.jpg)
Luxury means different things to different
people, even among car connoisseurs. Whether you covet the near-luxury cars of
Acura and Infiniti or fancy yourself in an ultra-posh Bentley or Rolls-Royce,
the elements that make a luxury brand special tend to remain the same year in
and year out. We watch luxury trends in global products to see what buyers can
expect when shopping for premium automobiles and bring you the latest in luxury
amenities from your favorite automakers.
Every era in automobile history has had
"a group of car marques and models that have been expensive to purchase,
due to their alleged superiority of their design and
engineering". Aimed at wealthy buyers, such automobiles might be
generically termed luxury cars. This term is also used
for unique vehicles produced during "an era when luxury was
individualistic consideration and coachwork could be tailored to an owner like
a bespoke suit”. Although there is considerable literature about specific
marques, there is a lack of systematic and scholarly work that "analyzes
the luxury car phenomenon itself."
.jpg)
Luxury vehicle makers may either be
stand-alone companies in their own right, such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz, or a
division/subsidiary of a mass market automaker (e.g., Lexus is part
of Toyota). Badge engineering is often used for cost savings, for
example, the Lincoln vehicles that are based on Ford platforms or
Acura models derived from Honda.
1.Aston
Martin :Whether James Bond would wear a pair of John Lobb leather driving
shoes while behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Virage Volante is perhaps
something known only to Ian Fleming or Sam Mendes, the director of this
autumn’s latest 007 film, Sky fall. But while such a pair of
shoes was hardly a requirement for the 120-mile round-trip test-drive from
Manhattan to the spectacular Glenmere mansion in Chester, New York, it did make
the weekend jaunt feel a bit more British in tone.
Perhaps it was because of the attention to
detail that both British brands espouse. The John Lobb driving shoe, called
Winner Sport, features eyelets that match the graphite gray of the Aston Martin
and exterior stitching that mimics the leather-work of the car’s interior.
2. BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe: With
its in-line six-cylinder Twin Turbo engine, BMW’s Gran Coupe concedes very
little when it comes to speed: It has a zero-to-60 mph rating of 5.4 seconds.
During a test drive near Santa Barbara, California, the eight-speed automatic
transmission handled shifting with the anticipated precision. But new safety
and eco features are what really set it apart. Adaptive LED headlights follow
bends in the road, and there’s a rear view camera that alerts for everything
from lane departure to blind-spot detection. A new Eco Pro driving mode adjusts
performance to lower fuel consumption by as much as 20 percent.
3. Cadillac XTS: The new all-wheel-drive four-door is
a less sporty but more luxurious version of Cadillac existing CTS and its
new, lower-priced ATS models. And that XTS luxury is particularly apparent in
the rear seats, where 40 inches of legroom provide enough space for a full
appreciation of the well-designed interior. It’s easy-to-use CUE system, which
controls the car’s various electronic functions, has an iPad-style
touch-sensitive screen that recognizes the proximity of your fingers (it was
ideal when we tooled around L.A.). Among the engineering highlights is an
advanced suspension system, called Magnetic Ride Control, that’s been adopted
by Ferrari.
