Luxury car market surges despite sputtering US economy

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2007

DETROIT, United States (AFP) — The luxury car market in the United States is gunning higher even with high fuel prices, the economy sputtering and much of the auto industry spinning its wheels. At this week's Detroit auto show, new versions of the priciest vehicles on the market -- including Maserati, Ferrari, Porsche and Bentley -- were being proudly displayed in the wake of a year of record sales for some high-end models.

The growing ranks of millionaires on Wall Street and elsewhere has fueled increased demand for these vehicles priced in the range of about 100,000 to 300,000 dollars, the new trophies for ultra-rich not content with a mere Mercedes-Benz or Lexus. Bentley, the British nameplate owned by Volkswagen, unveiled a new version of its 169,000-dollar, a...