America’s 10 Most Leased Vehicles: It’s All about German Luxury Cars

The easiest way to get behind the wheel of an expensive luxury / sports car if you can’t afford to buy it cash or through a loan is to lease it. Basically, what you do in leasing is that instead of putting a loan for the entire cost of a vehicle, you borrow an amount for the cost of a car brand new minus what it will be worth (estimated value) at the end of the leasing period. This results to lower monthly payments even though you’ll have to pay an extra amount if you want to keep the car.

Even though most automaker’s in the U.S. are beginning to either cut back on leasing like BMW and General Motors or quit it altogether like Chrysler, this form of ownership remains quite popular in the luxury car segment. According to a study from .D. Power & Associates' Power Information Network (PIN) that was published on 'BusinessWeek', the 10 most commonly leased vehicles in the U.S. belong to the luxury segment. -Continued

From the 10 vehicles with the highest lease share, seven belong to German automakers with four of those being BMWs. The 7-Series tops the list with a lease share in 2008 of 85.3% (!) followed by Saab’s 9-7x with an equally mind-blowing, 82.2%.

BMW 7 Series

2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 85.3%
Starting price: $77,625
Sales through July 2008: 8,190
Sales through July 2007: 8,634
Percent change: -5.1%

Saab 9-7X

2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 82.2%
Starting price: $41,145
Sales through July 2008: 2,321
Sales through July 2007: 3,259
Percent change: -28.8%

Audi A6

2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 74.1%
Starting price: $42,950
Sales through July 2008: 6,321
Sales through July 2007: 6,410
Percent change: -1.4%

BMW Z4

2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 70.7%
Starting price: $37,525
Sales through July 2008: 4,116
Sales through July 2007: 5,420
Percent change: -24.1%

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 70%
Starting price: $52,775
Sales through July 2008: 25,101
Sales through July 2007: 25,473
Percent change: -1.5%

Land Rover Range Rover

2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 69.6%
Starting price: $78,450
Sales through July 2008: 4,775
Sales through July 2007: 6,610
Percent change: -27.8%

BMW 6 Series

2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 68.6%
Starting price: $77,425
Sales through July 2008: 4,218
Sales through July 2007: 5,190
Percent change: -18.7%

Audi A4/S4

2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 68%
Starting price: $32,700
Sales through July 2008: 26,770
Sales through July 2007: 25,205
Percent change: +6.2%

BMW X3

2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 67.3%
Starting price: $39,425
Sales through July 2008: 11,257
Sales through July 2007: 16,926
Percent change: -33.5%

Jaguar XJ Sedan

2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 65.8%
Starting price: $64,500
Sales through July 2008: 1,514
Sales through July 2007: 2,500
Percent change: -39.4%

Via: BusinessWeek , Data: J.D. Power & Associates' Power Information Network

Staged Accident Claims Up 46% in the States

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB; I can already see Bruckheimer behind this) reports that "staged accident questionable claims", or QCs, grew a whopping 46% over the years 2007-2009 (probably due to the recession).

As proof that something is awry, BI (Bodily Injury) and PIP (Personal Injury Protection) claims have decreased.

Here's what the report revealed:

"The top five states that generated the most staged accident QCs were: (1) Florida, 3,006; (2) New York, 1,680; (3) California, 1,619; (4) Texas, 792; and (5) Illinois, 433.

The five cities that generated the most staged accident QCs were: (1) New York City, 1,304; (2) Tampa, 562; (3) Miami, 511; (4) Orlando, 422; and (5) Houston, 376."

For more ways on how to avoid (...or avoid getting busted for) these Questionable Claims, the NICB has made some public service announcements for your entertainment that you can check out here.

By Phil Alex

Average CO2 Emissions of New Cars in Europe Fall 12% in 6 Years

Average European new car CO2 emissions have fallen by around 12% since 2003, according to a new study from auto consultancy JATO Dynamics. The volume-weighted European new car average is now 145.9 g/km, almost 20 g/km less than 2003, when JATO began collating European CO2 emissions data.

In addition, the study finds that half of all new cars sold in the 21 European countries analyzed by JATO had official CO2 emissions of 140g/km or less, compared to only 23% in 2003.

"The pace of improvement is remarkable and shows just how rapidly the industry has reacted to environmental demands," said David Di Girolamo, Head of JATO Consult.

"In 2003, only 24% of the market achieved an average of 130g/km. This was 40% by 2007, 51% in 2008 and 69% last year, already ahead of the 2012 EU target. This achievement is even greater when set in the context of new cars becoming larger, safer and better equipped, as consumer demands reach ever higher," he added.

According to the report, the decline in new car CO2 emissions is due to three key factors:

1) Vehicle Developments - including more efficient petrol and diesel engines, hybrid powertrains, more sophisticated transmissions, low rolling-resistance tires, improved attention to detail, aerodynamics, stop-start technology and regenerative charging systems

2) Taxation – guiding demand towards these models and technologies CO₂-based purchase and/or ownership taxes, in some countries have been introduced in tandem with higher taxes on fuel. Significant rises in fuel prices (due to global oil prices) continue to influence consumers' choice of vehicle.

3) Scrappage schemes – during late 2008 and 2009, scrappage schemes in a number of European countries have benefitted the purchase of smaller, more efficient cars, in some cases with customers directly incentivized towards cars with low CO₂ emissions.

Even non-scrappage sales have seen a marked shift towards smaller cars, with the largest rise in B-segment vehicles, an effect of recessionary pressure on family budgets pushing many customers across Europe to consider fuel efficiency ahead of other factors, for the first time.

Di Girolamo added that the rate of improvement been increasing since 2007, through more low-CO2 technology and specific low-CO2 models on European roads.

"Looking at year-on-year trends, it appears that, if the current momentum can be maintained, 130g/km by 2015, as required by the EU legislation, is achievable," Di Girolamo concluded.

Source: JATO

Study Forecasts that Hybrids will Account for 20% of U.S. Car Sales by 2020

By the end of the next decade, hybrid car sales in the U.S. will account for 19.4 percent of the total market, according to a new study from JPMorgan. The investment bank's auto analysts also predict that global hybrid car sales will increase more than 23-fold in the same period, from 480,000 units or 0.7 percent of the market in 2008, to a staggering 11.28 million cars or 13.3 percent of total global sales in the next 12 years.

JP Morgan study asserts that the boost in hybrid car sales around the globe will be spurred by the stricter government regulation of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States and the Europe Union as well as the falling production costs of hybrid drivetrains. According to the investment bank's analysts, whereas a complete hybrid system that includes the batteries, electric motor(s) and computer hardware adds on average $5,667 to a standard car's price today, by 2020 the cost is estimated to drop to just $1,890.

Via: ANE (Sub. Req.)

New Study Predicts Global Vehicle Sales Will Drop 13% in 2009

Global light vehicle sales could fall as much as 13% to an estimated total of 56.8 million units in 2009, according to a study released by R. L. Polk & Co, a Michigan-based firm that collects and interprets automotive data. The report forecasts that after experiencing a 17 percent drop in 2008, U.S. light vehicle sales are expected to decrease by another 19 percent in 2009 to a total of 10.7 million units split between 8.5 million units for consumer retail and 2.2 million units for the fleet market.

Polk's study find that while Western Europe is showing less volatility than the U.S. auto market, sales are still expected to shrink by 12% over 2008 to 13.5 million units in 2009. As for the Asian market, with the exclusion of Japan, Polk is forecasting 12.4 million units in 2009 compared to sales of 13.3 million units in 2008.

"As domestic automakers are hard at work on their respective turn-around plans, they have to estimate overall industry volume, individual market shares, and vehicle mix to project their revenue potential and align their global cost structure," said Lionel Yron, director of Consulting & Analytics at Polk. "With the inability to use rising home prices to generate liquidity and tighter lending rules, Polk sees the U.S. market stabilizing around 16 million units within 3 to 5 years depending on the efficiency of the government stimulus package," Yron added.

Source: Polk

Fancy That: Study Shows Sportscars Arouse Women

And to think all those times we saw women drooling over exotic sports cars we actually believed that their real interest was about the owner’s bank account - how foolish of us… Believe it or not, according to scientific study performed by Bermuda based luxury motor insurers Hiscox (it’s not ours, we swear), the sound of a luxury car engine is actually more appealing for women than men.

A total of 40 participants, 20 men and 20 women from professional backgrounds, aged between 22 and 61 years of age, took part in Hiscox’ (they couldn’t have picked a worse name) experiment. The participants were exposed to a 30 sec recording of the engine sounds of a VW Polo, a Maserati, a Lamborghini and a Ferrari. After 20 minutes their response was measured by the amount of testosterone found in their saliva -now, don't get perverted boys. The result? -Continued

Hiscox –this is getting really stupid but we can’t help it- found that the Maserati had the biggest impact on women with 100% of the female participants showing a significant increase in testosterone secretion. Surprisingly, only 50% of male participants showed an increase in testosterone in reaction to the Maserati. The boys seemed to get a bit more turned on with the Lamborghini as 60% showed an increase in testosterone levels. Not surprisingly, 100% of the female participants showed a decrease in testosterone in reaction to the Polo’s engine sounds

David Moxon, the psychologist who conducted the study commented: “We saw significant peaks in the amount of testosterone in the body, particularly in women. Testosterone is indicative of positive arousal in the human body so we can confidently conclude from the results out today that the roar of a luxury car engine actually does cause a primeval physiological response.”

Thanks for the tip Alex! , Study Source: Hiscox

UK Drivers Slow Down as Fuel Prices Rise

While our fellow Texans are reacting to rising fuel prices by leaving their gas tanks empty (see report here), in the UK drivers are slowing down on motorways to conserve fuel, according to a study performed by “Keepmoving”, a traffic information organization that monitors the speed of 230,000 vehicles fitted with sensors.

The study revealed that the average speed in free flow conditions on the M6 highway from Birmingham to Carlisle was seen to have experienced a 0.9% decrease in the first part of June 2008 compared to the same period in 2007 while the M25 was seen to have decreased by 0.3%. The organization said that whilst the decrease appears modest, it portrays a consistent picture across the UK where a cross-section of motorists are driving more slowly in order to conserve fuel. -Continued

As well as a reduction in speed, the study also found that congestion had fallen by up to 12% in the past month because there were fewer cars occupying Britain's roads.