Dreaming of Plush Cars and Posh Interiors

End of the year, quite a great time to pamper yourself and your dear ones. And oopps. It’s also a time for the hottest deals from automakers.

Watch out - great cars come in affordable prices. With this being year-end, auto dealers are willing to wheel and deal to move every new and pre-owned vehicle they can off their lots by midnight Jan. 2. General Motors, Chrysler, and Hyundai Motor America were a few of the automakers that decreased production during the fourth quarter, avoiding healthy incentives and an oversupply of vehicles on their dealers’ lots. This puts dealers in a less desperate situation than they faced last year. Yet, there are still many great deals to be found.

Overall, the mid-luxury car category - Acura RL, Acura TL, Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Cadillac STS, Lexus GS, Mercedes E-Class, Saab 9-5, Volvo S80 - has the greatest incentives this year, topping out close to an average of $5,000 per vehicles sold, according to Power Information Network, an auto industry, reported the Black Enterprise.

For instance, BMW Financial Services is offering 3.9% to 4.9% on many of its cars for 60 months, whereas the average interest rate being offered by many financial institutions is 6.86% for the same term, according to Bankrate.com. Purchasing a $59,000 BMW 550i through its finance company will lead to a monthly car payment of $1,083.91, using its special rate and term, saving approximately $4,857 in financing from the same rate being offered by lenders on Bankrate.com. Ironically, opting for BMW’s three-year subsidized lease at $739 a month on the 550i will save consumers close to $300 a month from the conventional 60-month car note.

In addition to BMW, other automakers are offering year-end deals. Chrysler LLC and Chrysler Financial are deferring payments until June 2008 on most 2006, 2007, and 2008 models; General Motors and GMAC are offering 0% financing for 60 months on many 2007 vehicles along with a $1,000 holiday bonus on several 2008 models; and Ford and Mercury are offering a $1,000 holiday bonus on several 2007 and 2008 models.

The maker of Acura CSX distributor caps and other plush automakers could have been overwhelmed by the coming sales.

When you talk about luxury cars, you know you will be talking about the price and just how good it really is in terms of performance and comfort.  But for me I think that features play a major role in making a vehicle a "plush" one.  And when it comes to features, I think the 2008 Cadillac STS has one long list of features that can add a lot to the value of the car.

Here are some of the features of the STS.  Some of these are only the standard features of the STS:

With those features, I am sure that it the STS can be considered as a "plush" car. What do you think?

Gather the superlatives to describe the modern luxury sedans, which cars will make it to the top list?

To invade the performance auto arena, luxury automakers are pushing into 600-hp. Now which company builds the most powerful sedan? Which car carries sophisticated engine, transmission and suspension technology? Is it Porsche? Lamborghini? Dodge? Name it.

“Clearly these cars are putting more horsepower to the ground than one would ever think was normal for a luxury sedan," says former automotive financial analyst Joseph Phillippi, now a consultant to the auto industry. "These are Ferraris with four doors and a trunk. The appeal is the exclusivity they offer, the ‘I’m rich enough to afford one’ statement the car makes, albeit quietly.”

“I’m sure there are buyers who are clueless, simply spending money because they have a lot of it,” Phillippi tells Forbes. “But most of the people who buy these know all about the car — maybe even know how to drive it well.”

Unlike some gaudy sports cars with huge wings, scoops and obnoxiously loud exhaust systems, these extreme luxury sedans only hint at their prowess — with a discreet “supercharged” or “V12” badge on the trunk or fender, a slightly lowered stance, and larger, flashier wheels with low-profile tires. “You’re not looking to impress Joe Six-Pack,” says automotive consultant and publicist Martyn Schorr. “It’s the aficionados who are impressed — and valets. Valets are used to seeing luxury cars, but they’re impressed when they see a Mercedes AMG or BMW M logo.”

Visual differences between regular sedans and their superlative counterparts are often so subtle. “The sedans are stealthy, so you can be a performance loony and not look bad in your neighborhood,” Phillippi says.

“These sedans work as everyday family vehicles yet deliver performance that was, until recently, reserved for truly high-performance sports cars,” Schorr says. “And you can go anywhere and park one. It’s just a sedan. It doesn’t attract the attention a Ferrari does. They’re invisible to all but knowledgeable people.”

Extreme luxury supercars have it all – awesome performance, chic style, spacious trunk, comfy seats, plush amenities, and more. Acura cold air intake is constantly improving. Dodge Viper engines are getting stronger. Lexus is now plusher than ever. No wonder the market is gradually growing.

“More and more people have the money,” Schorr says. “The difference in price between it and the conventional model doesn’t mean much to them. These people also tend to be fickle. Before the car is one or at most two years old, it’s sold and they buy another one, so there’s a constant, evolving market for them.”

Who buys supercars? “Guys with high levels of testosterone,” Schorr says. “People who already own one or more sports cars. People who truly appreciate high performance and feel they can’t be without it in their daily driver.”

Super sedans are also arguably safer than are outright performance cars and tend to be bought by more responsible drivers. "The people who own these cars don’t go nuts with them," Schorr says. "It doesn’t matter that they have 500 hp. They’re responsible individuals, they paid a lot of money for them, they transport families and business associates. They’re more likely to stay out of trouble than are people who get behind the wheel of something red with two seats and very high horsepower.”

Thieves have a taste for plush and posh cars. Ah-hah, the same taste that you have.

The gang would then target car dealerships in Europe, where they would say they had lost the keys to the car, reported BBC News.

The gang patrolled rich areas of London such as Kensington and Chelsea looking for cars on their "want list,” Det Con Ian Slaney of the Metropolitan Police Stolen Vehicles Unit. "They’d take a note of vehicles on their phones, and then counterfeit documents and passports, purporting to be the owners of the vehicles."

The gang would then target car dealerships in Europe, where they would say they had lost the keys to the car. For a few hundred euros, dealers would provide them with a spare set of keys, thinking they were the legitimate owners. "Back in England, they would get into the car with the spare set of keys, and drive away," said Det Con Slaney.

Southwark Crown Court heard during the case that it was the first time thieves had been caught getting keys from dealerships. The stolen cars were then given a false Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). These numbers are usually stamped on a riveted plate in the bonnet and sometimes several other parts of the car, including the window sill, the report added. The vehicles, after that, are exported to different countries like the United Arab Emirates.

"They were so good at what they do. It’s only because we knew what we were looking for that we found out they were stolen vehicles," Slaney said.

Hameed Nawaz, of Luton, forged documents including bank statements, utility bills, vehicle insurance and passports as part of the scam. A search of gang leader Imran Ganchi’s Ilford home found a haul of forged logbooks, fake vehicle ID stickers, number plate making machines, hundreds of blank number plates and 8 stolen British passports. The forgeries were of a "high quality", the court heard.

Paul Watters of the AA said many car ringing gangs were professional criminal networks, increasingly reliant on skilled forgers to help stolen cars "disappear.” He said replacing the VIN was difficult and good forgers had to be adept at replacing these without leave tell-tale signs of damage, such as scratches on the bodywork.

"It’s not that easy frankly, especially if a car buyer gets a proper inspection of the engine. Normally the people who do inspections will flag up a VIN that looks like it’s been tampered with," he added.

That is why, Watters said, so many cars are being shipped abroad, to countries in eastern Europe, Africa or the Middle East. "Often, people there are not very concerned about the history of a vehicle. It’s that it’s in their possession and what it is [a luxury car] that’s important, and not how it’s come by."

Makers of Acura CL PCV valve, Lexus radiator, and other luxury automakers - watch out! Car owners - beware!

Every car manufacturer wants to sell as many cars as planned. This is why they are designing and manufacturing exotic cars with the intent to tickle aficionados fancy. But in the automotive industry, they can’t really have it all. Simply, it isn’t probable.

But come to think of it, the title “best and worst selling cars” is really a misnomer. Usually, the "worst" sellers are those with the lowest sales volumes and often the highest prices.

Mercedes-Benz’s lowest-selling car in 2006, the limited-production SLR McLaren coupe, was also, at $453,000, far and away its most expensive, says ABC News. The same can be said for Dodge’s $82,000 Viper sports car and Land Rover’s $77,000 Range Rover sport utility vehicle.

But some high-priced cars are a constant source of sales disappointment. These include Acura’s flagship RL sedan, the sales of which declined 35% to 12,000 units in 2006. Acura’s lowest-selling vehicle, the RL had sales in 2006 that matched only 37% of the sales of Mercedes’ flagship sedan, the S-Class, the report continued.

ABC News notes:

A car’s sales plummet when it is phased out of production, but sales also tend to decline when an automaker overhauls a nameplate, either because customers forego the old model and await the new one, or because the automaker ends the old model’s production before building the new one.

Conversely, some potential buyers may see such laggards as ripe for discounts because they know the dealerships want to get rid of them. Knowing what the successes are is equally helpful because they usually indicate what the company does best–or at least knows how to sell best.

Sports cars, such as Nissan Motor’s 350Z two-door, are fairly low-volume, and therefore, low sellers. But this does not mean they are failures. After all, the world’s most desirable cars–Ferraris, Bentleys, Rolls-Royce’s , etc.–are low-volume models.

As you observe, automakers’ bread-and-butter vehicles are well protected. They are constantly upgraded to suit the changing needs of customers. But this is done without compromising the original blend they have loved since the vehicle’s inception. Automakers have to constantly satisfy the customer’s appetite for tested, rare and luscious auto treats.

The Nissan Motor Corporation and Yahoo! joined forces with approximately 350 guests on the one-year anniversary of Nissan Live Sets. The Auto Channel also joined the said event which made the program more star studded and interesting. Milo Ventimiglia from Heroes hosted the red carpet event. Several stars and celebrities like Samantha Ronson and Matchbox Twenty were also seen at the event.

Guests included socialites:

• Paris Hilton and actors Dave Annable and Emily Vancamp (Brothers & Sisters)
• David Spade (Rules of Engagement)
• Joe Reitman (Lady In the Water)
• Dominique Swain (Alpha Dog, Face Off) Madeline Zima (Californication)
• David Blue (Ugly Betty) and Carly Pope (24)

Matchbox 20 was one among the most interesting bands that played their music at the said fabulous event. The guests were also amazed to see the Nissan GT- R which is the highlight of the said event. The guests were all looking great matched with the GT-R from Nissan which was its first time to show up publicly. The event was held and was successfully attended by several stars and celebrities which made the program really interesting and fabulous.

Artists that have graced the Nissan Live Sets stage in the past year including:

• Christina Aguilera
• Tony Bennett
• John Legend
• Joss Stone
• Avril Lavigne
• Maroon 5
• Velvet Revolver
• Lifehouse
• Common
• Melissa Etheridge
• Santana
• PJ Harvey
• Incubus
• Beck
• Macy Gray
• Nas
• The Stooges
• Chris Cornell
• Enrique Iglesias
• Kelly Clarkson
• Ryan Adams
• Rascal Flatts
• The Foo Fighters
• Wyclef Jean

Yahoo! is the best source of music as well as other information like Mercedes SL320 radiator or car parts. Log on to their official website if you wish to feed your knowledge with anything you need.