While You Were Sleeping: January 16th, 2015
January 16th, 2015 8:53 AM
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AWD M Cars, Maybach SUVs and is oil really that cheap?
- BMW gives a tacit admission that the next M cars will incorporate AWD.
- Maserati will schlep the lifespan of the GranTurismo out to 2016.
- We will probably see a Maybach SUV.
- Crude prices are trading within their historical average range.
- Bentley’s SUV will be dubbed the Bentayga and could spawn further variants.
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I have always liked that Maserati. I think it still looks great today, though the less sporty styling of the earlier model years appeals to me a bit more. It's one of those rare, large GT cars you don't see much any more outside of a large Mercedes coupe.
I've been inside of the Ghibli at the NY autoshow last year. Horrendous. Or at least, horrenous for its price point. This is no hyperbole, the equivalent Lexus and Infiniti (yes, Infiniti) were better places to sit. Maser dealer better mention ad infinitum that the motor was contructed by Ferrari.
Maybach, can we talk? Bentley Mulsanne, if you're not too hung over, listen up. See where you chromed the window frames between front and rear doors? But then not the strip separating the opening window from the quarter light? What are you doing there? Do you have any idea how much this reminds me of a Buick Lesabre that's been to Pep Boys?
"is oil really that cheap" If you can afford those vehicles, gas is cheap even at the USA's high of $5/gallon. A sign of cheap gas is low-cost vehicles that guzzle. Consider, instead, how far a vehicle will go if you spent the purchase price amount on gasoline. Ford F150 regular cab 4x2: $25k / $2.20 * 20 MPG --> purchase price buys 227k miles of gas Prius: $25k / 2.20 * 50 MPG --> purchase price buys 568k miles of gas BMW M5: $92k / 2.50 * 16 MPG --> purchase price buys 588k miles of gas By this metric, even Prius buyers would be more sensitive to the cost of gas compared to the buyers of an M5. So, the real question is: has there been a rise in F150 pickups? The answer there is most definitely a yes.