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| Rather more exclusive than Peugeot hoped it would be... |
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Think exclusive and you tend to home in on ultra-costly cars wearing prestigious badges such as Rolls-Royce, Maybach or Lamborghini. They’re exclusive because hardly anyone can afford them; their sales are limited by the number of people with the necessary folding.
But driving something unusual doesn’t necessarily require the wealth of Bill Gates; for just a few grand you can snap up something you’re unlikely to see on your neighbour’s drive. On Saturday I saw a Passat W8 and a Renault Avantime; I took a lot more notice of those than I did of the Maybach and Phantom I saw on Sunday.
The VW and Renault were commercial failures, white elephants that should never have been signed off. But the fact they were is surely cause for celebration; if only rational cars got the thumbs up wouldn’t life be boring? The Honda Legend, Citroen C6 and Cadillac BLS are other cars you’re never going to see in quantity, partly because they’re against such established German competition. Yet they’re all going to represent cracking value for money in a year or two.
However, it’s not just in the executive arena that cars fail to sell. Peugeot is finding that out with its costly 1007, which it just can’t shift. Also, when was the last time you saw a VW Fox? I’ve yet to see one on the road, and VW can’t blame those pesky German rivals for dominating the market. Anything French and executive is never going to sell, but what do you reckon are the biggest-ever automotive white elephants?
“I can’t get (Re)no…(vel)-Satis-faction!”
Gerry Pollard | 16 Apr 07 - 18:38Yes - I didn’t mention the Vel Satis because the Avantime had already made an appearance in the article. But with just 1400 sold in the UK (most of which were probably dealer demos), you’re never going to see many Vel Satises (Vel Sati?) on the road…
Richard Dredge | 16 Apr 07 - 19:19I’ve currently got a bit of a hankering for a Chrysler Crossfire. Ok not exactly a budget car in the spirit of your piece, but still a poor man’s SLK.
You’d have to be insane to buy a new one, what with the deprecation of a Chrysler, but I reckon a used one could be a steal.
Just a shame most people regard it as fugly, I suppose..
Pat Holliday | 18 Apr 07 - 12:20But the Crossfire is cheap - it’s all relative. I’ve got a friend who bought one just before Christmas, for around £14k; she’s just traded it in against a Honda Civic (!) for £10,800. I wouldn’t want a Crossfire (and when she realised just how thirsty the car is, neither did my friend), but when you think how much the car is now worth compared with when it was new, it starts to make sense.
Richard Dredge | 18 Apr 07 - 13:39