At the Fairmont Hotel, on Sunday, 27th April 2008, the California Mille, our 1000 mile tour for historic race cars will begin. Cars fifty to eighty years old (!) from all over the U.S., Europe, Australia, and South America will be on display. Switzerland is heavily represented, with two sponsors, Union Bank of Switzerland and Blancpain watches. And two late 1920’s Bentleys, each of which did last years Peking-to-Paris race, have been entered by their Swiss owners.
On that Sunday afternoon, the seventy-five cars and drivers will be individually introduced. Helping me do that will be two long-time friends. One is David E. Davis, Jr., arguably the dean of American motoring journalists, who’s coming out from Ann Arbor, Michigan to drive a 1950 Studillac, created back then by introducing a Cadillac engine into a lightweight Studebaker coupe. The second is Kjell Qvale, who will bring the fabulous new Jaguar XF sedan (just for display—no modern cars can go on the Mille).
The Nob Hill Association will hold their traditional cocktail party during the car and driver introductions. Hope to see you there.
$60,000 and Up
Every year there are more luxury car choices. The worldwide market has exploded, so that sales volumes never before even dreamed about can be achieved. China, Russia and many smaller countries have seen a huge increase in wealthy buyers, and better roads too!
Production numbers tell the story. Fifteen years ago, total production of Ferrari, Maserati, Aston Martin, Bentley and Rolls Royce was, perhaps, 6-8,000. In 2007 that total grew to over 30,000! That’s somewhere around $6 billion worth of cars!
In the traditionally rich countries, more buyers have moved upmarket. Last year, one survey named the Infiniti as the car that most satisfied its owners. I’ve been noticing that a dealer friend of mine, who owns several dealerships and can choose to drive whatever he wants, seems to favor the Infiniti M45.
So I decided to try one. The four door, all-wheel drive V8 sedan accompanied me for a week. I can see why people like it. It’s “right-sized”, neither too big or too small, beautifully crafted inside and out. On the road it lacks for nothing, whether you want power, speed, handling, silence, comfort, or just a feeling of all-round well being. The Japanese do all the electronic stuff better than their European competitors. So the navigation, sound system, climate control and lots of other information appears on a central screen, and it can actually be understood by non-computer geeks like you and me.
Why would you choose an Infiniti over the best-luxury-seller Lexus? For me, it’s a matter of “edge”. The Infiniti has some; the Lexus feels oh-so-homogenized. What I don’t like about this M-45 is the detailing, like the grille, wheels and tail lights—it’s a bit on the glitzy side. But the overall package is brilliant.
What Do You Get If You Pay Double?
I drove down 101 in Marin County from the Infiniti dealership to Tom Price’s Aston Martin dealership. He’s the friend who drives the Infiniti, and owns the Aston Martin store.
A few years ago, Aston Martin was almost dead, as it had been several times before in its lifetime. But then Ford went on a shopping spree to buy up luxury brands. They bought Volvo, Jaguar, Range Rover and Aston Martin. Financially, Ford created a disaster, but the Aston Martin product thrived under Ford nurturing. They brought in a German, Dr. Ulrich Bez, who understands exactly what Aston Martin needs to be. Ford has sold off Aston Martin, but Dr. Bez remains, and that’s good for Aston Martin.
I drove the new Vantage roadster, a car that gets all of a car buff’s juices flowing. Before you even drive it, its specifications, its appearance and the noise it makes draw you in. When you sit behind the wheel and look at the design and finish of the interior, you can’t help thinking “they built this car for me”.
Driving it only confirms this impression. Of course it’s fast. But if you need to justify ownership of a $145,000, hand-built, 175 mph car, you probably won’t just let yourself write the check. The slogan “just do it” comes to mind.
The only reason you’d hesitate, if you want a car of this caliber, is that before you decide, you might want to drive two miles down the road, to Ferrari-Maserati of San Francisco, to try the newest Maserati, the four-seater GranTurismo coupe.
This is the Italian answer to the same question that produced the Aston Martin: What should a $100,000+ GT car, suitable for everyday use, but significantly different from volume production cars, be like.
The Aston is a thoroughly British design, and draws on a long tradition of Aston Martins to produce a contemporary car that could only be an Aston.
The Maserati, like many earlier Masers, was designed by the venerable Italian house, Pininfarina, who have done some of the most memorable Fiats, Alfa Romeos, Maseratis and Ferraris for decades. It’s Italian to the core.
Maserati has their favored leather supplier, Poltrona Frau of Modena (sister brand Ferrari favors the Schedoni leather house). Aston Martin leather work is equally handsome, but not attributed to an outside source.
It’s reasonable to expect a car like the Aston or Maserati to require more attention than a mainstream luxury car. That means periodic visits to the service department for proper care and feeding. But, if you’re the right person, that’s part of the fun.
I had hoped to drive the Maserati, but it was the only one in stock and had been sold an hour before. But I’ve previously driven the four door model (Quattroporte) and can testify that it and the Aston are each invigorating drives. So which should you buy? Neither, if you’re happy with your Mercedes, Lexus or Infiniti.
But if you are blown away by the subtle shape and delicate detail of these cars, and the way they reward a skilled driver, you’ll just have to lie awake nights making your decision.
P.S. In days gone by, you would have been able to buy all these cars in San Francisco. Now you can’t. You must go to Marin County; that’s why we’re discussing those dealerships here.
