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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.

General Motors shaking up its marketing... again

One of the things that dogs the full comeback of General Motors is the instability of its marketing. That part of the automaker got yet another big shakeup today when GM confirmed what I have been tweeting for a few days - strong rumors that the Chevrolet and Cadillac ad accounts are walking to new ad agencies.
Cadillac, GM's luxury brand, is going into review from Fallon Worldwide, Minneapolis and the indications are that Campbell-Ewald, Chevy's old ad shop, will end up with most or all of it. C-E just announced that it was moving from its long-time home in Warren, MI to a new downtown Detroit office next to Ford Field, just blocks from GM.
The other shoe to drop shortly will be the shift of GM's most important brand, Chevy, from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners of San Francisco to McCann-Erickson of Troy, MI. McCann used to be the agency for Buick and GMC, as well as GM's corporate advertising, and has retained some pieces of business over the last few years. Sources have even told us that it was McCann that did a lot of the creative work on Chevy's new ad platform, Find New Roads. (Not to be confused with a former McCann tagline for Saab, "Find Your Own Road.")

2023 GMC Yukon Denali Ultimate comes with more style, most everything else

First introduced on the Sierra line, the even more luxurious Denali Ultimate trim is coming to the 2023 GMC Yukon. It includes nearly every available feature for the regular Denali as standard, plus some unique design features. The Denali Ultimate is distinguished by its dark chrome grille and badging, features that cannot be added to any other Yukon model. It also gets the largest wheels yet for the Yukon: 22-inchers with painted, machined and polished sections. The interior is more impressive. Most of the surfaces are covered in leather, real wood and aluminum trim. The seat backs and the wood trim have topographical maps of Mount Denali. Metal badging is even added to the seat backs with the special trim level's name. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. As for features, the Denali Ultimate comes with basically everything that's standard as well as what's usually optional on the regular Denali including magnetic shocks, huge screens, an 18-speaker sound system and massaging seats, among others. So this is one of the rare times where it actually is easier to list what's either an additional feature or just a preference. Naturally you get a choice of colors, and the trim level can be added to either the shorter Yukon or the longer Yukon XL. The standard engine is the gas-powered 6.2-liter V8 with 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. The 3.0-liter turbodiesel straight-six is an option with 277 horsepower and the same amount of torque. Both are coupled to a 10-speed automatic and four-wheel drive. Super Cruise with towing and automatic lane change capabilities is another option, a rear-seat entertainment system and a towing package. And that's it. Pricing hasn't been announced, but it's pretty clear this will be the most expensive Yukon trim. The final numbers will be coming this June. Deliveries begin this fall.