Nissan Leaf Used <b>Prices</b> Drop Most in June - KickingTires |
- Nissan Leaf Used <b>Prices</b> Drop Most in June - KickingTires
- 2015 Audi S3, A3 Cabriolet, and A3 Sedan U.S. <b>Pricing</b>
- Argentina's <b>Car</b> Troubles : The New Yorker
- Audi <b>Prices</b> 2015 A3 TDI, A3 Cabriolet, High-Performance S3
| Nissan Leaf Used <b>Prices</b> Drop Most in June - KickingTires Posted: 24 Jun 2014 08:19 AM PDT Gas prices may be on the rise, but that's not necessarily bolstering demand for used electric cars. The all-electric Nissan Leaf saw the biggest price drop in June; asking prices for late-model used Leafs dipped 4.2 percent ($819) to $18,692 on average. The Chevrolet Volt, an electric car with a range-extending gas generator, experienced the fourth-biggest price drop, with its average price falling 2.9 percent ($710) to $23,984. Meanwhile, the Chevrolet Express 3500 full-size van had the biggest price gain in June, up 2.1 percent ($513) to $24,908. Rounding out the top three were the Porsche Boxster convertible, up 1.8 percent ($959), and the Lincoln MKS luxury sedan, which gained 1.5 percent ($430). As in May, overall used-car prices were down in June, falling 0.7 percent ($162) to $23,097. That's the lowest average price so far this year. The charts below detail used cars from the 2011 to 2013 model years with the biggest price drops and gains. To be eligible for the lists, a model had to have at least 250 cars in Cars.com's national inventory.
Cars.com photo by Evan Sears  |
| 2015 Audi S3, A3 Cabriolet, and A3 Sedan U.S. <b>Pricing</b> Posted: 19 Jun 2014 04:00 PM PDT
The 2015 Audi A3 compact sedan is already in showrooms, but Audi is just getting started. The all-new A3 sedan is just the first of a whole range of compact Audis, and today the brand has released pricing on the A3 TDI diesel, the S3 performance sedan, and the A3 cabriolet. Back in March Audi announced a base price of $30,795 for the A3 sedan with a 170-hp 1.8-liter turbo four-cylinder, and $33,695 for the 220-hp 2.0-liter. They're now joined by a diesel variant. The A3 2.0 TDI front-drive sedan will carry a base price of $33,495 and be powered by a 2.0-liter direct-injected diesel producing 150 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque. All A3s have a six-speed automatic as standard equipment. Also released was a base price of $41,995 for the S3 performance version. It comes with a 292-hp high-performance 2.0-liter engine mated to Quattro AWD. It will feature unique exterior and interior accents, including brushed-aluminum trim, a D-shaped steering wheel, and specific instrument faces. The S3 will also have a sport-tuned suspension and roll on 18-inch wheels—optional 19-inchers will also be offered.
Open-air fans have two choices: The base A3 ($36,525) has a 1.8-liter turbo and front-wheel drive while a 2.0-liter turbo four powers the Quattro AWD ($39,525). All A3 cabriolets feature a foam-lined cloth top with a magnesium steel frame and a glass rear window. It can be raised or lowered in 18 seconds, even on the fly at speeds up to 31 mph. Rollover protection is also standard. All models in the new A3 lineup are generously equipped, and include such standard items as leather seating surfaces, Bluetooth with streaming audio, satellite radio with HD, a power driver's seat, bi-xenon headlights, LED taillights, and Audi Pre-Sense. Sedans also feature a panoramic sunroof.
Optional equipment includes 4G LTE connectivity, LED headlights, Bang and Olufsen audio, an advanced version of Audi Connect, and Audi Drive Select, which allows the driver to tailor throttle response, shift points and steering effort to one of four settings. The A3 TDI diesel, S3 sedan and A3 cabriolet are expected to arrive this fall. An A3 Sportback gasoline-hybrid version is expected to round out the line in early 2015.
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| Argentina's <b>Car</b> Troubles : The New Yorker Posted: 23 Jun 2014 12:40 PM PDT Rolando Domizi, a Hyundai salesman in Buenos Aires, has lately been spending a lot of time rearranging his showroom and checking on the parking lot in which his cars are stored. Last year, he was selling between twenty and thirty cars per month. So far this year, he has sold eight. "You have to do something to kill the time," he told me. "There's nobody coming through the door." Domizi did not suddenly lose his salesman's touch. He is struggling because the government, trying to increase the reserves of hard currency that it uses to pay off foreign debt, recently introduced a car tax and devalued the Argentinian peso. Dealers now pay a tax of thirty to fifty per cent on many models, up from ten per cent in the past, and that cost is passed on to buyers. In 2013, people bought nearly one million new vehicles in Argentina, a record; this year, that figure is projected to be around six hundred thousand, according to ACARA, Argentina's association for car dealers. The tax was designed to discourage people from buying big or luxury cars, which the government hoped would in turn discourage imports and reduce Argentina's trade deficit in the auto sector. The devaluation, which made imports more expensive for people paying in pesos, also increased prices—both of foreign cars and of Argentina-made ones, which are built from mostly imported parts. Back in December, a white Hyundai Genesis at Domizi's dealership would have cost around three hundred and eighty thousand pesos (around fifty-nine thousand dollars). Today, the same model costs around seven hundred and eighty-five thousand pesos (nearly ninety-seven thousand dollars). Domizi told me that he has been desperately phoning former clients to ask if they might want to change their cars, but they hang up when he reveals the new prices. The perplexing part of this is that, not long ago, the government was trying to get people to spend more—on cars and on other products—in order to stimulate the economy. It guaranteed annual wage hikes for members of influential labor unions, so that they would have more income to spend, and it required some businesses to freeze prices in order to insulate people from the effects of high inflation. In the auto sector, the government provided financing for purchases of new cars—for instance, by loaning buyers up to eighty per cent of the money. It also nationalized pension funds, and used the money to lend to car manufacturers and other businesses. But the growth in car sales—and many other types of sales—relied on imports, which over time thinned Argentina's trade surplus. It was a "fictitious, unsustainable boom," Gastón Rossi, a former deputy economy minister under President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, told me. As the government ran low on hard currency, it devised the new policies in oder to reverse the rise in car sales. That kind of policymaking—a step in one direction, then a step in the other—has critics decrying what they call a reactionary approach. "They act like a fire brigade," Rossi said. The government has also failed to address the problem of high inflation, which has already vitiated some of the gains of the devaluation. Because of this, economists expect the peso to slide further as the central bank seeks to protect its reserves. The troubles in Argentina date to 2001, when the country defaulted on around ninety-five billion dollars of debt. Since then, international creditors have demanded prohibitively high interest rates. This lack of credit means the government must dig into its hard-currency reserves to import energy and service lingering foreign debt. Recently, Argentina has tried to mend its lending relationships, but it is still in the midst of a decade-long dispute with private creditors. The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to hear a case on Argentina's responsibility in repaying those creditors, which means the country must heed a lower court's ruling on its repayment obligations; this is expected to trigger payments to creditors worth fifteen billion dollars, according to Axel Kicillof, the country's economy minister. The central bank's reserves have fallen from fifty-three billion dollars in 2011 to less than twenty-nine billion dollars today. The car tax and devaluation are only the latest of the Argentinian government's efforts to rebuild its reserves. In recent years, some companies were permitted to operate only if they matched the value of their imports with exports. Arturo Scalise, who imports Mitsubishis, told me that he exported wine and farm-animal feed. BMW exported rice. Now, however, the car tax and devaluation have constrained demand, especially for expensive models, which discourages dealers from importing them. The government has successfully cut its trade deficit in the auto sector. But lower demand has, in large part, led one manufacturer of car parts to dismiss staff, and some car factories, including those of General Motors and Honda, have suspended production. Now, the economy ministry has asked manufacturers to reduce their prices in an attempt to revive demand again. Carlos Cristófalo, an expert on Argentina's auto sector, told me, "They chase after their problems, and they don't find a solution." Photograph by Marcos Brindicci/Reuters. |
| Audi <b>Prices</b> 2015 A3 TDI, A3 Cabriolet, High-Performance S3 Posted: 20 Jun 2014 08:53 AM PDT By  With the launch of the all-new 2015 Audi A3 sedan now out of the way, Audi can get ready to start selling some more exciting versions of its entry-level car. Before they put the gasoline A3 sedans on sale this summer, Audi announced the starting prices for the 2015 Audi A3 TDI (diesel) sedan, 2015 Audi A3 Cabriolet and 2015 Audi S3 sedan. As we still wait for pricing and availability for the upcoming S3 Cabriolet and A3 Sportback, the S3 sedan currently stands as the highest priced variant of the 2015 Audi A3 lineup. Starting at $41,100, the 2015 Audi A3 demands a big price for a little sedan, but the 292-hp S3 sedan does represent a significant value compared to its closest rival, the $47,450 Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG. WATCH: 2014 Toyota Avalon Video Road Test If you're looking for a different type of excitement, the 2015 A3 Cabriolet will go on sale around the same time as the S3 sedan with a starting price of $35,600. This price is for the front-wheel-drive model with the 1.8-liter turbocharged engine, but those demanding better performance will be able to opt for the bigger 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder mated to Audi's quattro all-wheel-drive system starting $38,600 – these prices are a $5,700 premium over the comparable A3 sedan variants starting at $29,900 for the 1.8T FWD and $32,900 for the 2.0T quattro. BMW has yet to officially announce its 2 Series Convertible, but the drop-top BMW will likely be priced higher than the base A3 Cabriolet considering the current 2 Series Coupe starts at $32,100. ALSO READ: 2015 Audi A3 Sedan first drive Finally, the diesel-powered 2015 Audi A3 TDI will start at $32,600, which puts it just $550 more than the Lexus CT200h. Although official EPA-estimated fuel economy numbers haven't yet been announced, the A3 TDI should return some impressive figures while being a more fun and engaging alternative to the Lexus hybrid hatchback. ___________________________________________ |
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