Maybach 57
The DaimlerChrysler Group compares the Maybachs to luxury yachts and private jets. With prices starting around $300,000, the Maybach 57 could be considered a bargain when compared to the cost of either of the aforementioned. Each vehicle will be built precisely to each customer's specifications. The 57 (as with yachts, the name reflects the vehicle's length: 5.73 meters) is the standard wheelbase model and is expected to account for nearly 85% of Maybach sales-1,000 a year total, with half of that coming to the U.S. Only the obscenely wealthy need apply.
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Sport
Mercedes-Benz expanded the C-Class model line with new sport models: the C230 Kompressor sport sedan, C320 sport sedan, and the C320 sports coupe. Sport-tuned suspension, sport body cladding, aluminum interior trim, seven-spoke 17-in. wheels with high-performance tires (standard on the sedans, optional on the coupe), a six-speed manual gearbox and thickly bolstered front sport seats comprise the sport equipment on all three models. Mercedes-Benz is charging $27,990 for the C230 Kompressor sport sedan, $35,200 for the C320 sport sedan, and $27,300 for the C320 sports coupe.
Volvo S60 R & V70 R Pricing
The North American debut of Volvo's new Rs, the production versions of the Performance Concept Cars, was made even more significant by announced prices. Talk about aggressive pricing strategy, Volvo's MSRPs for the S60 R and V70 R raises (or dollar-wise, lowers) the benchmark for value in the luxury sport vehicle category. Aiming squarely at the BMW 330xi and Audi A4 3.0 quattro, the 300-bhp S60 R sedan will sell for $36,825 and the equally powered V70 R wagon will go for $38,325. Both cars come standard with active Four-C (Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept), a new six-speed close-ratio manual transmission and anti-lock Brembo brakes with four-piston calipers. Such a deal.
2003 North American International Auto Show
Putting Mo in Motown
For more than a decade the North American International Auto Show in Detroit has been on the short list of the world's most important auto shows. It has pulled itself into the same league as shows in Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo and Geneva when it comes to new product introductions and concept car debuts. So when this year's Detroit Show seemed somewhat subdued with respect to outlandish concept cars and glitzy new production vehicles, many of the world's automotive press corps wondered aloud if the sluggish worldwide economy and global uncertainty had indeed caught up to the bullish auto industry. Certainly there were things to see in Detroit, but many of the manufacturers' offerings were vehicles that had already been shown at last year's Paris show or on the covers and in the pages of the world's automotive magazines.