Thursday, October 12, 2006

Luxury Vehicles on Demand

Sharing luxury vehicles among club members who got bored of their Rolls Royce and want to experiment?

Propositions like these are rather common for NYC and Las Vegas where people do crazy things on the top of their rich and bored euphoria -- and why not?! Ultimate ownership as a driving force, or tiny private moment with what you've always wanted, what would you chose?

"Demand is increasing for alternatives to traditional ownership of high-end cars. Membership clubs and organizations offering fractional luxury-car ownership are in their infancy, as are agencies that rent new-model supercars, but they are expanding. More and more exotic-car drivers are finding they don't spend enough time in their cars to justify owning them year-round and paying six-figure prices. If you're a Manhattan executive with a Lamborghini, you probably don't drive it to work each day. You might only use it on vacation. Or maybe you only bring out your Rolls-Royce. These are the kind of folks signing up. Another advantage of membership clubs is that instead of having to choose which car to buy, you can get a variety of different vehicles delivered in the course of a year. "It's a bit of an addictive thing," said Fuller. "Once you've driven a Ferrari and a Bentley and a Lamborghini and a Lotus, you ask, 'What's next on my hit list?'

It's interesting to note that the major car manufacturers suffering from over-supply and becoming even more insensitive to customers' preferences, are coming up with bargain deals when it comes to their most expensive jewels.

Customer perceived pricing and value on luxury cars and brands positioned as the fastest, hottest, and trend-setting vehicles, indeed play a crucial role in the profit margins here. Then again, building the ultimate beast and waiting for a middle class citizen to finally manage to fulfil his or her America dream isn't really what liquidity is all about. Ownership of luxury vehicles though, is still very concentrated.

Intimate moment with your very own precious, or car manufacturers looking for greater liquidity while potentially turning luxury into a commodity?

A trend definitely worth keeping an eye on, just make sure you join the club first.

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