Damox's Car Blog

Stefan Erikssen, the former executive of Gizmondo, a defunct portable video game company, has lost his SLR McLaren just a month after wrecking his Ferrari Enzo. The SLR McLaren Mercedes-Benz was being driven by his wife, who does not have a license to drive in the United States. The car was confiscated, and now Erikksen can claim to be the only person to have owned and lost the two hottest cars on the market today.
Ferrari Enzo Crash in Malibu

AAA has named the Jaguar XJ8L the top car of 2006 for the $50,000+ category. Their criteria include ride, performance, braking, handling, passenger and cargo space, value, and fuel economy. I can't help but notice "number of times we've had to send a tow truck to pick it up" was not part of AAA's criteria. Last I knew, Jaguar was still owned by Ford. That's one feather they can stick in their caps before getting buried.
AAA Names the Jaguar XJ8L as Top Car Pick for 2006 - Automotoportal.com

Here's some more information on the Tzero, an electric-powered roadster that can do 0-60 in 4.1 seconds. This is not a concept car, it is in production, although not available in the United States, which has some very strict laws about crash tests and ground clearance. The $219,525 price tag will probably prevent these from catching on with environmentalists, who tend to be anti-establishment and therefore poor (just kidding, I'm actually one of them).
TechEBlog » Tzero - World’s Fastest Electric Vehicle

What kind of car would you drive if you were a billionaire? A Bentley, a Ferrari, perhaps a SLR McLaren? You might be surprised to learn that some billionaires, such as IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, drive cars valued at less than $10,000. His Volvo station wagon is a relatively cheap vehicle when purchased new, but his isn't even close to being new. Warren Buffett drives a Lincoln Town Car, and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer drives a 1998 Lincoln Continental.
Top 10 Vehicles Owned by Billionaires - ForbesAutos.com

There is no god. I sweat it out in front of my computer screen all day, writing meaningless posts like this one to my various blogs, which make just enough money to supplement my Ramen Noodle habit, while Paris Hilton gets a Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren. Doesn't it make you wish for the Hilton hotel empire to collapse? I know Paris is worth about $30 million, but that's not much considering her spending habits. I do know one thing: this is one SLR McLaren I'd like to see on WreckedAutos.com
Paris Hilton gets a Mercedes SLR | Leftlane News - Car News For Enthusiasts

It's hard to call a custom Bentley a limited edition, considering they're all relatively rare, but this might be the first limited edition Bentley that comes pre-pimped out for all you wannabe hip hop stars out there. There are only 30 of them out there, and you will not be buying one at the price of $241,990, as they are all spoken for. I guess you'll just have to buy another run-of-the-mill Bentley and put the 19 inch rims on yourself.
AutoWeek

BMW has proven their commitment to being on the forefront of hydrogen fuel cell technology by offering a V12 engine on their 7 Series that runs on gasoline and hyrdrogen. The car also comes equipped with a hydrogen storage tank. It uses the thermos flask principle to store the hydrogen, which must be supercooled to -253 degrees Celsius in order the achieve a high density. The car can be switched manually from hydrogen to gasoline, depending on which fuel is available (there are very few hydrogen stations in North Dakota, for instance).
Fuel Cell Works Supplemental News Page

I know I posted this last week, but here is a better page about the Forbes list of the world's most expensive cars. There is no stupid slideshow here, just a list with pictures and prices. Shown above is the SSC Ultimate Aero, which sells for $654,500. I know some people think it looks a little too much like the Lamborghini Diablo, but I really liked the Diablo, so I don't care. All I know is it's one sweet car, for a not-so-sweet price.
Fresh Pics: Worlds Most Expensive Cars

The foundation behind the $10,000,000 prize for the first private group to send an aircraft into space is now offering $25,000,000 to the first company to sell 10,000 cars that can achieve 250 mpg. This will be a great bonus for a company that is unsure about the risks involved with investing huge amounts of money in research and development.
KRT Wire | 03/09/2006 | Want to win $25 million? Just sell 10,000 cars that get 250 mpg

Here's a little more information on the Loremo turbo diesel cars that claim to be able to achieve 157 mpg fuel economy. The company also showed off a Loremo GT, a bonafide sports car with a top speed of 138 mph and fuel economy of 88 mpg using a 3 cylinder turbo diesel engine. Perhaps the most shocking figure is the price: the base car sells for $13,200, while the GT is just $18,000. If these cars actually make it to market I would expect a major auto manufacturer to buy them out pretty quickly and then use the technology to blow away the competition. This would be the perfect opportunity for one of the smaller companies, such as Hyundai/Kia, to make itself one of the big boys in the auto industry.
gizmag Article: The 157 mpg Loremo (Low Resistance Mobility) LS

The newest cars introduced by Porsche and Lotus last week at the Geneva Motor Show may indicate a new trend in sports cars : race car performance for a fraction of the price. The Lotus Europa S sells for about $60,000 but can go 0-60 mph in 5.5 seconds. It also gets nearly 39 miles per gallon. The Porsche 911 Turbo is a much more expensive $120,000, but it's performance is shocking: 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, a time previously reserved for high end race cars.

It relies on an engine that uses a small turbocharger to boost the engine before it switches over to the larger turbocharger. This eliminates turbo lag, which any turbocharged car owner has experienced. It's the 2 to 3 second gap between when you put the pedal to the floor and you actually feel the turbocharger kick in.

With such huge advancements in just the past few years, I'm very excited for the direction the sports car industry is going in. Not only are cars getting faster, but they are getting cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Alternative fuel sources will only further this trend, as many new fuels will actually be able to provide better performance than gasoline.
Wired News

Not much to comment on here, it's just Forbes' list of the top 10 most expensive cars for 2006. The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is obviously tops on the list with a price tag over $1 million, but there are also some considerably less expensive choices, including an Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren and a Maybach 57 (also made by Mercedes Benz). My favorite might be the Porsche Carrera GT, which Forbes had to double-check to make sure it was still being sold in the United States (a caveat of the list) at press time.
World's most expensive cars 2006 - Forbes.com - MSNBC.com