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Backseat Driver: 1931 Bugatti Royale sells for $22 million

Fashion magnate and car collector Ralph Lauren has paid $22 million for a 1931 Bugatti Type 41, known as the Royale, according to Art & Auction. If so, the price would be the most ever paid for an automobile.

Not surprising. The "King of Cars," as designer Ettore Bugatti called it, has consistently broken records. Indeed, only six were ever built between 1929 and 1933 and they cost $45,000 in 1931! The previous record for an automobile was $17 million, also for a Royale.

Remember the fabulous 1938 Delage D8-120 Aerosport Coupe that won Best of Show in the Newport Concours d'Elegance on Monday? The Royale comes out of that same era of French super luxury cars that includes such marques as Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, Hotchkiss and Talbot-Lago.

But even amongst that august company, the luxurious and powerful Royale stands out. It was massive - 21 feet long and weighing 3-1/2 tons with an enormous engine that created 300 horsepower. No expense was spared on any aspect, inside or out.

Meanwhile, in a related story, I will be going down to Greenwich, Conn., this Sunday to the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance and the auction of a 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante coupé.

This car is extraordinary in that it has not moved from its garage space — it is now sandwiched between a old Farmall tractor and a 1949 Jaguar Mark V sedan — in a New York City suburb for 45 years, according to The New York Times. Christie’s estimates the car will sell for $300,000 to $400,000.

We shall see. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!

Posted by   at 4:30 PM to Collecting | Permalink | Comments 0

Gas, Oil Futures Rise on Supply Worries

Gasoline and oil futures rose today on continued concerns that domestic refineries aren't producing enough gasoline to meet peak summer driving demand, according to AP.
Retail prices, on the other hand, continued their retreat from last week's record highs. The national average price of a gallon of gas fell to $3.184 a gallon, down 0.7 cent overnight and off 4.3 cents since the May 24 record of $3.227.

Posted by   at 2:34 PM to Gas prices , Oil | Permalink | Comments 0

Toyota's May U.S. Sales Jump 14 Percent

Toyota said its U.S. vehicle sales jumped 14.1 percent in May as double-digit percentage gains in both passenger cars and light trucks helped the automaker to its best monthly sales ever, AP reports.
For the month, Toyota outsold Ford, which saw sales fall 6.9 percent as it continued to cut low-profit sales to rental companies. Nissan's sales gained 7.4 percent and DaimlerChrysler's sales rose 3.9 percent with help from a 20 percent jump in its Jeep brand.

Posted by   at 2:10 PM to Companies | Permalink | Comments 0

Smokey and the Bandit Turns 30

Thirty years after its release, Smokey and the Bandit remains the most popular car movie ever. Here's why, according to Edmunds.com
You hear it before you see it, the roar of its 400-cubic-inch V8 echoing off the wood-covered corrugated steel walls of the truck's trailer. And then it's revealed. The blackest car you've ever seen. It's just 10 minutes and 53 seconds into Smokey and the Bandit, when Burt Reynolds drives that black Trans Am out of the truck and into the sunlight. A powerslide and the car's first smoky burnout are less than two minutes away.

This month Smokey and the Bandit turns 30. It was on May 19, 1977 that the film premiered at New York City's Radio City Music Hall and injected 6.6 liters into America's vernacular. By July, everybody wanted a Screaming Chicken decal on their hoods.

Smokey and the Bandit is so much a part of popular culture, it's hard to believe it's a 30-year-old movie. Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason and even Jerry Reed all made movies that film critics would consider "better," but it's Smokey for which they'll always be remembered. Because Smokey and the Bandit is the most popular and important car movie of all time, and there's virtually no chance it's going to lose that distinction in the next 30 years.

Posted by   at 9:44 AM to Popular culture | Permalink | Comments 0

Gas prices, housing market expected to sting auto sales

High gas prices and the slow housing market are expected to result in soft May auto sales, with even venerable Toyota perhaps taking a hit, according to a report in USA Today, citing Edmunds.com
Consumer website Edmunds.com predicts sales reported today will be down 4.2% compared with last year, with blame for the decline resting squarely on energy costs and housing woes. Still, sales are expected to be better than in April, when automakers posted an overall 7.6% decline compared with April 2006.

Edmunds predicts that even Toyota, which has tended to shake off slumping sales when gas prices soar thanks to its fuel efficient models, will see a drop in sales. Only Chrysler is expected to post an increase — and a modest one, at that.

Posted by   at 9:28 AM to Analysis | Permalink | Comments 0