Elite Auto Rental Blog

The Enzo Ferrari
Every few years, the two facets of Ferrari combine, taking the high-tech, high-performance designs of Formula One (F1) and putting them into the ultimate dream car. The results have always been exotic, incredibly fast, and incredibly expensive. The latest Ferrari supercar is the Enzo Ferrari, named after the company’s late founder. Enzo Ferrari built the company after splitting from Alfa Romeo in 1940, and the car that bears his name is focused purely on performance. Just being rich isn’t enough to get yourself behind the wheel of the Enzo: Fewer than 400 were made, and prospective owners had to apply to Ferrari for the privilege of buying one. Oh, and don’t say the name wrong: It’s Enzo first, Ferrari second.

But here’s the great news.  You don’t have to wait in line to own one.  You can make your dream of driving a Ferrari come true, by checking out www.driveyourdream.com   

Skoda has been Awarded Best Car Manufacturer by independent consumers at ReviewCentre.com, the leading consumer review Website.

The Skoda Octavia RS has proved a sensation with online visitors to the Car Reviews topic at Review Centre and they have consistently heaped praise on Skoda and in particular on this stylish family sports car. In fact, over 100 reviews have been submitted to the Review Centre site by Octavia RS drivers. Not only have all of them been delighted with their purchase, all reviewers were happy to recommend the Skoda Octavia RS to other motorists.

As well as this perfect 100 per cent recommendation, the Skoda Octavia RS scored similarly impressive near-perfect ratings for factors such as performance (9.6/10), practicality (9.6/10), reliability (9.6/10), and value for money (9.9/10).

In a nutshell, owners of the Octavia RS, simply cannot find fault with their vehicle. In terms of comfort, mechanics, running costs, safety, price, handling, reliability and flair they are convinced the Skoda Octavia RS is the ace in the pack and their review have led the Octavia RS to win in the sports car category award for 2006, beating hundreds of other sports cars listed at Review Centre to come out on top.

Typical user comments at Review Centre from owners include: “Quite simply the bargain sports car of the decade. It masquerades as a family saloon but has the devil inside!”

“Engine is a gem, practical, stylish, well equipped and superb quality.”

“An excellent car which has features of cars much much more expensive. A stunner on the road.”

“Have had my Octavia RS for about a year now and am absolutely delighted with it.”

Gaynor Holt, Chief Operations Officer at ReviewCentre.com, explained: “Skoda Octavia RS drivers clearly know a bargain and also superb quality when they see it. In fact, rarely has a product been so consistently praised at Review Centre. According to the many detailed reviews submitted by owners to the Review Centre website the Skoda Octavia RS is one of the great motor cars of the modern era and so firmly deserves this award”

The Skoda Octavia RS’s award from Review Centre is based on averages of ratings and user comments submitted by customers to Review Centre in 2006, and also for the overall ratings and comments featured at the Review Centre site.

To read the reviews, comments and ratings for the Skoda Octavia RS and other award winners please visit Review Centre.

Audi wasn’t banking on revealing its new A5 coupe for another two weeks, but a series of photographs leaked onto the Internet overnight have quickly squashed the plan that would have seen the stylish new two-door unveiled in all its glory for the first time at the Geneva auto show on March 6.
     The photographs, which appeared on several automotive Web sites, show the exterior of the new A5 from a number of different angles in a studio setting. Styled by ex-Audi design boss Walter de’Silva, the new car boasts clear hints from the German carmaker’s second-generation TT coupe, boasting a prominent grille, heavy shoulder line and deep character lines along the rockers.
At the same time, the A5 also shares various elements with the larger A6 sedan, including the shape of its headlamps, surfacing treatment and rear-end look. Inspiration for the new coupe is said to have come from the well-received Nuvolari concept shown back in 2004.

The photographs also expose the A5’s interior, which appears to have been lifted from the A6, but with Audi’s MMI (Multi Media Interface) rotary controller moved to the dashboard from its usual position on the center console.

The exact origin of the leaked photographs is unknown at this stage, although the number plate worn by the car in question suggests they may have come from a German rental-car company brochure. Audi traditionally places an Ingolstadt number plate on cars featured in its official press photographs, but the A5 in the pictures has a number plate from Hamburg.

The A5 is the first Audi model to benefit from a new platform structure that goes under the internal code name B8. It has been developed with improved weight distribution and steering response in mind. Among the engines planned to power the new coupe is Audi’s 255-horsepower 3.2-liter V6, and, as indicated by the badges on the rear of the car featured in the leaked photographs, a 225-hp 3.0-liter diesel V6.

Rumors suggest an S6 variant of the new car will appear at the New York auto show in April, powered by a 340-hp 4.2-liter V8 engine.

© Source: article on insideline

For those who simply couldn’t wait until the release of the Cadillac Sixteen when Cadillac released the car as a concept in 2003, I have some rather disappointing news: GM recently decided to shut down any ideas or further production of the luxury Sixteen that was greatly anticipated. I remember seeing the Sixteen at the 2003 auto show at the world-renowed State Fair of Texas and thinking to myself that this car would surely bring the Cadillac name into the intense spotlight of high-end luxury car makers. These hopes are all but gone now.

GM claims that although the Sixteen was incredibly luxurious (deemed the Cadillac of all Cadillacs), they couldn’t risk putting the car up against Bentleys, Rolls Royces and Maybachs because of such low sales numbers in the high-end market. Cadillac did, however, promote the new 2008 CTS for some reencouragement after the news regarding the Sixteen. They boasted all new styles of the CTS to make a family of sedans, coupes and wagons similar to the BMW 3-series, hoping to attract buyers from all different regions and markets.

Cadillac Sixteen

In March, expect to see the exciting new Maserati Gran Turismo car! It will hold 4 passengers, boasts a 4.2L V8 shoving out a whopping 405HP. It will be paired with an automatic transmission and an adaptive control system that will adjust th egear-shifting mode to the driving style you present at the time and the road conditions.

It is said to have a near spot-on 50/50 weight distribution that ought to offer you the utmost driving experience!  No word yet on cost, but expect the same great Maserati quality nonetheless!

Chevrolet Camaro Convertible Premiere
By Matt DeLorenzo provided by: Road & Track

Unlike the more retro-inspired Mustang, the Camaro is much more contemporary in execution.

As we predicted last October, Chevrolet has decided to add a convertible version to the Camaro lineup when the reconstituted pony car bows late next year as a 2009 model. The styling remains identical to the coupe, except for the lack of a fixed roof. Unlike the more retro-inspired Mustang, the Camaro is much more contemporary in execution. Although the long hood/short rear deck profile is derived form the legendary 1969 model, the detailing has a more modern flair. Several cues, like the small hood scoop above the grille, echo details used on the Corvette Z06. Contrary to the current trend towards retractable hardtops, the Camaro will be a traditional powered canvas top.

Chevrolet Camaro ConvertibleBased on GM’s new Zeta rear-drive platform that is being developed by the company’s Holden unit in Australia, the Camaro will be offered with a choice of a 3.6-liter V-6 and 6.0-liter V-8 engine. In keeping with the international roots of the platform, the new Camaro will be built at a GM assembly plant in Oshawa, Canada, outside of Toronto. The Zeta architecture, which will also spawn four-door sedans for Chevy, Pontiac and Buick, featured an independent rear suspension. Typically, an independent rear is more expensive than a live axle setup similar to that used by the Mustang, so Chevy is under pressure to bring the Camaro in at a price competitive with the Ford. By adding a convertible and offering a V-6, Chevy is aiming the Camaro squarely at its crosstown rival. Can a Dodge Challenger convertible be not too far behind?

Well, i heard abut the rolls royce that brought $2 million dollars, and I think it’s a certainty That DFW Elite Isnt going to rent one. www.dfweliteatorental.com Ron Is just too cheap for that.

Rolls-Royce thinks its new Phantom Drophead Coupé could be the most expensive new car ever sold in the US, after one was bought for $2million at a charity auction in Florida.

The bid was the highest price paid in the Naples Winter Wine Festival’s seven-year history. The auction is attended by top vintners and chefs, plus TV and film stars. Rolls launched the new Drophead at January’s Detroit Motor Show, but the auction’s top bidder will have to wait for delivery - production of the £300,000 soft-top starts at the company’s factory in Goodwood, West Sussex, this summer.
Just what do you do with your brand new Rolls-Royce Phantom? The firm says 90 per cent of owners will be at the controls of the ?£250,000 car themselves, instead of using a chauffeur. So will the experience - not to mention the money - be worth it? 

When it was first unveiled, the Roller got a mixed reception. Its looks didn’t please everyone, especially the purists. But this is a modern vehicle - a Rolls reinterpreted by its new owner, BMW - although the vast leather and wood interior is instantly recognisable as a Royce. Slide into the armchair-like driver’s seat and it wraps around you to give a supremely comfortable position. It has been placed deliberately high to provide an excellent view out over the extraordinarily long bonnet.

At first, the sheer size and scale of the Phantom is daunting, and it takes half-an-hour to get to grips with the car. But the all-round air-suspension delivers an excellent ride and helps to smooth out the roughest of roads. The passive roll of the vehicle as it corners rocks passengers gently without throwing them around. Its naturally aspirated engine has been set up with torque rather than power as the priority, and the six-speed automatic box reflects this. The ratios are very long, to avoid the need for constant downchanging.

However, when you kick down on the accelerator for extra power, there’s a distinct time delay before the surge is delivered. Once it arrives, though, there is more than enough. On tight, twisty roads, the car understandably struggles. Its sheer weight means throwing the nose into a corner isn’t possible, while the size leads to inevitable understeer. It’s not for a lack of power, however - the 6.75-litre engine provides more than enough, propelling the car from 0-60mph in 5.7 seconds and on to a limited top speed of 149mph.

The Phantom is everything a modern Roller should be - graceful, easy to drive, smooth and powerful. When it comes to luxury motoring, it doesn’t get much better.

Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheel wells. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars.

A kind of hybrid between the purism of open-wheelers and the familiarity of touring car racing, this racing is often associated with the annual Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race. First run in 1923, it is one of the oldest motor races still in existence. Other classic but now defunct sports car races include the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia. Most top class sports car races emphasise endurance (races are typically anywhere from 2.5 to 24 hours in length), reliability and strategy over pure speed. Longer races usually involve complex pit strategy and regular driver changes - sports car racing is seen more as a team sport than a gladiatorial individual sport and team managers like John Wyer, Tom Walkinshaw, driver-turned-constructor Henri Pescarolo, Peter Sauber and Reinhold Jöst have become almost as famous as many of their drivers.

The prestige of Ferrari, Porsche, Lotus, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, and Aston Martin derives in part from success in sports car racing and the World Sportscar Championship. Road cars sold by these manufacturers have in many cases been very similar to the cars that were raced, both in engineering and styling. It is this close association with the ‘exotic’ nature of the cars that serves as a useful distinction between sports car racing and Touring Cars.