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Weekly Recap: Geneva's splendor reflects growing demand for ultra-luxury cars

Geneva is one of the most glittering auto shows in the world, but the list of high-powered and bespoke luxury cars was decadent this year even by the rich standards of the Swiss exhibition. It's great for enthusiasts to revel in the flame-throwing Aston Martin Vulcan, the racing-inspired elegance of the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept and the insane performance of the Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce, but there's a reason for all of this opulence: the luxury market is big business. And it's growing. IHS Automotive forecasts that so-called ultra-premium sales will nearly triple this decade from 123,000 to 353,000 units around the world. The estimate includes brands like Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce, but doesn't count BMW, Mercedes and Audi, which offer less expensive models in addition to their high-end flagships. Though IHS includes Porsche and its relatively large volume in the study, the ultra-premium segment is still set grow at about the same rate, even without the German automaker's figures. So what is propelling all of this growth in the most expensive segment of the auto industry? Put simply, there's more rich people. IHS Automotive principal analyst Tim Urquhart pointed to economic expansion in China, market recovery in the United States and a surge in the lucrative technology sector as contributing factors. This dovetails with a research report by UK-based Oxfam, an international relief organization, which found the world's richest one-percent owned 48 percent of global wealth in 2014, and it's expected to increase to more than 50 percent by 2016. View 17 Photos Carmakers are moving quickly to capitalize with new products, expanding their portfolios with low-volume speedsters like the 800-hp V12 Vulcan at Geneva, and plans to enter new segments, like Rolls-Royce's strategy to make an SUV. "Ultra-premium carmakers are looking to explore ways of growing their product offerings, and thus their bottom lines, in this most potentially profitable of segments," Urquhart wrote in a report on the Geneva show. In a nutshell, there are more choices for people with more money. It's a good time to have expensive taste. Other News & Notes 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata production launches It won't be long now. The 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata arrives later this year, and it's officially in production. Mazda announced this week that the roadster began rolling off the assembly line at its Ujina factory in Hiroshima, Japan.

Buyers ditching expensive European sedans to buy expensive American trucks

The New York Times ended the automotive week with a story that adds numbers and context to a range of other stories, from the crossover craze to the increasing median price of a new car to ever more grandiose pickup trucks. The NYT piece reveals that the shift to larger vehicles isn't merely about the average U.S. buyer swapping the midsize sedan for a Ford Edge. Luxury buyers are migrating from plush sedans to plush SUVs and trucks that creep close to six-figure prices, and the Detroit Three are running Treasury presses because of it. From 2013 to 2017, the truck category — everything from pickups to minivans — climbed from 30 percent of the market to 41 percent. In January of this year, trucks claimed 66 percent of new vehicle sales. At the milk-and-honey end of profits, GMC alone accounted for 11.3 percent of all vehicle sales over $60,000, not just trucks. That puts the luxury truck maker behind Mercedes-Benz and Ford, The Blue Oval's feasting on Lariat, King Ranch and Raptor versions of the F-150, which make up more than half of that pickup's sales, putting it ahead of Chevrolet, Porsche and Lexus on the high-dollar sales list. The average transaction price of a GMC in Denali trim last year was $56,000; it's easy to see why, when one dealer told the NYT he just swapped a 2012 BMW 550i for a $71,000 GMC Sierra Denali. That truck starts at $52,900. The NYT started its story with a buyer who took home a Ford Raptor instead of an Audi A6, and optioned that $50,020 Ford Raptor close to $80,000. Over at Lincoln, the new $72,055 Navigator — the one so popular that Ford will increase production — crossed hands for an average sale price of $77,000 in January. And a Jeep dealer told the NYT that the two $93,000 Trackhawks he had on his lot "won't be here more than a few weeks." While trucks head up in sales volume and price, cars are headed so viciously in the opposite direction that "the Detroit Three and even some foreign manufacturers acknowledge they are now losing money on many of the cars they sell." So ... get ready for a lot more crossovers and trucks. Related Video: Find out what vehicle is right for you. Give our Car Finder tool a try.

3 Quick Takes on the new Hummer EV

The 2022 GMC Hummer EV truck debuted Tuesday with 1,000 horsepower and up to 350 miles of range. It marks the return of the Hummer name after a decade-long absence and is the most ambitious electric vehicle General Motors has attempted. Here are three quick takes. This is how major vehicles will be revealed going forward The unveiling during Game 1 of the World Series on Fox and during The Voice on NBC could only have been bigger if done during the Super Bowl. A two-network debut complete with LeBron James providing voiceover for the commercial. On Fox, World Series play-play man Joe Buck neatly set up the spot and told millions of viewers that the order bank was now open. Then the Hummer debuted in what looked like a cut from the next Transformers movie. OK, this is not how every major car will be revealed, but the direct-to-consumer, as-many-eyeballs-as-possible, made-for-TV (or social media) event will be a key strategy going forward. In the last few months, the Detroit, Los Angeles and New York auto shows have all played leapfrog with dates, confusing many observers. The pandemic has obviously exacerbated the decline of auto shows, but if you’re an automaker, why share the spotlight in a convention hall? Most car reveals wonÂ’t be network TV spectacles, like the Hummer, but streaming services and other platforms will make a lot more sense than traditional means as companies compete for new buyers. This is how the Tesla Cybertruck should have looked Most would say the Hummer is pretty cool looking. The headlights, the grille, the blocky fenders and huge wheels — yeah, this looks straight out of central casting. ItÂ’s what you expected the reborn Hummer to look like, nominally now in the service of the GMC brand. Tesla made the Cybertruck a bit too crazy. Sure, itÂ’s attention-getting. But look at the Tesla. No one can objectively say the Cybertruck is aesthetically pleasing, from the shape to the features. ItÂ’s out-of-step with the graceful Model S and Model 3 sedans. The Hummer is futuristic, has interesting elements — like underbody cameras for off-roading and a T-top — and a massive presence. It doesnÂ’t need to do more. The addition of Super Cruise technology, however, is a nice touch. GM is serious about EVs The Hummer leads a blitz of EVs from GM, which is quietly yet ambitiously laying out an electric future.