Classic cars deliver impressive ROI

Sell Car.uk: Classic cars deliver impressive ROI Classic cars are one of the best investments that can be made in the current economic climate, according to the Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI). The latest installment of the HAGI Top Index, which measures the performance of 50 key collectible classic cars, suggests that their average value advanced by an impressive 13.89 per cent last year. According to Marketwatch.com, this figure grows to an extortionate 21.65 per cent increase in value when excluding Ferrari and Porsche from the list. The figures could make make exciting reading for used car buyers who have invested in a rare or classic vehicle, as they could make a handsome profit when it comes time to sell it on. HAGI founder and life-long motoring enthusiast Dietrich Hatlapa agreed that the classic car sector "has many attractions in this day and age." However, in an interview with Fresh Business Thinking, he was keen to point out that it takes a lot of skill to spot a vehicle worth investing in. He said: "The figures demonstrate very clearly that this is not a uniform market. Performance varies from marque to marque and from model to model. Choice and timing are key and that's what makes it so fascinating."

Back on track Wednesday

My mom's having some health issues, which I have to take care of. Will be back to blogging on Wednesday.

Park this in your vault: Classic car returns outpaced gold

Market Watch: Park this in your vault: Classic car returns outpaced gold Classic cars showed an impressive performance in 2011 — one that outpaced gold, according to the Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI), an independent research house and think tank specializing in the rare classic motorcar sector. Gold futures saw a return of around 10% in 2011. By contrast, the HAGI Top Index, which measures the performance of 50 key collectible classic cars, advanced by 13.89% last year. The return of the Top Index, excluding Ferrari and Porsche, achieved 21.65% growth that year. “We’ve discovered that classic cars move independently of any other investment area, and that’s a very attractive attribute for collectors and investors alike in this day and age,” said Dietrich Hatlapa, founder of London-based HAGI. “The figures demonstrate very clearly that this is not a uniform market; performance varies from marque to marque and from model to model,” he said. “Choice and timing are key, and that’s what makes it so fascinating, applying a judgement call on a model or marque you consider is due for rotation.” Hatlapa pointed out that the classic car sector “has many attractions in this day and age,” with supply broadly finite. “They’re not making Bugatti Type 57SC Atalantes anymore; the market is global; the asset class is uncorrelated with other investment classes,” he said. “Historic cars are a tangible asset with real asset characteristics, a highly sought-after feature since the financial crisis of 2007-2009 [and] once a model has become collectible, it’s never become uncollectible.” Of course, you’d have to be able to afford one of these rare autos, plus store and insure it. A 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540Z Cabriolet-A purchased in October 2007 for £660,000 ( $788,295) sold for £848,500 in December 2011 – for a return of 28%, according to Dave Selby, a senior analyst at HAGI. Gold investments, in contrast, don’t require such thick wallets — for less than $200, you can buy a share of the SPDR Gold Trust, an exchange-traded fund backed by gold. But it’s arguably a lot less fun to look at.

Reinventing Lincoln

From Bloomberg Business Week: Reinventing Lincoln

On his very first day as the new chief designer of the Lincoln line from Ford Motor (F), Max Wolff had, in his words, an “oh, shit moment.” Touring Ford’s design studio in Dearborn, Mich., last January, Wolff made his way to the latest model of the MKZ, Lincoln’s top-selling car, which Ford hopes will finally reverse decades of decline at Lincoln and catapult it into a pantheon with Audi (VOW:GR), BMW (BMW:GR), and Lexus (TM). Trouble was, the MKZ was a dud. The boxy, narrow model had doors identical to the Ford Fusion, the carmaker’s family sedan for the common man. Its prominent grille with cascading chrome ribs had the look of your grandfather’s mustache, and its boxy headlights evoked Milton Berle’s eyeglasses. Wolff, a 39-year-old, faux-hawk-sporting Aussie, turned to the car’s designer, Solomon Song, and asked: “What were you thinking?”

As Wolff recalls, Song said: “We’ve sort of been waiting for you to turn up so that we can do something different.”

They did. One year since his arrival at Lincoln, Wolff is unveiling the redesigned MKZ on Jan. 10 at the Detroit Auto Show. The car, expected to start at about $35,000, bears little resemblance to the homely model Wolff encountered last January. Wolff, whom Lincoln hired away from Cadillac at General Motors (GM), has retooled the car to make it lower, longer, and wider. The most striking change comes on what Wolff calls the car’s “face,” which he contends can make or break a design. Gone is the geezer grille. In its place are side-by-side sleek chrome apertures, bisected by horizontal ribs that stretch like eagle’s wings into swept-back headlights that flow into the front fenders.

Whether or not car buyers go for the sexier, sleeker Lincoln remains to be seen, but there’s no question that Lincoln needs a hit, if not a miracle. The car was the epitome of cool when JFK was in the White House and the Rat Pack was headlining in Vegas. From a sales standpoint, Lincoln reached its zenith in 1990, when 231,660 were sold. As recently as 1999, the heyday of Lincoln’s behemoth Navigator SUV, the line ranked first in U.S. sales among luxury car brands. Today, Lincoln stands eighth, its image defined largely by the black Town Cars that transport people to and from airports. (Ford stopped production of the Town Car in September.) The average Lincoln driver is 65 years old. Lincoln says it sold 85,643 cars in 2011, down a breathtaking 63 percent since the 1990 peak. The latest indignity came last month, when a 1970s-era Lincoln Continental was used to carry the coffin of deceased North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. “Lincoln’s image is as an old person’s car or a taxi,” says Rebecca Lindland, an auto analyst with researcher IHS Automotive.

A succession of designers have tried to recapture Lincoln’s faded glory, with little success. In 2001, Gerry McGovern, now chief designer at Land Rover (TTM), crafted a slab-sided concept car in homage to the classic ’61 Continental in which President Kennedy was riding when he was assassinated. After that, Peter Horbury, who went on to become Volvo’s design director, sought inspiration from the split-bow grilles of 1940s’ Lincolns. Neither paean to the past worked.

“We’re well past the window on Lincoln of being able to relive the glory years,” says J Mays, Ford global design chief. “We’re in a situation now where we need to reinvent the brand.”

Doing so involves transforming consumer expectations about what a Lincoln looks like. “Lincoln is a brand that’s got authenticity and credentials,” says Leslie Butterfield, a luxury car specialist with Interbrand, a consulting company, and author of Enduring Passion: The Story of the Mercedes-Benz Brand. “But it’s important that the design be a break with tradition. I don’t want to feel I’m buying Old Lincoln, I want to feel like I’m buying New Lincoln.”

That’s where Wolff comes in. He grew up in Melbourne, a car nut and compulsive scribbler who began writing to GM about a design job at age 12. An indifferent student who preferred pool halls to the classroom, Wolff was accepted into design school at age 22, after having been rejected twice for his poor high school grades. This time, though, he excelled in school, winning awards and leading teams of students on design projects for industrial clients, including a Japanese automaker. In 1998, he began designing for GM’s Holden brand in Australia before moving to the automaker’s South Korean studio, where he helped craft the hot-selling Chevy Cruze. In 2006, GM transferred Wolff to Detroit, where he designed Cadillac’s futuristic flagship, the XTS, which is on display at the Detroit Auto Show and goes on sale this year.

Wolff was lured to Ford in late 2010 by Mays, who himself had left Audi 14 years ago to shake up Ford’s staid design culture. He wanted Wolff—who drives a black Mustang and would never be mistaken for a typical Lincoln buyer—to do the same. “Max looks a little disruptive,” Mays says. “He’s got that trendy haircut and the shoes that turn up on the end that aren’t ever quite polished and just the right amount of stubble to make sure you know he’s a designer. He’s probably the best thing that could happen to Lincoln.”

Lincoln insiders say the remake of the MKZ reflects how much the company is leaning on Wolff’s talents. The new-look MKZ had been set to make its debut at the New York International Auto Show last April, but after seeing the prototype, Wolff immediately went to his new bosses and told them their supposed game-changing car would be a game-over car unless it underwent radical surgery. Getting approval to delay the rollout required sign-offs from Mark Fields, the top North American lieutenant to Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, and from Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s global product development chief.

“What he was asking for wasn’t easy to deliver,” says Kuzak, who gave Wolff the green light for an emergency overhaul. The New York intro was scotched and the car’s mid-2012 on-sale date was pushed back a few months to allow time to reengineer parts of its mechanical skeleton.

Wolff started by asking Song what he would have done differently if he hadn’t been shackled with under-the-skin engineering that required such a square-jawed face on the car. Song walked Wolff over to his drawing board, where he pulled out earlier designs that were sleeker and made the car look faster.

“Maybe we could try to get back to that,” Wolff said.

The two designers immediately sat down at a drawing board and begin a marathon sketching session, pushing their scratched-out solutions across the table to each other. When they hit on looks they liked, they took them over to another designer who converted their drawings into 3D computer-animated images they could take for a virtual test drive.

The most complicated feature of Wolff’s design was the front grille of the new MKZ. The car’s avian headlights necessitated an engineering tear-up. To accommodate the headlights’ dramatic wingspan, Lincoln’s engineers had to change the spot where the headlights plug into the frame. That may sound simple, but it requires moving what engineers call “hard points” in the car’s mechanical architecture. And it set off a cascade of changes that the engineers began calling “the Max Change option.” All the underbody parts that connect the headlights to the frame had to be redesigned. The robots and factory tools used to install the headlights had to reprogrammed or replaced to enable a new way of building the car. The massive presses that stamp out body parts had to be equipped with new dies to make those soaring fenders that the headlights now flow into.

Wolff has already put his pretty new car to the test before owners of Audi, Lexus, and Cadillac models. At secret consumer clinics in California last March, he revealed his new design but kept the Lincoln logo off the car. By nearly two to one, the rival luxury car owners choose Wolff’s new look over the cars they drove. They also thought the Lincoln looked $6,000 more expensive than a Lexus ES350 and created a better first impression than an Audi A4, renowned for its stylish front end.

Neither Wolff nor his bosses at Ford will disclose how much they spent on redesigning the new MKZ. All told, Ford is putting about $1 billion into the effort to revive Lincoln, according to two sources familiar with the plan. That’s still just one-third of what GM spent a decade ago to turn Cadillac’s grandpa-mobiles into racy rides inspired by stealth fighters. For now, Wolff’s job is to perform triage on the seven new models Lincoln has coming in the next two years. The real test of Wolff’s vision will come when the Lincolns he designs from the ground up start hitting the streets, though that won’t happen until mid-decade at the earliest. “All of us want Lincoln to be seen as a top-tier luxury manufacturer, spoken about in the same breath as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi,” he says. “I think it’s possible to do that. How quickly that happens is still up for debate.” Lincoln doesn’t have much more time to lose.

Florida: Downtown New Smyrna car show rides again

This is an article from the Daytona Beach News Journal. It's talking about a car show that has already taken place in January - however the car club apparently holds this show monthly - so if you're in FLorida, check it out.

Downtown New Smyrna car show rides again
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Auto buffs will be heading downtown to Canal Street this weekend for the monthly classic car show staged by the East Coast Cruisers car club.

The event, which takes place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, attracts thousands of car enthusiasts from around the state, according to Pat Teehan, vice president of the car club founded in 1991.

Some attendees come for day while others make a weekend of the event, Teehan said. "There is one car club from Tampa that we know stays in an area B and B (bed and breakfast)," he said, adding the event typically attracts several thousand people.

The show, which takes place on the second Saturday of each month, attracts between 400 and 700 vehicles depending upon the weather, Teehan said. There is no fee to enter a vehicle and, of course, spectators are not charged to view them.

"We get everything from original 1913 Model Ts to brand new performance vehicles including sports car and trucks," he said.

Besides attracting car buffs, Teehan is hoping to attract new members to the local club whose membership has dwindled to 20 from a high of 120 at one point.

"You don't need a car, just be an enthusiast," he said Monday in a telephone interview.

The car club stages the show in conjunction with the Canal Street Historical Association. "We get to play with our cars and the merchants get to keep their shops open," he said.

Cindy Jones, president of the association and owner of Southern Trends Home Furnishings, said the event is a great partnership between the merchants and the car club.

"It (Canal Street) provides them a wonderful venue to display their cars and for the businesses, it brings a high quality crowd to enjoy our stores," Jones said. "We (members of the association) have found numerous customers that found out about our stores" during these shows, she said.

Teehan noted that residents can start the day at the Farmers Market, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., in front of Old Fort Park.

The park is located within the historical district at 210 Sams Ave. Local farmers offer fruit, vegetables, herbs, flowers, plants, juices, dairy, seafood and grass-fed meats. Organic and pesticide-free produce, quality handcrafted items, and baked goods are for sale, too.

For more information about the car show, call 386-547-7319.

My Scrabble Books Took Precedence

Hello, all my faithful readers out there in computer land.

I've missed several days of posting and I apologize for it. I've been working on two Scrabble books (Eve Le QiNu's Flashwords) which help people to learn the 2 and 3 letter Scrabble words.

I won't provide links here since this is an apology not a sales pitch - but if you do like to play Scrabble, go to the Kindle Store (or the Nook Store) and type in Eve Le QiNu and my two books will be brought up. (Eve Le QiNu is an anagram.... see if you can unscramble it. Bear in mind my publishing name is Magic Mirror Press)

Anyway, I finished volume 2 yesterday, and today I'm chilling out...so regular posting resumes tomorrow.

Thanks again for your patience.

Travel advice: can we hire a classic car to relive our honeymoon?

From the Telegraph (England): Travel advice: can we hire a classic car to relive our honeymoon?

Years ago, my wife and I honeymooned by touring the West Country in our old MG. Is it possible to hire a true “classic” car, to relive the experience?
L M Drinkwater

David Williams replies
It is indeed and there are numerous firms out there waiting to help, but there are important guidelines to bear in mind.

Older cars – such as that MG – look fantastic and can be rewarding to drive. But motorists used to the comfort, convenience and performance of a modern hatchback may be in for a surprise. You will find old-fashioned gearboxes slow, the brakes even slower and the suspension less forgiving. You’re unlikely to find power steering and don’t expect air-conditioning or anti-lock braking, so you might not want to plan too ambitious a journey.

Rental prices range from around £165 a day (most firms allow you a 24-hour “block”; you choose your starting time) for fun classics such as an MGC Roadster, a convertible Alfa Romeo Spider or a Morris Minor, up to around £550 for something more imposing such as a Jaguar E-type or Aston Martin DB6. Most firms have more favourable day rates if you wish to hire for a week or so at a time.

A glance at the Classic-Car Hirers Guild map (hchg.co.uk) shows that there is a good geographic spread of firms specialising in classic car hire, and there are many other organisations out there, too (enter “classic car hire” into your search engine), although without the Guild’s stamp of approval. One of the best-known rental firms is Classic Escapes, near Bodmin in Cornwall (cornwallclassiccarhire.co.uk). It is currently changing hands but outgoing owner Rob Constant – who established the HCHG – has this advice after 10 years in the business:

“Driving a classic car is a great experience, but if you are planning a tour around Britain, hire from firms in different regions. Motorway miles in an old car aren’t fun and most firms will meet you from the local station if you book. Your car will then be close to base in case there is a problem.”

Some firms also organise tours or hotels for you. Vintage Classics (vintage-classics.co.uk) in Melksham, Wiltshire offers a tour of National Trust properties in Somerset, Dorset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds, for example. You can rumble between each at the wheel of a 1965 Austin Healey (£250 a day, £625 for three days, £175 for each additional day thereafter), a Jaguar E-type (same prices as the Healey) or an Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV from £165 a day.

But before getting carried away with your vision of classic motoring, check the terms and conditions of your chosen firm. As with modern hire cars, insurance is included in the price but you must still pay a deposit (typically £500) against damage. You could forfeit this unless you can prove that any damage was caused by someone else and can identify them, in which case repairs will be covered by insurance. Many rental firms will take a photograph of you with the car, too, as an additional safeguard.

Before signing for the car, check it carefully for damage and ensure that any scrapes or dents are logged by the owner. You usually receive the car with a full tank of fuel and should return it in the same condition, as fuel is not included in hire packages. Ask if there is a mileage limit; some firms allow no more than 100 a day, others allow a more reasonable 300 but most have penalties for exceeding this.

“Hiring is straightforward and not unlike any other car rental,” says the owner of Vintage Classics and HCHG member, Phil Rowe. “Take to the back roads, put on some music, then sit back and enjoy the journey. That’s what it’s all about.”