A 1965 Ford GT 40 was one of the highlights of last week's auction. Image: Willy_G91/Flickr/CC BY-ND

Over the weekend RM auctions conducted its inaugural sale at the Villa d’Este concourse in Cernobbio, Italy. The event boasted  a catalog to make classic car lovers drool.  On sale were a veritable fleet of rare and historically significant automobiles. Many of the vehicles went for several millions of dollars.

A highly anticipated event

Anticipation for the auction has been high among collectors and car aficionados. Automobile correspondent Paul Lienert, said before the event, “The first-ever Villa d’Este sale will feature the crème de la crème of classic European hardware.”

Rare Ford roadster prized

Before the auction occurred, many collectors considered the highlight of the sale, held on May 21, to be a rare 1965 Ford GT40 Works prototype roadster. The coveted car was a works entrant in the 1965 Targa Florio.  It was co-piloted by Sir John Whitmore and Bob Bondurant. Although it was among the top sellers, by the time the dust settled it had not topped the sales at the much-anticipated event.

Top sellers go for multi-millions

The top sellers went for multiple millions of dollars. Among them were the 1955 Ferrari 375 MM, which sold for $4.8 million. A 1938 art-deco Talbot-Lago T150-C SS was sold for more than $4 million. A four-cylinder Ferrari 500 Testa Rossa went for nearly $4 million. A 1959 Ferrari 250 California sold for $3.6 million. The 1947 Bugatti Type 57sc Atlante earned just less than $3 million, as did the above-mentioned 1965 Ford GT40 roadster prototype.

Another Ferrari, the 1953 250 MM, which was originally built for Mexican collector Efrain Ruiz Echeverria who drove it in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana, garnered $3 million.

Also going for more than $1 million

Also selling for million-plus prices were a 1967 Lamborghini Marzal, which went for $2.1 million, and a 1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero, which was sold for $1 million.

Some go for under a million

Two Zagato-bodied Alfa Romeos from the 1960s sold for around $900,000 and $370,000 apiece. All totaled, the auction brought in about $32 million.

Sources

Autoblog

Top Gear

Edmunds Inside Line

New plug-in electric cars fail to allay mileage-range anxieties

Electric cars are really nothing new – interest in the electric car has come and gone many times over the past century. Electric cars have been tried by car manufacturers and other innovators since the invention of the battery. As concerns about fossil fuel supplies and environmental issues become more widespread, interest in the electric car is revving up once again.  The Obama administration is committing billions of dollars to the development and production of electric cars, in the hope that they will become a meaningful segment of U.S. vehicle sales and vehicle loan markets in the near future.

The center of attention

Situated in the Silicon Valley,Tesla Motors, Inc., is the cynosure of the latest round of electric-car enthusiasm. Tesla, the maker of the all-electric Roadster and the new Roadster Sport, is the only manufacturer currently marketing highway-capable electric cars in any appreciable volume. Bolstered by a $465 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy, Tesla is assembling its automobiles domestically.

The others

Also coming soon are the Leaf, a fully electric, moderately priced sedan to be launched by Nissan Motor Co. next year along with new offerings from Ford Motor Company and start-up company Coda Automotive. Additionally, General Motors Co. plans to release the Chevrolet Volt, a hybrid vehicle promoted as an electric car with extended range ability. After the first 40 miles of electric travel, the Volt recharges its battery with a small gasoline engine.

By 2011, Toyota Motor Corp. plans to offer a plug-in version of its Prius hybrid, which can be recharged and driven short distances on electric power alone by plugging it into a wall socket or a recharging station. Several other hybrid cars as well are scheduled to appear on the market soon.

A closer look at the line-up

Tesla Roadster Sport: elite hot rod. Two common objections to electric cars are that they lack get-up-and-go and that if they run out of power, you’re stranded. According to the hype, the Roadster may not overcome the second objection, but it quashes the first. The 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport touts a 0-to-60-mph time of 3.7 seconds, approaching race-car performance if not lift-off speed, without a drop of gasoline.

The Roadster Sport may appeal to power-junkie car enthusiasts as well as greenie-types, and  promoting electric vehicles as powerful sports cars could be a key to bringing them into the mainstream.  Still, with a sticker price of $128,500, (minus a few thousand dollars in federal tax credits), mainstream may be but a dream for the Roadster Sport.

Nissan Leaf: hatchback family car. The Leaf is expected to be priced more moderately and in line with other family sedans. Charge time is up to eight hours and driving distance between charges is 100 miles. Impressive technology or not, however, the Leaf may not do much to allay consumer anxieties about the limited mileage ranges of electric cars.

GM Volt: high-price Chevy passenger car. GM claims the Volt will run up to 40 miles on battery power alone and up to 300 miles with the gasoline engine charging the batteries, which, again, does little to get car-buyers beyond the fear of being stranded without power. In addition to concerns about the limited mileage range, the expected sticker price of $40,000 makes it comparable price-wise to a luxury car like the BMW 3 Series sedan. At that price the, Volt may be affordable in the world of electric cars, though not necessarily in the world of Chevy-buyers.

Toyota Prius PHEV: improvements on a flagship hybrid sedan. According to its maker, the plug-in Prius PHEV will have an all-electric range of about 14.5 miles and a range of about 870 miles on a full tank of gas and a full charge. Like the other plug-ins, the idea is to use battery power for short trips while saving gasoline for long hauls. The Prius PHEV is expected to cost around $34,000.

Cost effective by 2030?

The question remains whether plug-in hybrids will have any appreciable impact on gasoline consumption. According to a report prepared by the National Academies of Sciences, the question will remain largely hypothetical absent major breakthroughs in battery technology and so long as gasoline prices stay relatively low. According to the report, for plug-ins to make an appreciable difference in car-buying preferences, better and less expensive batteries are needed. Given current technology, the bottom line is that gasoline prices will have to stabilize at over four dollars a gallon before lithium ion batteries become cost effective.

Tesla Roadster image from Wikimedia.

Electric cars are great for the environment, there is no doubt about it. They create no pollution at all, unlike hybrids. They don’t require any fuel, but they do require recharging every few hundred miles.

Right now, the only U.S. car company that sells completely electric vehicles in serial production is Tesla Motors. Other companies have made and sold prototype vehicles or produced evaluation fleets, but the average U.S. citizen who wants to buy a completely electric vehicle will buy from Tesla Motors.

Initial cost of an electric vehicle

When I say “the average U.S. citizen,” I use the term lightly because a Tesla Roadster, the company’s least expensive vehicle, costs $109,000. Despite the fact that electric vehicles buyers qualify for federal and state tax waivers, it is safe to say that the majority of Americans still couldn’t realistically afford a car from Tesla Motors.

Nonetheless, environmental factors and conserving energy are extremely important to many car buyers. Furthermore, electric vehicle owners don’t have to buy gas, so when figuring out how much you a can afford in payments, electric vehicle buyers can deduct their monthly gas expenditures. For those who can obtain financing and are able to afford an electric vehicle, here are a few other factors to consider.

A long wait

Tesla Motors generally makes about 25 cars per week. The Tesla Roadster and Tesla Roadster Sport are currently available. Unlike dealerships where you walk into a show room and walk out with a car, you must order a vehicle from Tesla Motors in advance. You can do this online or at one of the four showrooms in the U.S.

If you are in the market for a car right now and expecting to have a new vehicle in the next few days or next couple of weeks, an electric vehicle won’t be ready in that time. You must order your car and then wait for it to be built. In the past people have waited up to 6 months.

Repairs and maintenance

The great news about Tesla Motors, which only has four physical dealerships in the country, is that the company recently announced it will do house calls on Tesla cars. Technicians will travel to the homes of Tesla owners to perform repairs and maintenance, much like the did when Tesla ordered a recall in the past.

However, the company charges for each mile the technician must travel, and the minimum charge per trip is $100. That is on top of service and parts. For people who are well off enough to afford Tesla Roadsters in the first place, this might not be a big deal.

Electric vehicle future

Tesla Motors is hoping in 2011 to be able to release the Model S, a sedan that will be much less expensive than the current models. The company says it hopes the price of the Model S will amount to between $35,000 and $50,000 after government rebates.

This price is a lot more realistic for most people. Also more electric car manufacturers will no doubt be joining the game in the future. If buying an electric vehicle someday is important to you, it might be best to start planning a purchase a few years from now. Just make sure you take into account waiting for your vehicle to be built and repairs and maintenance.
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