With the luxury car market booming, its time to brush up on your car security. Don’t become a victim and make sure you know the best ways to keep your car safe and secure.
Its security-conscious users may have been mocked as old-fashioned and out-of-date, but the simple steering lock is making a comeback as the best way to protect your car.
The gadget, which was popular in the late 1980s and early 90s, had been thought redundant in a world of on-board computers and vehicle security systems.
But police in London have said the simple technique of locking a bar to your steering wheel is one the best ways to outwit today’s sophisticated car thieves.
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Police say old-fashioning steering locks are the best way to beat technologically-savvy car thieves
Officers in the wealthy borough of Kensington and Chelsea have alerted drivers of expensive supercars and 4x4s that criminals have worked out how to bypass their in-built alarms.
To reduce the chance of these luxury cars being stolen, the Metropolitan Police sent letters to owners urging them to go back to basics.
The letter warns specific motorists their vehicle ‘may be at heightened risk of being stolen’.
It adds: ‘Expensive vehicles, including Range Rovers, Land Rovers and BMW X5 series and X6 series, in particular have been targeted.
HOW DO MODERN THIEVES USE IN-CAR COMPUTERS TO STEAL?
1. Pick out luxury car that uses an RF fob.
2. Get inside the car without triggering the alarm – or simply smash window.
3. Press start/stop button on dashboard.
4. Plug small computer device into the On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) port.
5. Program new key fob, using the settings to toggle car make, e.g. Audi, BMW, etc.
6. Add new chip to key fob, which after a few seconds is activated to respond to car.
7. Press start/stop button again and car engine will start.
‘Having gained access, any vehicle security systems have been bypassed and the vehicle in most cases driven away.
‘It is recommended therefore that you consider additional means of securing your vehicle such as through the use of a simple steering wheel or gear stick lock, which are effective in preventing theft of your vehicle.’
One motorist, who was sent the Met Police letter, has expressed shock that his expensive cars offer insufficient protection.
Simon Gregg, a property developer who owns two Range Rovers, said: ‘Cars without keys are particularly vulnerable and all new Range Rovers have keyless go.
‘One person I have spoken to says 26 Range Rovers have been stolen in recent months from central London.
Resdients in exclusive parts of London, such as Chelsea (pictured) are said to be most at risk from thieves
The BMW X5, which start at around £45,000, was one of the cars highlighted as at risk by the Met Police
‘I know a BMW X5 was stolen on my road recently and a friend had their Land Rover Discovery stolen. Both were keyless. Manufacturers have a problem with this crime, but they are not bothering to tell people.
‘It has got to the point now that people are going to Halfords and buying a steering lock because it will act as a better deterrent.’
In recent years, car thieves have become more and more audacious, smashing non-alarmed car windows and then connecting a special device to the vehicle’s diagnostic system.
SIMPLE TECHNOLOGY – WHO INVENTED THE STEERING LOCK?
One of the first steering locks was called ‘The Club’ and was invented by American James E Winner in 1986.
It is believed Mr Winner got the idea from his time serving in the Korean War, when he and fellow soldiers were told to secure vehicles’ steering wheels with chains.
His traditional lock was made of two bars, each with a hook to attach to the steering wheel.
An early television advert for the device showed a would-be thief hammering at the bar for several minutes without managing to dislodge it.
The firm’s slogan was: ‘If you can’t steer it, you can’t steal it.’
They then reprogramme a blank key and it immediately works on the car – allowing them to drive away without any alarms going off.
It is estimated almost half the cars stolen in London use keyless technology.
Land Rover yesterday acknowledged that premium cars were being stolen but defended its security systems.
A statement from the manufacturer said: ‘The current Land Rover line-up continues to meet the insurance industry requirements as tested and agreed with relevant insurance bodies.
‘Nevertheless, the company has taken this issue very seriously and our engineering teams have been working in collaboration with insurance bodies and police forces to fully understand the risks.
‘It is however important to remember that this is an industry-wide issue.’
Would you own an electric car or a hybrid? More people are making the change and turning to EV or hybrids, but interestingly, we are seeing a higher percentage of luxury car owners coming round to the idea.
Almost 40 per cent of luxury car owners in the UK say they would buy, or seriously consider buying, an electric vehicle capable of driving 300 miles (483km) on a single charge from their brand.
UK website WeLoveAnyCar asked 24,227 Audi, BMW, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz owners if they would consider an electric car with a 300-mile range, all other factors (including price, style, options and performance) being equal, and found that four in 10 responded positively.
BMW owners reacted the most favourably, with 17 per cent saying they would buy an EV that met those criteria. BMW has been among the most active of the luxury brands in the electric segment, having launched its i3 city car as well as the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car.
Between 12 and 14 per cent of Audi, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz owners said they would also buy an electric car with a 300-mile range from their brand. Additionally, approximately one quarter of owners from each brand said they would give serious thought to such a vehicle.
Electric technology still faces an uphill battle, however, with many owners hesitant to make the switch to EV or completely opposed to the idea.
Seventeen per cent of Jaguar owners said they would never buy an electric Jag even if it matched the price, style and performance of an internal combustion engined model. Between 12 and 13 per cent of owners from the German trio said they would never purchase such a vehicle, while between 28 and 30 per cent of those surveyed responded ‘No, I don’t think so’.
The Tesla Model S is the only production EV in the world with a single-charge range in excess of 483km. The 85kWh Model S, which is priced from $111,807 in Australia, claims a range of 502km.
The FIA are hoping that fast cars which are eco friendly will be the next big thing in car racing.
To work up a hype, eight Formula One-style cars with a top speed of 150mph have raced in front of the Houses of Parliament to launch the forthcoming all-electric championship.
One car also performed a doughnut on the empty road across London’s Westminster Bridge.
In order to pull off the photo opportunity, organisers started setting up from dawn and had the bridge to themselves until 6am.
The video has been released as part of the official Global Launch for the new all-electric FIA Formula E Championship.
The well-funded racing series, backed by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), will host 10 zero-emission races in 10 cities around the world.
The electric cars line up on Westminster bridge
As part of the launch, Battersea Park in South London was revealed as the London race venue.
The race around the park will be the season finale and is scheduled for June 27, 2015.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Fast, fun and no doubt furious, the FIA Formula E Championship race in London is set to provide an awesome addition to the capital’s sporting calendar.
“The atmosphere will quite literally be electric and Battersea, which is already booming with the buzz of regeneration, will be alive with the excitement that this new, world-class event will no doubt spark.”
Mahindra Racing’s Karun Chandhok doing a donut
The sport was set up with the aim of sparking interest in electric cars and boosting innovation in the technology used to run them.
The idea for the championship has been criticised in the past and was dubbed “the milk float challenge”, but as the first race draws nearer, it has become a highly anticipated format for motorsport fans.
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, businessman Sir Richard Branson and Formula One legend Alain Prost have all set up teams ahead of the inaugural racing series.
A Porsche always looks good, and the joke gift when someone says they want one is the model. If someone you know is interested in the new Porsche 911, you may actually be best to pick up the scale model for a design insight.
Porsche was meant to reveal its new 911 GT3 RS this summer but decided to delay its arrival following the discovery of a fault with the 3.8-liter flat-six engine in the 911 GT3 that the 911 GT3 RS was to share, albeit in uprated form. The German automaker is yet to announce when we might finally see the covers come off, but has the car already been revealed… in scale model form?
This photo of a 911 scale model was posted on the website 4WheelsNews and may potentially depict the new 911 GT3 RS. The scale model is clearly based on the latest 991-series 911 GT3, but some unique elements suggest that it is actually representing the more extreme RS variant.
Those elements include wheels styled like those fitted to prototypes for the new 911 GT3 RS, an oversized rear wing also like the one on previous prototypes, and some new vents on the front fenders not seen on the regular 911 GT3.
Hopefully we’ll find out soon, because it seems that with each passing month more and more rumors concerning the new 911 GT3 RS start to emerge. These include the possibility that the car will be turbocharged, and that it may also end up replacing the 911 GT2 as the most extreme 911 variant. We’ve also heard that it will come with Porsche’s PDK dual-clutch transmission only, as well as the automaker’s new rear-wheel-steering system.
Is your luxury car ownership confined to the walls of a video game? If you like Gran Turismo and have always wanted to own the car in real-life, now could be your chance.
Volkswagen’s new concept GTI Roadster, Vision Gran Turismo is meant to blur the line between “virtual and real worlds,” having originally been created for the Sony Playstation 3 Gran Turismo 6 video game.
The Golf GTI automobile is a two-seat convertible with a 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbocharged engine that gives 503hp and 413 lb-ft of torque, propelling the luxury car 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds to a top track speed of 192mph.
Sony asked the car brand to create a real version of the virtual GTI to mark the Gran Turismo’s 15th anniversary. An in-house competition was launched, asking young Volkswagen designers to submit designs to be judged by Klaus Bischoff (Head of Design) and Kazunori Yamauchi (Director of Polyphony Digital and Vice-President of Sony Computer Entertainment and the inventor of the Gran Turismo series).
“The Vision GT project offered a wonderful opportunity to sketch out extreme ideas and design elements of the GTI that are portrayed as vibrantly, dynamically and emotionally as possible,” says Bischoff. “Further development of an unmistakable design and a love for detail reflect the high standards shared by the Volkswagen GTI and the Gran Turismo by Sony PlayStation product brands.”
Knowing what optional extras to go for on any luxury car can be daunting, but we have listed below the ones that you should reconsider or just stay away from and save your money!
We’ve all splashed out just a bit too much at one time or another. Did your TV really need gesture control, and have you ever actually used it? Why have you got a 750gb hard drive when all you use your computer for is YouTube and Facebook? And did you absolutely have to have the extra large onion rings with that sandwich?
Mind you, these personal excesses pale into insignificance compared to what some people are prepared to shell out for. Buying any luxury car is in and of itself excessive (after all, you could get around just as easily and comfortably in a Ford Mondeo…) but some buyers take it just that stage extra, and the car makers and tuning companies are more than happy to indulge their expensive, profitable whims…
10. Audi Design Selection leather
Ah, Audi. The company that gave us four wheel drive performance cars and utter domination at Le Mans. The company that says you can find advancement through technology. The company that created Audi Ultra – a rigorous programme to shed the weight and fight the flab to make its cars more efficient. The company that offers you leather seats that cost as much as an entire other car.
Seriously. If you buy an Audi A8 (and, as Barry Norman never actually said, why not?) and tick the box for Design Selection package in either Balao Brown or Marble Grey, you’re going to add €19,254 to the price of your car. That’s enough to buy an entire extra Octavia or Leon. Or two Ups. All that for some leather seats (they are made of nice leather, right enough) and some extra climate control buttons.
Sublime or ridiculous? Both at the same time.
Or you could have bought: A 1.2 TSI Seat Leon S.
9. Gold leaf paint
Carlsson, in spite of the rather Swedish-sounding name, is actually a German tuning company founded in 1989 by brothers Rolf and Andreas Hartge. The firm specialises in tweaking and modifying Mercedes-Benz models and will happily bling up, to your spec, anything from an A-Class all the way to a seven-seat R-Class. They even do kits for the Vito van. For the 2014 Geneva motor show, Carlsson really decided to push the boat out and presented a modified version of the new Mercedes S-Class. Only 25 of the CS50 Versailles model will be made, and all will come with modified 700hp V8 engines. And gold, lots of gold, so much gold that Auric Goldfinger would think it was a bit over the top. This isn’t just faux-gold trimming either, this is the real, weighty metal stuff, hand-beaten and applied to the instrument panel, the door cards, the window switches, even the cupholders. There’s even gold in the paint, just in case you were worried that you weren’t quite pulling off the South American tinpot dictator look. Cost? At least €800,000 to land one in Ireland, and that’s before Revenue create a special VRT category for gold leaf…
Sublime or ridiculous? Neither; just unbearably naff.
Or you could have bought: A 5-bed mansion on two-thirds of an acre just a stone’s throw from Adare Manor.
8. The Aston Martin Cygnet
Now, this is, strictly speaking, an entire car and not an option. However the original plan was for Aston Martin to offer its smallest, most efficient car ever only to those buyers who were already signing up for a new Vanquish, DB9 or whatever. At a price of around STG£30,000, it was certainly not cheap but hey, it was an extra car with an Aston Martin badge on the bonnet so bargain, right?
Not so fast. The Cygnet was nothing more than a tiny Toyota iQ tarted up with an Aston-style grille and some nasty-looking quilted leather seats. Aston suggested that it would make the ideal in-town runabout for those Aston customers who didn’t want to risk parking dings on their precious V12 Grand Tourers. A fair point, but then a normal Toyota iQ which cost about a third as much to buy would have done the same job. The whole idea was cooked up when Aston boss Ulrich Bez bumped into Toyota boss Akio Toyoda in the back of a garage at the Nurburgring 24hrs race. Both must have been inhaling a few too many tyre fumes that day. Essentially, buyers were being asked to pay way over the odds for a tiny car whose real purpose was simply to drag down Aston’s profligate corporate Co2 emissions. It was quietly taken out back for a meeting with the vet late last year.
Sublime or ridiculous? Utterly ridiculous.
Or you could have bought: An actually Toyota iQ (a brilliant little car) and pocketed the change.
7. Ferrari F12 Berlinetta carbon fibre filter box cover
While we often castigate the big German car companies for their skill in separating buyers from their money via the means of an extensive and expensive options list, let’s not forget that the Italians are just as keen on burrowing into your bank account and no more so than when you’ve signed up for a Ferrari. There are many silly and frivolous options you can spec on your Fezzer, but the cake must surely be taken by this, the STG£3,072 carbon-fibre silted box cover. That’s right, a lid for the bit that holds the air filter made from the same space age material that Formula One cars are built from. Surely, you would think, this is excellent. It must reduce the weight of the car, lower the centre of gravity, make it FASTER! Nope. It’s just silly. The standard plastic cover is just as light, and any potential weight saving could just as easily be made by leaving your watch at home. Or hitting the gym for a week.
Sublime or ridiculous? Ridiculous.
Or you could have bought: A Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Titanium watch, which would probably save the same amount of weight.
6. Porsche’s leather air vents
Sorry, having just said that the Italians were close to matching the Germans when it came to fleecing their customers, the Germans have nipped in with a last-minute equaliser – Porsche’s leather air vents. More and more car makers have been taking advantage of the fact that allowing customers to personalise and customise their cars means chunkier profit margins. Ford arguably started the trend with the original Mustang but everyone’s at it now. No-one more so than Porsche. Clearly, there are Porsche options that are aimed at actually improving the performance of the car. You can spec your 911 with a lighter lithium-ion battery for instance, or increase its grunt with the Power Kit option. Or you can spend STG£1,173 on having the air vent slats of your Panamera covered in leather. Yes, that’s right, the air vent slats. The little wiggly bits that direct the airflow either to your perma-tanned face or your diamond-encrusted jeans. In leather. It can even be in a different colour leather to the rest of the interior, if you like.
Sublime or ridiculous? Pointless…
Or you could have bought: Four Dyson Air Multiplyer fans.
You can buy just about anything branded with your favourite car logo these days. Porsche is the past master at this; everything from kettles to sunglasses to watches to wallets logo’ed up with the Porsche crest. Ferrari makes more money from licensing its Prancing Horse logo out to the makers of various jackets, t-shirts, baseball caps and pens while this very author still has a pair of Land Rover-badged boots gifted to him some years ago and very nice they are too. So how about a king0sized bed? Or a sideboard? Yup, really, you can buy these but only if your disposable income levels are on the disgusting side of plentiful. Bentley has been branching out into branded goods lately (its aftershave is surprisingly nice…) but surely the cake is been thoroughly taken by these outrageously expensive home furnishings. The ‘Canterbury’ bed will cost you STG£15,000 while the metal and veneer sideboard is a staggering STG£22,000. They aren’t strictly, we suppose, vehicular options but doubtless your Bentley dealer will happily include them on the invoice for your Mulsanne.
Sublime or ridiculous? Probably depends on the size and/or location of your house.
Or you could have bought: An Opel Meriva (bed) or a Ford Fiesta ST (sideboard).
4. Ferrari’s passenger-side speedo
You buy a Ferrari for two primary reasons; to look good when going slowly, and to feel good when going quickly. Both are pretty much the core competencies of any Ferrari and as we all know, there’s nothing a member of the opposite sex prefers than to see an attractive version of the other gender driving one. Ferraris are the wheeled version of dopamine, in that sense. However, one of the other points of driving a Ferrari is to demonstrate what a terrific driver you are; taming your Italian stallion as you go. The idea of putting a digital speedo (and rev-counter) in front of your passenger then is a little odd. Surely you don’t actually want anyone sitting in the other seat to know exactly how fast you were just going? They’ll either squeal and shout at you to slow down or shrug insouciantly and point out just how slow and unskilled you really are. The art of being a wannabe Fangio is in not letting people see how hard you are trying. This doesn’t help…
Sublime of ridiculous? Ridiculously unhelpful.
Or you could have bought: It’s a STG£2,400 option on the FF so, a lifetime subscription to The Irish Times for your passenger to look at instead.
3. Bentley’s iPod drawer
Bentley can offer you an entirely kitted-out mobile office in the back of your Mulsanne or Flying Spur. With multiple screens, a 4G internet connection and a Mac Mini stashed in the boot, it turns your sybaritic limo into a full-on den for deals on wheels. Buy. Sell. Buy. Long, Short. Etcetera. Still, that’s not entirely frivolous – after all, if you’re being driven around in the back of your Bentley you’re probably worth a bit and probably want to be worth a bit more, so being able to work and communicate on the move is actually quite a useful thing. However, Bentley can offer you a cutting-edge connectivity option that’s so utterly frivolous it almost defies description. It’s a drawer, inset into the dash of your Mulsanne, made of the same polished walnut veneer and lined with the same Connolly leather as the seats. And it’s for your iPod or iPhone. Most car companies make you stick your Pod into a handy cupholder, Some, Skoda chief amongst them, can offer you a handy custom-made slot to leave it in. Not Bentley though. Bentley reckons your iPhone needs to be pampered.
Sublime or ridiculous? iRidiculous.
Or you could have bought: A 64gb iPod Touch.
2. Hyundai Equus
We think of Hyundais as affordable, well-specified and possessed of a long warranty. They are rivals to the likes of Ford, VW and Opel. They are not luxury cars. Well, that’s not what Hyundai really wants you to think, or at least, if you’re in the United States, that’s not what they really want you to think. They want you to think of Hyundai as capable of mixing it with the likes of BMW and Mercedes as easily as it does with Ford and Opel. That’s why, in the US, you can buy cars like the Equus – a big, luxurious, imposing, rear-drive V8 saloon. It’s not half bad either; good to drive, refined and very, very comfy. And it’s got a champagne cooler in the back. Now, a mini-fridge in a Hyundai we could understand, but a specific champagne cooler? That’s the sort of thing you find in Commander Bond’s Aston, not a Korean-built exec saloon. Maybe it’s just a question of perspective, but even so, don’t expect to see this on a Santa Fe any time soon.
Sublime or ridiculous? Ridiculous.
Or you could have bought: Well, an Equus costs USD$62,000 so quite a lot of other things, really…
1. Rolls-Royce Starlight headlining
This is kind of a charming one. A few years back, Rolls-Royce decided to offer as an option a roof liner that replicated the night sky. It was originally offered on the first generation Phantom Coupe and seemed to be of similar provenance to the decision to fit the Phantom Drophead with a cloth roof instead of a folding steel item – because it’s more romantic to hear the patter of soft summer rain on a cloth hood. Similarly, the idea of feeding tiny fibre-optic lights into the headlining to replicate the night sky from within seems rather romantically lovely. A nice touch. It all gets a bit undermined when you dig a little deeper though. You see, for a fee, Rolls-Royce can layout the ‘stars’ to replicate the view of the night sky from a chosen point on the Earth on a chosen date. Your birthday, perhaps. Or the night you bought the winning Lotto ticket that led to you buying a Rolls. It makes the romanticism of the original idea start to seem needlessly narcissistic. Besides, you can now have a similar option on a lowly Opel Adam, which rather spoils the whole effect…
Sublime or ridiculous? Sublimely ridiculous.
Or you could have bought: An actual star, probably.
With the growing demand for more digital technology and style, it is no surprise that BMW have recently made a bold statement about what defines a luxury car today. The car manufacturer believes that premium manufacturers will have to focus more on details if they want to continue to charge premium prices.
The German luxury giant’s senior vice president product management, Hildegard Wortmann, said luxury car makers such as BMW would have to evolve to reflect changing tastes and expectations by buyers of luxury vehicles.
“There’s a new understanding of what luxury stands for, which is a strong evolution or revolution of where we are today,” Wortmann told Drive at the 2014 New York motor show.
“Being a leader, we think we need to be there progressing as well and doing different things.”
Speaking at this month’s New York motor show Wortmann pointed to the recently unveiled BMW Future Luxury Concept car that is a pointer to the upcoming sixth generation 7-Series luxury flagship. She said it was evidence of the lengths BMW would be going to in an effort to further build its image and sales.
“We had a lot of discussions about it internally,” she said. “Luxury is no longer adding chrome and bits and pieces to a car … there is a new generation coming up where you have to deliver luxury in a different way, which is more about innovation, about craftsmanship, about the materials you use, etcetera.”
Wortmann said while BMW would be focussing more on materials and attention to detail the digital era meant it was more important than ever for luxury brands to maintain pace with new developments.
“If you look at all the consumer electronics in the car, we cannot offer old stuff when the world around is moving fast.”
Wortmann said there was no danger of the luxury market drying up, with increasing demand prompting major players such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi to increase the number of cars they offer.
How much does a name or brand mean to you? Does it matter what up to date technology the car has, or the exquisite style and taste the manufactures use? Take a look at the new KIA Cadenza and see if it changes your mind!
When we think of luxury cars, we think Porsche, Mercedes and Jaguar. KIA isn’t generally thought of as an upscale brand and is known for more for value than luxury, but the 2014 KIA Cadenza aims to change that perception. It starts with the exterior design and moves right on through to the inside of the vehicle where you’ll swear you’re sitting in something that costs many thousands more than the number that’s on the sticker.
The exterior looks fantastic with a very European performance car flair although it’s definitely not a sports sedan. The lines are clean and smooth with a wide stance and a blunt hood with a wide grille trimmed in just enough chrome, but not too much. It’s not garish or flashy, but elegant and subdued even with the optional 19″ alloy wheels.
Once you open the door and take a seat you are surrounded by the full luxury car treatment. There are soft touch surfaces everywhere with a combination of leather and wood finishes that never become garish. Once again this is luxury, but in the most tasteful way possible without becoming ostentatious.
Leather trimmed, heated, front seats are both power adjustable with ventilation and heated rear seats available. There’s dual-zone climate control, a navigation system with 8″ display, Infinity surround sound audio system, UVO eServices Telematics with rear camera display, Sirius/XM satellite radio with a 3-month subscription, Bluetooth, push button start with smart key, and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror with HomeLink. Features? The 2014 KIA Cadenza has plenty.
There’s also plenty of safety with airbas, ABS brakes, traction control, electronic stability control and vehicle stability management all standard. Additionally there are LED positioning headlights, front fog lights, power-folding mirrors with turn signal indicators, LED tail lights and a backup warning system.
The 2014 KIA Cadenza is powered by a 3.3L direct injected V6 with 293 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque paired to a 6-speed automatic transmission w/Sportmatic. Torque is lacking at the low end of the range so it’s not quick off the line, but once you hit the sweet spot it’s a powerful and fun ride. Yet, if you’re looking for a performance sedan, all you need do is take a corner to realize that the Cadenza doesn’t qualify. The Nissan Maxima is a better choice for a sporty sedan at the same price, but it won’t match up on luxury.
Body control is good, but it handles unmistakably like a large sedan without the responsiveness of more performance oriented vehicles. Steering feel is good and the majority of the time it’s more than adequate, but on hard corners at higher speeds it doesn’t have quite the chops performance buyers seek. Braking is solid and manages the bulk of the sedan effortlessly.
The ride and comfort in the 2014 KIA Cadenza are somewhere between performance and cushy sedan. It doesn’t have the overblown, couch-on-wheels feel of some large but avoids the stiffness of performance vehicles, managing to provide a comfortable and easy ride for all passengers. It’s also a blissfully quiet ride with minimal road and wind noise that make carrying on a conversation with rear passengers easy. The Hyundai Azera comes close to the Cadenza here though with not quite the ambiance.
Yes, it has all the hallmarks of a luxury sedan, save for the price. The base Premium trim, which is already loaded with features, starts at $35,100. Technology and Luxury packages are available at $3,000 each. The Technology package adds smart cruise control, blind spot detection, lane departure warning, electronic parking brake, hydrophobic front door windows and 19″ alloy wheels.
The Luxury package adds an even longer list of features that includes panoramic roof with power sunshade, HID headlights with adaptive lighting system, Nappa leather seat and interior trim, power driver’s seat cushion extension, ventilated driver’s seat, heated rear seats and steering wheel, power tilt and telescopic steering column, supervision meter cluster with 7″ colour LCD, integrated memory system and power rear window sunshade.
The 2014 KIA Cadenza delivers a genuine luxury car experience, with all the features, comfort and technology you’d expect at an entirely unexpected price.
For those of you that still like your big brand luxury cars, come and have a look at we have to offer you on our website.
Vision Future Luxury is the latest saloon concept car coming from BMW. The German car manufacturer unveiled the car, which features augmented display technology, hoping it will wow fans of the BMW brand.
The Vision Future Luxury concept comprises the latest iteration of BMW’s Vision Head Up Display, which augments the driver’s view of the world by projecting real-time information including speed limits and road signs onto the windscreen directly in the line of sight.
Sensors located on the exterior of the car collect environmental data, which is deciphered and transferred to a light source located inside the instrument panel. Light shining through a translucent thin-film transistor (TFT) projects the relevant data on to the windscreen via specially shaped mirrors and allows the driver to view information without having to look away from the road.
“Innovative technology and modern luxury have always been an important part of BMW’s brand DNA,” explained Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President of BMW Group Design at a preview of Vision Future Luxury in Munich. “Connectivity in a luxury vehicle has to be seamless and so well integrated that it doesn’t deter from the driving that you want to do, it actually enhances it.”
The rear lighting is provided by organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) for the first time on a BMW, an efficient light source consisting of wafer-thin semi-conductive layers of organic material that can be cut into any shape to allow for a variety of patterned lighting designs.
The luminescent layer is a film of carbon compound, which emits light in response to an electrical current. Each light-emitting polymer layer is roughly 400 nanometres thick, which is approximately 400 times thinner than a human hair.
Car designers have previously relied on reflectors to enable the light produced by LEDs to be seen from different angles, but OLEDs do not need reflectors, allowing designers to create less bulky and more unusual shapes. OLEDs also require less power to operate.
The roofline and sloping boot lid on the car have been designed to reduce drag, while carbon fibre openings positioned at the front and rear of the car help to channel airflow more efficiently.
“Aerodynamics and lightweight materials are key elements of this car’s design,” explained Karim Habib, head of BMW design. “Visible carbon fibre on the exterior of a luxury car is something we believe BMW needs to do.”
Carbon fibre, as a lightweight and strong composite, also allows for a minimised central B-pillar – the join between the front passenger and rear passenger doors. This allows the doors to use different hinge points to a standard car door.
The doors open to reveal a layered interior with wood, leather and aluminium finishings on top of a carbon fibre base.
“Lightweight construction is not going to go away,” says Adrian van Hooydonk. “All of our cars will have to get lighter and that means as a design team we are dealing with different types of materials, which can lead to different types of aesthetic.”
Front passengers are equipped with a personal information display, which is connected to the driver display via a touch-sensitive panel. Rear passengers also have access to two displays mounted in the headrests of the seats in front and a detachable tablet between the individual seats. All three can be used to exchange information with the front passengers using swiping movements.
Embedded user interface components from which internet-based video and music streaming can be accessed also feature.
Read on for BMW’s press release:
Heralding a new approach – the design.
“The design of the BMW Vision Future Luxury is the messenger of our philosophy of modern luxury, one in which innovative technologies play a key and vital role. These innovations deliver a new, multifaceted luxury experience that spans intelligent lightweight engineering, innovative interior design and a radically new user interface design,” says Karim Habib, Head of BMW Design, summing up the design approach to the BMW Vision Future Luxury.
This approach is particularly tangible in the interior. Throughout, the design expresses both form and function of the innovative technologies. For example, the intelligent lightweight engineering concept of the BMW Vision Future Luxury is expressed in the design principle of subtractive modelling. That is to say, the specific geometry and functions of an individual component are created from one and the same layered composite structure, comprising many different levels and materials. An initial base layer of fine carbon fabric is followed by a functional level featuring user interface components, control and display interfaces and lighting functions, which in turn is followed by a further structural, load-bearing layer of aluminium for additional strength.
Finally, the top layers comprise wood, then leather, to create a warm and comfortable ambience. In a given area of the interior, the multi-layer structure is “milled down” to the appropriate depth depending on what surface material and what function is required. Since the interior geometry is therefore always pared down to essentials, this cuts total weight substantially. This treatment also makes for virtually seamless transitions and very elegant, fluid surfaces.
The unrivalled characteristics of carbon as a material – both individually and in combination with its surrounding materials – are optimally utilised in this rigorous lightweight design concept. The carbon underlying layer is visible in the doors, under the seats and especially in the innovative, pared-down B-pillar. A full B- pillar as used in the past is dispensed with. The carbon construction allows the seat frames to be integrated into the load-bearing structure. There are also connections to the door sills and centre console, which means only a very small and unobtrusive B-pillar is required. The BMW Vision Future Luxury’s wide- opening coach doors would not have been possible without this new carbon B- pillar solution.
New-style user interface design and exclusive BMW ConnectedDrive services.
In the driver’s and front passenger’s area, precisely defined lines and surfaces create a sense of exclusive dynamism. The design of the instrument panel closely complements the design of the displays themselves. The driver is surrounded by a wrap-around cluster of three intermeshing displays, creating the typical BMW driver-centric cockpit. The three-dimensional display technology means that at the visual level the instrument panel styling appears to carry over into the displays themselves. In other words, to the eye the interior space seems to continue into the solid structures of the instrument panel, generating an impression of unprecedented depth and spaciousness.
The left-hand display mainly presents vehicle-related information, while in the centre a programmable cluster displays speedometer, rev counter and other information, as well as context-adaptive supplementary data, which is displayed as and when relevant. Meanwhile, the right-hand display – the Driver Information Display – provides additional infotainment information. The driver also has the option of controlling all these functions by voice command.
BMW Vision Head Up Display.
The primary driver display, however, is the “contact-analogue” BMW Vision Head Up Display. This display augments the driver’s view of the real world by projecting information directly in the driver’s line of sight onto the road. Buildings, traffic signs or hazards can be highlighted directly in the real-world environment, selectively directing the driver’s attention to specific information which is particularly important at any given time. This technology gives a new dimension to driver assistance functions such as Speed Limit Info, where road signs can be identified and highlighted in the driver’s field of view, or the Traffic Light Assistant, which provides real-time information about traffic light phasing.
In place of a central shared information display for driver and front passenger, the BMW Vision Future Luxury offers front passengers their own Passenger Information Display. This display is connected to the Driver Information Display via a touch-sensitive panel, where information can be exchanged between driver and front passenger using swiping movements. Applications like booking opera tickets online direct from the vehicle via the BMW ConnectedDrive Luxury Concierge service can be displayed in the Passenger Information Display, where they don’t risk distracting the driver. The relevant functions can be conveniently controlled by the front passenger using the iDrive Controller with touch-sensitive interface.
Rear Seat Touch Command Tablet.
In the back, two Rear Seat Displays set into carbon surrounds, and a detachable Rear Seat Touch Command Tablet, put the finishing touch to the integrated user interface concept of the BMW Vision Future Luxury. These displays can communicate with the front displays and also with the BMW ConnectedDrive services. Everything from trip-related information like speed and journey time to information relating to the Luxury Concierge Services can be displayed here in simple and customised form.
It is also possible to use online entertainment content like internet-based video and music streaming as well as gaming. All content and functions can be controlled from the rear seats using the detachable Rear Seat Touch Command Tablet in the centre console.
Personal space at the rear.
For the occupants of the rear seats, the BMW Vision Future Luxury offers a luxurious haven of personal space. Two large, deeply contoured single seats add to the appeal, inviting passengers to retire into their own personal “comfort zone”. A retractable table, the angled Rear Seat Displays and the rigid backs of the front seats create a very private ambience, sectioning this area off from the rest of the interior. The sense of privacy is accentuated by modern, flowing geometry and the use of select materials, with lavish wood surfaces extending from the rear parcel shelf to enfold the rear seat occupants in a cosseting three- dimensional space.
Strategically placed lighting slats integrated into the wood echo the surrounding styling and, with their warm glow, accentuate the modern and cosy ambience. Finest-quality aniline leather in Batavia brown and a lighter Silk shade, Silk nubuk leather and the warm brown, layered lime wood all have a natural aura which offers unique visual appeal and quality. The division between darker materials in the upper areas and light materials in the lower areas creates a feeling of warmth and a luxurious sense of space. A deep-pile pure silk carpet rounds off the exclusive array of materials in the interior of the BMW Vision Future Luxury.
Exclusiveness and elegance – the exterior design.
In side view, perfect proportions – precise, uncluttered and elegant – convey the exclusiveness of the BMW Vision Future Luxury. The long wheelbase, short overhangs and low, set-back greenhouse lend the stretched silhouette a refined dynamism. In hallmark BMW style, a finely sculpted contour line creates a taut arc along the side of the vehicle, and the opulent surfaces underneath this line have, as always on a BMW, been shaped by seasoned modellers. This hand- sculpted design gives the surfaces a special emotional appeal that would be beyond the capabilities of a computer.
The effect is further enhanced by the Liquid Platinum Bronze exterior paintwork, which generates a warm, shimmering effect. An exclusive flourish at the side of the vehicle is the side mirror, which appears to grow organically out of the chrome window trim. Designed as a visual continuation of the chrome trim, its slender stalk is attached to the mirror from below, giving it a graceful and effortless appearance, almost as if it were hovering in mid-air.
BMW EfficientDynamics: honed aerodynamics and intelligent lightweight engineering.
The exterior design perfectly showcases the advanced aerodynamics and innovative lightweight engineering of the BMW Vision Future Luxury. The coupé- style roofline and sloping boot lid, for example, significantly reduce drag. Underlying the tautly sculpted exterior surfaces, equally refined solutions provide optimal channelling of the airflow. They include the Air Breather system at the rear of the front wheel arch, a C-pillar with internal air channelling, and openings in the rear apron which vent air from the wheel arches. An elegant carbon strip in the door sill area alludes discreetly to the innovative lightweight engineering concept based on aluminium and carbon. Both these lightweight materials are used in the vehicle in exactly the right places to achieve maximum effect – both individually and in tandem.
BMW Laserlight at the front.
Clean and simple in design, the traditional iconic BMW front-end design cues – the twin kidney grille and twin headlights – instantly proclaim the brand identity of the BMW Vision Future Luxury. The lean contours of the headlights also hint at the innovative technology sheltering behind them: BMW Laserlight. This new technology not only paves the way for a very flat and dynamic interpretation of the typical BMW twin round headlamps, it also sets completely new standards in terms of brightness, range and intensity. The concentrated, parallel light beam is up to ten times more intense than that of an LED system. The reduced energy consumption and packaging requirements of laser lights make this technology a prime candidate for use in future vehicles.
Underneath the headlights, the assertive multi-material front apron accentuates the elegant front-end styling. At the outboard ends of the apron, graceful carbon air deflectors conceal a range of BMW EfficientDynamics aerodynamics features. The thin-walled air deflectors are made of carbon, a further reminder of the intelligent lightweight engineering concept of the BMW Vision Future Luxury. A slender chrome strip on the air deflectors highlights the airflow system.
OLED lighting at the rear.
The horizontal lines of the side profile glide gently away at the rear in a final expansive flourish. As at the front, the body styling in this area is deliberately understated, allowing the innovative, narrow and slender lights to make a powerful statement. For the first time on a BMW the rear lighting is provided by organic LEDs, paving the way for a completely new treatment of the typical BMW L-shaped lights. The BMW Vision Future Luxury’s L-shaped rear lights comprise a large number of small, likewise L-shaped OLEDs.
An organic LED consists of wafer-thin organic semiconductor layers positioned between two electrodes. The light-emitting polymer layer is only approx. 400 nanometres thick, making it roughly 400 times thinner than a human hair. Organic LEDs are not only extremely thin, as well as flexible, they also produce very uniform illumination over their entire surface. Due to their very thin dimensions, and since they do not require reflectors in order to produce the desired broad light dispersion, they open up completely new ways of using light in and around the vehicle.
If you like to keep up to date on the latest gadgets and technology AND like stylish luxury cars, you need to read The Future of Luxury’s 3 ways luxury car manufacturers have harnessed digital platforms as part of a strategy to tackle poor performance in the luxury car market.
The luxury car sector has long been a leader in adopting the latest technology for design, manufacture and in-car systems however, luxury car brands are now increasingly turning to digital tech to entice customers before they’ve even taken a test drive in a bid to create powerfully engaging experiences.
Designed to support the launch of the Panamera in the Middle East, Porsche’s augmented reality iPad app gives potential customers a chance to explore the car’s capabilities through a highly interactive experience. Using augmented reality enables Porsche to bring the vehicle’s features to life in a more meaningful and impactful way than a simple brochure description could ever hope to achieve.
Steve Blyth of Engage, creators of the AR app, described it as providing “a unique and immersive experience” created to achieve the objectives set by Porsche of “a high-level view of the product and brand as well as an introduction to the Panamera’s features.”
In the showroom, car each feature 5 markers that trigger the iPad app to provide detailed content about the car’s features in the form of texts, images, animations and video.
Online and offline are connected through data capture, with additional information revealed to users who supply their email address via the app. This data is then used by Porsche sales teams to follow up leads.
Earlier this year, in addition to locations in London and Beijing, Audi opened another of its digital showrooms in Berlin. Featuring interactive touchscreens, the showrooms allow customers to explore the range by personalising Audi cars to their own specifications. A significant advantage of the digital showroom for both customers and brands is the lack of space restrictions. Although only 4 models are on display in the showroom, all 49 models in the Audi range can be viewed and interacted with using the multi-media screens.
Creating immersive experiences is central to success in today’s market; Audi’s head of sales in Germany, Wayne Griffiths commented, “staging the brand is becoming so much more important.” The success of this venture has been reflected by the footfall generated with Audi Beijing reporting 8,000 visitors per week , 60% of whom were new to the Audi brand.
3. Volkwagen Group – Mobile Game
Mobile gaming was recently used by the Volkswagen Group to bring consumers closer to their premium sports car brands which includes a roll-call of some of the world’s most sought after cars – Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Porsche.
Designed to bring each car to life through immersive gameplay, the ‘Sports Car Challenge 2’ app (available on android and iOS 7), allows consumers to engage with vehicles through hyper-realistic, 3D product interaction.
Game features include the ability to compete for a position on the global leader board and a chance to take part in time trials with the ‘Ghost race’ feature helping to build racing talents. In addition, the immersive experience lets users customise gameplay through a choice of racing environments, driving conditions as well as offering the ability to customise the cars themselves.
Kristien Wendt of Proelios, creators of the ‘Sports Car Challenge 2’ app, highlighted the growing importance of mobile platforms to increase customer engagement, “Because of the accessibility, brand engagement, reach, measurement through data analytics and the hugely realistic worlds we can now create on mobile, clients are looking at how we integrate mobile gaming into campaigns, how we can connect, measure and interact with offline media such as outdoor posters and print advertising, and how we can use the gaming platform to generate greater consumer loyalty.”
Gamifying the app drives repeat engagement with consumers, creates greater reach opportunities, lets users build an affinity with the vehicles and ultimately, bridges the gap between virtual and real-life brand interaction.
