Bentley Arnage

Let’s get the price out of the way first, so we can discuss this remarkable car. It’s $250,000. So there. Ten times the price of the average car. Not so bad if you calculate that a fine watch may be 800 times as expensive as a cheap, serviceable one. Or a designer jacket might be 40 times the price of a fine wool coat. What’s remarkable about the Bentley is that a company exists to create such an outstanding, exclusive (fewer than 1000 per year worldwide) car.

Regular readers know my bias: The price of goodness is going down. Virtually perfect cars can be had for $15,000-25,000.

Now the subject is…Bentley Arnage — a large sedan, with about a zillion (actually 400) turbocharged V8 horsepower — a heavy, opulent rocket ship of a car. Flamboyant. Impractical. And totally charming.

No car brand has a more romantic, up-and-down history than Bentley. The first 1919 car set the stage; later versions contested the 24 hours of LeMans several times, had repeat victories. The “W.O. Bentleys”, as they’re known after their designer, were bugs-in-the-teeth he-man cars. Ettore Bugatti, who manufactured lean, lithe race cars in Molsheim (Alsace), called Bentleys “the world’s fastest lorries.” Even today, those vintage Bentleys are driven and raced by a new generation of “Bentley Boys,” as the original racers were known.

A few years ago I had the good fortune to be the co-driver of a 1928 Bentley 4.5 tourer in the Italian Mille Miglia, that famous 1000 mile “race” through Italy. The car lives in England, so we had to drive it to Italy, 1000 miles from London down to Brescia. Then we did the 1000 mile race. A lot of driving in a 75 year old car. That 1928 car would cruise at 90 mph on the French autoroutes, but it needed a $100 drink of fuel every 200 miles.

The original Bentley company ran into money problems during the Depression, and was acquired by Rolls Royce. Sixty-odd years under R-R ownership came to an end a few years ago, when BMW bought Rolls and Volkswagen, and became the corporate parent of Bentley.

Each brand was revived and redesigned under its new German owners. At the same time, Mercedes-Benz introduced the Maybach. Adding to the competition in the super-luxury category were new and very attractive models from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Aston Martin. Each of these makers had optimistic sales projections which, if they came true, would mean that sales of over $100,000 cars would triple or quadruple from past levels.

Rolls Royce and Maybach, which designed “head-of-state” limousine-type cars, have been disappointed in their sales, because that’s not where the market is. Rolls and Maybach have each sold about half what they anticipated. But the sporty-car group has hit the target. Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and Aston Martin are all selling more cars than ever before.

The star of the show, though, is Bentley. They’ve neatly split the difference between sporty and elegant, and, as a result, Bentley is the sales leader in the super-luxury field in North America and Europe.

This new Bentley Arnage is lavish, but also imaginative and tasteful. No one knows how to use leather, wood and chrome in a car interior better than the British. The exterior is a similar blend of understatement and boldness.

Underway, the car is very easy to maneuver, due to a high seating position and sharp steering. Power is never an issue — a firm foot to the accelerator produces more oomph than you’d believe possible. And braking is equally sure and strong.

Mazda MX-5 (Miata)

If you buy a Bentley and need a playful sports roadster for a different kind of motoring, for slightly more than the sales tax on the Bentley, you can buy one of these gems.

Back in the late ’80s, General Motors had developed the Pontiac Fiero into a very decent two-seat sports car. But they discontinued it, saying the market for two-seaters had evaporated.

Mazda must have read the tea leaves differently. In early 1989 they announced the Miata, a lean, simple recreation of the classic British two-seat roadster. But the Mazda, being Japanese, was bulletproof, dead reliable, and very long lasting. It was an immediate hit, and has sold several hundred thousand examples. In testimony to their durability, amateur racers seek out early Miatas, cars that have already seen 120,000 to 150,000 miles of use. They’re still reliable, but aged this way, they’re cheap and fast race cars.

Now, after 16 years, the third version has just been introduced. I drove one up to Lassen Volcanic Park, a round-trip of about 600 miles. It comfortably accommodated my 6’2” height, rode nicely on the freeway, was pleasant with the top up or down, and tackled the twisty mountain bits with ability, ease and gusto. When I review all the cars I’ve driven this year, this Mazda MX-5 will surely share the top of the list with some very well-regarded cars.

The genius of the Mazda MX-5 is that it’s a totally capable, purely fun sports car that makes no demands. It doesn’t cost much, lasts forever, and is dead reliable. You could buy a Porsche, an Aston Martin or a Ferrari if your goal is to impress your friends. But you couldn’t buy a better sports car than this Mazda at any price!

New Years Day Anti-Football Drive

If you’re not a football fan, if you have an interesting old car (25+ years), and if you’d like to start the New Year right, join us for our annual New Years Day Drive and Luncheon. Check www.californiamille.com for entry info, or call me at the number below.

As a free service to Gazette readers, Martin will gladly offer suggestions on how to dispose of a cherished car. Call him at 415-479-9950.