[maserati of minneapolis]

A few weeks ago we were awarded a Bentley franchise, so I've been working more but with no time to get in here to catch up. Things are getting back to "normal" now so I can finally get back in and catch up.

If I missed anything important - send me a note, otherwise I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their cars. It's almost spring here in Minneapolis, and I'm definitely coming down with some spring fever!

- Mark

 

[BigFoot]

Welcome back

And congrats on the new franchise!

 

[GCalo]

That's great news for you folks. Bentley is a great car

I would think though that with climbing gas prices that might hurt sales a little.

I think it's possibly my next purchase, but with 91 octane presently hovering around $4.00/gallon here in Nor Cal I am thinking very carefully about that purchase.

And it's not a case of affording the car=affording the gas. It's just plain economic sense, because gas is going to continue to climb.

Nevertheless, best of luck with the franchise.

 

[Fred]

That's great news for you folks. Bentley is a great car

I would think though that with climbing gas prices that might hurt sales a little.

I think it's possibly my next purchase, but with 91 octane presently hovering around $4.00/gallon here in Nor Cal I am thinking very carefully about that purchase.

And it's not a case of affording the car=affording the gas. It's just plain economic sense, because gas is going to continue to climb.

Nevertheless, best of luck with the franchise.

Now all we have to do is wait for the new Fiat Abarth 500 to park next to our Maseratis.

 

[The Head]

A few weeks ago we were awarded a Bentley franchise, so I've been working more but with no time to get in here to catch up. Things are getting back to "normal" now so I can finally get back in and catch up.

If I missed anything important - send me a note, otherwise I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their cars. It's almost spring here in Minneapolis, and I'm definitely coming down with some spring fever!

- Mark

Mark!
Good to have ya back man!

 

[BeeYouZeeZee]

Mark? I don't remember any Mark on here. Maserati of Minneapolis? Doesn't ring a bell!

Welcome back. Am I going to have to fly up there and buy a Bently now?

 

[GCalo]

Now all we have to do is wait for the new Fiat Abarth 500 to park next to our Maseratis.

Don't laugh. I saw an intro of that car in Italy in September!

It's neat and gets fabulous gas mileage!!!

BTW, gas is now over $4.00/gal in Norcal.

It's $4.40 for 91 in some areas!

 

[MaseratiBE]

gas is around 11 usdollar for 1 usgallon in europe

yes, that is 11 (eleven - one and one)


ps: keep the maserati

 

[lozcb]

Thats not quite correct , the uk has the most expensive fuel in europe and at the moment £4.20 per uk gallon which is slightly more than a us gallon but hey thats still around $8.50 a us gallon get in there and enjoy all you can untill it runs out

Regards loz

 

[maserati of minneapolis]

Ya know, personally I really want one of those Fiat 500 Abarths. I hope the rumors of Fiat coming back to the US prove to be true.

Bentley will be a pretty good brand for our market. The AWD has been marketed so well here by Audi that it's hard to talk people into a RWD car - which is really strange when the BMW \ Merc crowd are seemingly oblivious to the fact that that's what they have now.

I haven't changed my mind that I prefer the Maseratis over the Bentleys by any means, but it's an exciting addition for us.

 

[maserati of minneapolis]

The fuel argument is interesting. I personally wish motorsports like F1, DTM, and the Le Mans series would either create an efficiency class (like Group C is supposed to be) or just push efficiency in general, and strengthening homogulation.

Audi and Peugeot have done a bit on their own with the Diesel R8 and 908, but I think we need a new push of racing improving the breed in terms of efficiency and possible alternative fuels. (Not to mention the Tesla)

And it needs to come across the board - racing - exotics - commuter cars - having it in high performance \ racing cars makes it more acceptable and relevant for the commodity cars, and shared technology makes it more affordable for everyone.

I might be a bit of a weirdo when it comes to this, since I'm as much a gear head as I am an environmentalist, but at some point we have to realize that our car hobby won't survive if we don't embrace\call for bigger changes.

What do you guys think about that? How concerned are you about gas mileage when you're looking at these cars? Is it as much your concern as an image concern?

(Is it OK to threadjack if you started the thread?) lol

 

[Fred]

What do you guys think about that? How concerned are you about gas mileage when you're looking at these cars? Is it as much your concern as an image concern?

(Is it OK to threadjack if you started the thread?) lol

While fuel mileage is not a top concern, is is kind of annoying that the cars are not geared more like a Porsche or BMW.
With a taller 6th gear, they could do much better on fuel, and not give up any performance.

 

[leadfoot_mf]

While fuel mileage is not a top concern, is is kind of annoying that the cars are not geared more like a Porsche or BMW.
With a taller 6th gear, they could do much better on fuel, and not give up any performance.

like the corvettes i get 30 mpg cruising on the highway at 80mph if it is flat.

also i wish they would sell all the diesel cars here that they have in Europe, why dont they?

And finally i want some high pro diesel sports cars. i saw a vw concept a few years ago that looked really cool.

it really does feel like the great minds of the world are not doing enough to help the fuel costs. (gov for the loss)

 

[BigFoot]

I drive just a few kilometres a week, so mileage is really not an issue for me when choosing a car.

 

[maserati of minneapolis]

also i wish they would sell all the diesel cars here that they have in Europe, why dont they?

And finally i want some high pro diesel sports cars. i saw a vw concept a few years ago that looked really cool.

Diesel got a bad rap here when it was stinky, and not very good in the cold climates, etc. (It has an especially bad rap here in Minnesota due to its problems in the winter) We abandoned diesel but Europe kept high gas prices which helped keep the diesel cars in demand while they kept developing the powertrain to be cleaner while also developing the fuel to burn cleaner and work better in the cold.

Commuter cars that the US automakers say they can't get to 35mpg until 2020 - which seems stupid when there are plenty of the equivalent cars on the road in Europe running diesel and getting 40-50mpg today.

I honestly think Diesel derivatives are a better solution than E85 or the current gas\electric hybrids we have now. I'd rather see something like a diesel generator charging batteries like train locomotives use. Plus as biodiesel is developed it should become clear pretty quickly that its more environmentally friendly than corn-based E85, which is a sham if you ask me.

 

[The Head]

the three cyl turbo diesel Smarts are well above the 30-40 mpg mark and fairly fun to drive as well...Mark I emailed you about a computer reset can you get back to me on that please [email protected]

 

[maserati of minneapolis]

I sent that stuff over last night, let me know how it goes.

 

[GCalo]

The fuel argument is interesting. ---

What do you guys think about that? How concerned are you about gas mileage when you're looking at these cars? Is it as much your concern as an image concern?

I am not part of the "got to have it crowd" and I don't directly care much about image. I buy what I like and I can afford to. I am, however, very careful about all purchases.

Gas mileage becomes an issue on the cars driven daily or mostly, because it will not be long before it's $5.00/gallon in NorCal. It's already over $5.00/gallon along Rte 1 before San Simeon!

So anyone buying large engine vehicles should pay attention to the future reality that gas will be more costly and it will directly greatly affect cost of vehicle ownership.

I spoke with one locally who spends over $1K/month on gas for a 4 wheel drive truck he really does not need!

So gas mileage should be of great concern to all. It's going to affect what we buy, what cars will be available, and what we will be able to afford to do.

It was stated recently that SUV's now consume a minimum of 50% of the gas sold in the US. That should wake up a few.