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1966 Shelby sells for US$5.5 million at auction
Two vehicles built by Carroll Shelby sold at the 36th annual
Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona,
with one bringing US$5.5 million, the most ever paid for
an American car at auction. Collector Ron Pratt of Chandler,
Arizona bought both vehicles: the first 2007 Shelby GT Mustang,
with a winning bid of US$600,000, and the "Super Snake",
a dual supercharged 427 Cobra built by Shelby in 1966, for
which Pratt paid US$5.5 million.
Proceeds from the event were put towards the Carroll Shelby
Children's Foundation, which was created in 1991 to help
provide financial assistance to children in need of organ
and tissue transplants. Mark Fields, Ford President The Americas,
officiated the auction. Over the last three auction events,
Ford Motor Company has raised over US$1.7 million for the
foundation.
OPP cruises back in black and white
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will return to traditional
black and white patrol cars, adding greater visibility and
instant recognition to OPP general duty and traffic patrol.
The event was marked by the unveiling of a new OPP black
and white Ford Crown Victoria cruiser being built in St.
Thomas, Ontario. The first black and white cruisers will
patrol high-traffic areas of the 400 series highways by the
beginning of March 2007. The full roll-out will follow the
normal replacement schedule for general patrol vehicles,
with the fleet becoming completely black and white over the
next two and a half years. The reintroduction of the traditional-look
cruisers coincides with the renewed OPP focus on traffic
safety, in particular aggressive targeting of dangerous drivers.
The OPP has used several variations of black and white cruisers;
in 1989, it went to all-white cruisers with blue and gold
striping, with the black and white cars completely phased
out by 1993. The OPP maintains a fleet of approximately 1,200
general patrol cars.
Annual sales of Canadian luxury vehicles drops
for first time since 1990
Sales of luxury vehicles have faltered for the first time
since 1990, says auto analyst, Dennis Desrosiers. Total luxury
sales were down slightly to 139,015 units a drop of 0.3 percent,
the first decline in more than 15 years. This caused a small
decline in the share of luxury vehicle sales in Canada to
8.6 percent of the total market from 8.8 percent of the total
market in 2005. The share of Luxury vehicles in Canada was
only 3.1 percent in 1990 and last year's slight drop in share
was the first since that year. In addition, buyer's preferences
in luxury vehicles have shifted since 1990. During the 1990's
the luxury market was concentrated in 'High Luxury' models
which peaked in 2000 at 35,341 units. The High Luxury segment
has fallen on hard times dropping to only 23,423 units in
2006 a decline of 7.9 percent from 2005 and some 12 thousand
units below their peak. The best selling High Luxury model
in 2006 was the Acura TL and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class a
very close second place. Desrosiers says many of these luxury
intenders have moved over to Luxury Sport Utility vehicles
which over the same timeframe have grown by about 25 thousand
units. This segment was up by 5.7 percent from 2005 to 45,985
units. The best selling Luxury SUV last year was Lexus RX.
The other growing luxury segment is Small Luxury or what
might be called entry-level luxury, such as the BMW 3 Series,
Lexus IS, Infiniti G35, Audi A4, and Cadillac CTS. This segment
also includes vehicles like the Chrysler 300C and the Ford
Five Hundred. Last year, the best selling Small Luxury vehicle
was the Chrysler 300C, followed by the BMW 3 Series Luxury
Sport Cars took a heavy hit in 2006 down 13.5 percent to
only 6,369 units in 2006 and only 0.4 percent of the total
market. This is down from a peak sales performance of 8,204
units in 2004. The best selling Luxury Sports Car last year
was the Mazda RX-8.
Ontario students live in a car to raise money
for world literacy
A club at Queen's University in Kingston,
Ontario has parked a Suzuki SX4 in the university's
library and will be living in it for ten consecutive
days to raise money for world literacy. D.R.E.A.M.
(Discover the Reality of Educating All Minds), a Queen's
University club, was provided the car by partner Suzuki
Canada Inc., as part of Mission: Ultimate Stauffer
Lockdown (M.U.S.L.). The club aims to raise more than
$10,000 for the construction of three school libraries
in rural Nepal by the club's parent organization, Room
to Read Canada. "The rules are quite simple," says
Leslie Chan, D.R.E.A.M. Vice-President of Publication
Relations. "No classes, no household comforts,
and only five minutes of freedom away from the library
every hour. It's definitely going to be an experience." Last
year the club members lived in a tent for ten days
in the library's front lobby, but this year, with Suzuki
Canada's support, the event has expanded to include
a car. Last year, the club raised enough money to build
a computer lab in a rural Cambodian public school.
The M.U.S.L. will be broadcast live via Web cam 24
hours a day, and can be accessed through QueensDream.ca.
Toyota enters NASCAR fray New contender inspires angst
and anticipation
After years of expanding
its presence in the United
States and beyond, Japan's
Toyota Motor Corp. recently
issued a 2007 forecast that
would make it first in global
sales, ahead of General Motors
Corp. And now, Toyota is
about to begin competing
with its American counterparts
on yet another level: NASCAR's
premier circuit, the Nextel
Cup. Toyota teams have been
testing their Camrys here
this month at Daytona International
Speedway, where they are
inspiring anticipation and
angst as the Nextel Cup season
approaches. Toyota will be
the first foreign brand to
compete in stock-car racing's
top series since Jaguar in
the 1950s. Engineers at Toyota
Racing Development, a competition
division that builds engines
and provides engineering
support, have been working
for more than a year for
this moment. Their mere presence
here, however, is making
some uneasy. While Toyota
scrambles to prepare its
Camrys and build its race
shops for the Nextel Cup
circuit, competitors are
accusing the company of raiding
teams for talent and raising
the costs of operation by
offering dramatically higher
salaries. Toyota entered
NASCAR competition through
the Craftsman Truck Series
in 2004. Since announcing
a year ago that it would
join the Nextel Cup competition,
the company has seen a debate
escalate in this insular
sport over what is considered
American-made in today's
global economy. As Toyota
drivers are quick to point
out, Camrys are built in
the United States, the Ford
Fusion is produced in Mexico
and Chevy's Monte Carlo comes
from Canada."If you're
going to argue with me about
not being American," Jarrett
told reporters this month, "check
and see that TV you're watching
was made in the United States
that you're watching our
great races on." |
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