New Car Time.

Suppose I should point out most Marauders were / are black.

Next most common Silver.

Then Red like mine 980 were made.

And least common 327/8 were Blue.

11052 were built.

390 were sold in Canada. 125 in 2004 of those 13 were Red. Mine is the only Red one from Calgary. Possibly Alberta.

Suffice to say they are quite rare around here.

Marauders are mostly classified by colour. Black all years. Silver all years but a late comer in 2003. Blue only in 2003, Red only in 2004.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZTcz6pqXak


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp9cn2sFtMs

By Warren Brown
washingtonpost.com
April 4, 1999
Let us consider wealth. Religious books condemn it. Philosophers speak of its temporal nature. And the morally righteous say it's bereft of virtue. To paraphrase a biblical warning, a camel passes through the eye of a needle more easily than a rich man passes through the gates of heaven.

So I'm probably going to hell--not because I'm rich, but because I like the idea of being rich.

Wealth simply has more appeal than poverty--especially when it comes to cars.

Look at the 1999 Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph. Essentially, it is a car in the way a Chevrolet Cavalier is a car. It has four rubber-covered wheels and a steering wheel, an engine, brakes, front and rear lights, seats, all things car.

But the Silver Seraph has something no ordinary car will ever have. It has power, power beyond the 322 horsepower produced by its mighty V-12 engine. It has the power to make people step back, render deference, reconsider their approach to you.

Consider an experiment I tried here and in the District of Columbia, where I drove the Silver Seraph.

I pulled up outside of fancy hotels in both towns in a Chevrolet Cavalier. Here, I was ignored by doormen. In New York, without even asking me if I was checking into the hotel, a doorman waved me away.

Enter the Silver Seraph. Same dude. Same blue blazer, white shirt, tie and gray slacks. Same urban brother haircut. Same hotels. But the doormen in both towns were all over me, couldn't do enough for me. Here, they even smiled in a seemingly genuine fashion.

This, of course, seems shallow stuff. But there's more to it, really. My Silver Seraph tour experiences tell me that rich people feel better about themselves because everyone treats them better, including legions of pious folks who look to the rich for charitable donations.

It's easy as sin to get accustomed to good treatment, just as it is easy to fall in love with the exquisite craftsmanship of something as beautiful as the Silver Seraph.

The car is a streamlined remake of the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. But streamlined, in this case, does not mean decontented. It's just less fat and less square on the outside than its predecessor. Otherwise, everything is there, along with a number of improvements.

Everything includes supple Connolly leather seats, deep plush Wilton carpets, chromed switches, burled walnut-veneer woodwork with intricate inlays; a vaultlike, high-strength steel body shell; a new, super-smooth, electronically controlled five-speed automatic transmission; a double-wishbone independent front and rear suspension system that dampens road and drivetrain vibrations into nothingness; and an engine that moves the car's fully laden weight of 6,065 pounds as effortlessly as if it were moving a feather.

I'm well aware, as the good nuns used to tell me, that you can't take any of this with you. But I'm also a disciple of the Rev. Ike. And to paraphrase one of that great spiritual entrepreneur's sayings: You might find happiness i n the bye-and-bye, but doing well in the here and now could remove much of the grief from your search.

1999 Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph

Complaints: The D.C. test car was afflicted with a sensor malady that messed up the operation of the remote-control side-view mirrors. The problem was corrected in the car tested in New York.

Praise: What's not to like about opulence well done? If you can afford it, buy it and enjoy it. There is virtue in happiness, and the Silver Seraph offers happiness aplenty.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Superior ride--soft without being at all squishy, firm without embracing brutality. Surprisingly smart acceleration, 0 to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds. And the car can stop just as quickly as it starts, thanks to a four-channel antilock power four-wheel disc brake system.

Safety: If a belted occupant dies in a Silver Seraph crash, the crash was unsurvivable. Period. The car is built like a tank and is equipped with every conceivable cra sh-protectio n device.

Head-turning quotient: "What can I do for you, sir? Can I help you, sir? Fine day, isn't it, sir? Will you be staying with us for business or pleasure, sir? We can make any arrangements you need."

Capacities: Seats five people, four in comfort. Fuel tank holds 20.7 gallons of recommended premium unleaded. Holds 13.2 cubic feet of cargo.

Mileage: About 16 miles per gallon, combined city and highway. Estimated 315-mile range on usable volume of fuel.

Sound system: Designed by Alpine Electronics. Six-CD changer in center console. Excellent.

Price: Ahem, Rolls-Royces are "commissioned," not "sold." A basic order on a Silver Seraph is $214,000. Price can go substantially higher, depending on equipment ordered (e.g., wine chiller, fax/copier machines, navigational system, built-in laptop--you name it).

Purse-strings note: People who have this kind of money sure as heck don't need advice from me.

I considered getting one of these but I just wouldn't have been able to bring myself to drive it in winter. It does have a winter driving mode though.

The best vehicle I ever drove was F150 by Ford. I loved that truck, I would drive down the highway doing 80 mph and not even realize it.

It's great that we all can have widely different tastes in vehicles.

Personally I'd like to look at the RR Seraph and possibly be chauffeured in it to a high school reunion, however as a car it is about 2 tonne too heavy for my tastes, despite being very well made by BMW.

Obviously the F150 has a strong appeal as so many in the US buy them, however it would possibly be the vehicle I'd least want out of all, being 2 tonne too heavy as well, plus the few I've driven seemed primitive and poorly made.

My new Mazda suits my needs very well, is very well made, and is fun to drive, although perhaps a bit too civilised for real fun. Someday I might convert a purpose built open wheeled race car to road use again. Love that G force.

I drive a rather mundate mid-size SUV (Chevolet Equinox) and will probably never drive a Rolls or a Ferrari. But I do enjoy reading the Sunday Times column of car reviews by Jeremy Clarkson, who is better known as one of the three hosts of the TV program "Top Gear".

Here is a recent column he did on another car I'll probably never drive (but can dream about....)

http://www.reddit.com/r/clarkson/commen ... orget_the/

A sample:

I began in electric, or E-Power, mode, which delivers about the same amount of power as you get in a hot hatchback. But because the 918 weighs about 1½ tons — and the Weissach-package model I was driving was even lighter than that — and because electric power is delivered in one big lump, instantly, I was doing 62mph just 6.1 seconds after I set off.

Silently? No, actually. As the speed builds, the 918’s motors sound like a jet engine on idle. They whistle. And as you go faster still, they start to shriek. It’s a noise quite unlike anything I’ve heard in a car before and it is fabulous. If this is the future, count me in.

And then — for a complicated scientific reason — the whole back of the car exploded. Well, that’s what it sounded like. Maybe I was getting close to the end of the battery’s 18-mile range and it needed a charge. Or maybe the car somehow knew that it was on a track and that I really wanted some V8 propulsion as well. Whatever, the petrol engine had burst into life.

In many hybrids you cannot tell when this happens because the engine is small and weedy, like a mouse. You can in the Porsche, partly because of the volcanic noise but also because you are now doing about a million miles an hour. At this point I turned the knob to Sport Hybrid mode and heard the sonic boom. And then I went for the full-fat Race Hybrid setting and it felt as though I were slingshotting round the moon.

Methinks you must mean Jennifer Clarkson?

I've driven a couple late-model 7-series, and I agree: it's simply remarkable how much road feel and cornering capability BMW managed to give a large, luxurious sedan. It's damned difficult to make a car that will baby you on a coast-to-coast trip and still put a grin on your face on the twisties.

I have a Fiat 500 Abarth. The Abarth model has much better (and very track-oriented) suspension than the baseline model, stronger brakes, and a lot more power and torque. True to the spirit of the original Abarths, in other words. Ridiculously growly stock exhaust note, too...to the point the very nice Bose sound system gets neglected 'coz I like listening to the engine too much.

Despite being small and rather stiffly-suspended, it's comfortable on road trips (really good seats are likely the reason). Not the greatest mileage for such a tiny car, but that's the price you pay for performance.

Glad you like your little Italian car. I think it is a nice car but small cars just are not for me.

I once sat in a Honda Beat, Japanese Micro Car in Tokyo. But for me to get in, I'm a big guy, they had to take the roof off.

I did consider the safe, for what it is, Motorcycle like Smart Car Cabriolet. Small cars may score good in crash tests but when compared to their bigger cars, which the tests never compare. They just are not as same in an accident with a full size car or truck.

I don't need a little car, nor high MPG (I don't drive much) I do like performance, which my BMW gives and gadgets galore. Plus I need a bigger car that I can fit in with a real backseat, I have friends, and this new one is great for that. Best backseat I've ever been in... except the Maybach...

Is your Arbath the hardtop Coupe or the Cabriolet?

Of course since I buy used, no way am I paying per deductive price for a hugely expensive car. I need to fix a couple thing. BMW is famous for the hard drivers seat. I added a foamy cushion. May look at a better solution at an upholstery place. I also need to get the logic 7 amp fixed. Requires sending it and $350 to California to be upgraded. Then I need the vanos sensor adjusted. (Can shaft sensor suite). All known problems for this car. Plus rear left door handle is loose.


Upgrades:

Roof rack for hauling stuff, might get a roof case if I need extra space.

Trailer hook for cargo container or rear shelf. Not sure what its tow rating is, in Europe it is 5000 lbs in Canada it is not listed. Same car made in same place, Germany. North America wants you to buy a truck for towing. BMW wants to sell its X5. Of course I don't need any of this nor do I have or need a trailer yet.

Interior picnic tables and tablet stands. For rear seats. I also have a large tablet to possibly use in it, or else where. It is too heavy to use as a portable device. Even if it is portable/ luggable. 20" screen is so much better than the 6" screen that is included. Will use a hotspot and/or TV tuner.

I will add the internet hotspot connector. It fits in the phone link, which doesn't fit smart phones anymore, its a physical dock connector. Gives full wireless internet in the car like a cellular tablet data only. 4G. Car already has blue tooth. Plus trays that can hold phones and runs through the stereo.

I may upgrade the rear screen, or even the front screen, it could use a new higher resolution, the flir camera can also be upgraded but that is very expensive. 5-10k for a better flir. I might just add some pioneer amp avid systems. Speakers as need be etc.... Rear screen maybe but a tablet could replace much of it. May need to hook the tablets up to the DVD changer. 6" screen is just tiny in the back, one screen in the middle. May make my own wooden frame and fit a larger 12+" screen. Unless the 20" tablet could hook it up.

We follow the motto: "Support the new car market, buy used."

BJ's brother was scrap and used cars so she does most of the research. "Consumer Reports" is a good information source. With the longer life of cars today ours usually aren't discarded until circa 250k miles. Plenty of bargains if you are picky.

Read about one man who liked diesel but not the prices. He would buy at circa 100k miles - still much life left.