti will now be joining the ranks of other exotic and luxury car rental brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Bentley, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche, who are all trying their luck in these emerging markets. For some reason I am thinking of the infamous western ‘Goldrush’.
While luxury cars represent less than 1 percent of the total Indian market, it has grown 10 percent per year, with positive projections for future growth. The target consumers for the Bugatti are the new kings of India, the 69 individuals who form the largest group of dollar billionaires outside of the States. These people, and those who already own luxury cars but crave something flashier to flaunt are the ideal audience for a supercar of this caliber.
While the company seems hopeful, the fact remains that the Bugatti Veyron’s $3.6 million dollar price tag is almost four times more than any other exotic vehicle sold in India, and that includes the ultra-luxe Rolls-Royce Phantom and the Maybach. True to luxury car marketing strategy, only 150 units of the Veyron will be produced, which should work in the company’s favor, revving up that exclusive appeal.
But I am still curious who would want to drop $3.6 million on a car that will spend the majority of its life in bottleneck traffic and ricocheting between potholes? I recommend a Bugatti-hovercraft for the Indian market.
*Check out our fleet of luxury rental cars on your way out!
Post by Imagine Lifestyles Luxury Rentals
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