Planned scarcity is a classic marketing trick for high-end goods. And if luxury fare isn't just difficult enough to get, then many of the most discriminating consumers don't want it anyway.

Ferrari's vehicles have been relatively inattainable forever largely by dint of their six-figure pricetags (and the brand unveiled a new, $1.3 million LaFerrari hybrid model at the Geneva auto show in March). But now Ferrari wants to make its goods even more exclusive by beginning to limit production. It's hoping a new tie-in with Apple will boost Ferrari's rarefied cachet even more.

The company plans to scale back sales to fewer than 7,000 vehicles this year to "maintain the exclusivity" of the brand. Ferrari sold 7,318 cars last year, and revenues so far this year have grown by about 4 percent over a year earlier.Continue reading...

At the Geneva Auto Show last week, global auto executives tacked warily between handwringing about the awful car market in Europe and cajoling praise for their latest upscale models.

At least Lamborghini and Ferrari don't have to worry about displaying any pretense of concern about the mainstream auto business in Europe. Instead, as the Geneva show opened to the public, the two brands were battling in their very rarefied niche for the attention only of the very, very rich.

To that end, Lamborghini has rolled out an "extremely exclusive" Veneno two-seater automobile whose speeds exceed 350 km/h and whose pre-tax price of 3 million Euros ($3.9 million) exceeds the pocketbook of just about everyone on the planet. That's why the Volkswagen Group-owned brand plans to build only three Venenos—and all are pre-sold. Continue reading...

Is the glass half-empty or half-full for the new Lincoln MKZ? It really doesn't matter—Lincoln dealers and many customers remain eager to get their hands on the short-of-supply MKZ as quickly as they can.

Still, there's the intriguing possibility that the current shortages of the first of the completely new line of Lincoln vehicles will end up enhancing Lincoln's brand equity, at least in the long run.

For now, Lincoln and MKZ clearly remain in a fix. After a months-long brand-repositioning effort that began last fall and has involved everything from Abraham Lincoln in TV commercials to dredging up of the old Lincoln Motor Company name for the division, Lincoln made a big and successful splash last month with a couple of Super Bowl commercials. Lincoln has followed that up with its buzz-worthy "Sound and Vision" project with Beck, re-imagining David Bowie in a sound-immersive concert facilitated with state-of-the art technology.

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Even as European economies and the EU wrestle with the continent's slide back into recession, luxury auto brands are ready to show off at next week's Geneva auto show like there really is a tomorrow—at least for their upscale clients.

Alfa Romeo, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Land Rover, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz and Rolls Royce are among the premium marques that will be displaying new production and concept vehicles at the annual show, which ranks as Europe's most important stage for automotive style and innovation and one of the most important auto exhibits in the world each year.

Among the brands and their scheduled delights:

Alfa Romeo debuts its 4c small sports car after unveiling the concept at Geneva two years ago. The prospect of selling this new vehicle in the United States has got many Chrysler dealers sniffing out the possibility of adding the Alfa Romeo brand to their stable along with Fiat.

Audi will display a plug-in hybrid version of its A3 hatchback, known as the A3 e-tron, which will go on sale next year. Sibling brand Volkswagen, by the way, will show off the next-generation, sporty GTI hatchback that is supposed to go on sale later this year.

Bentley is supposed to show off its second-generation Flying Spur, which it says is faster, more powerful and more fuel-efficient than its current model, according to Automotive News.

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Boeing faces looming strike vote following Dreamliner tumult.

GE seeks inventions via social campaign.

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Danone cuts 900 jobs in Europe.

Ferrari plans to price new supercar starting at 1 million euros.Continue reading...

The paint isn't even dry yet on the 2012 sales year and already automakers are gearing up for a 2013 that they hope will be even more prosperous. U.S. auto sales defied the economic headwinds this year, and prognostications so far are that they'll lead the way again next year in bringing whatever further measure of recovery comes to America.

That's why the buzz around the 2013 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), more commonly known as the Detroit Auto Show, already is stronger than it has been in a few years — at least since before the Great Recession and the GM and Chrysler bailouts.

More than 50 products are slated to be unveiled at NAIAS, which kicks off with a media preview on January 14-15, with most of them being global "reveals." The Chinese will be back after bowing out for a few years.  A number of luxury marques are returning to the show after absences caused by a number of factors; they include Jaguar, Land Rover, Ferrari and Maserati.

Here's a look at what a few brands already have signaled to expect at the show, including the new Toyota Furia, at top:Continue reading...

An estimated quarter of a million Chinese spectators lined the streets of Guangzhou to catch a glimpse of it over the weekend, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry went all the way to Italy to drive one, so the new Ferrari F12 Berlinetta must be quite the car. Indeed, the F12 provides a whopping 730 horsepower and 509 lb.-ft. of torque, has a 211-mph maximum speed, a zero-to-62 mph speed of just 3.1 seconds, and a V12 engine. But with asking prices starting at about $316,000, it's possible that even the Republican governor of one of America's biggest states couldn't afford it.

And that's exactly why the car makes such an effective subject for a major charitable act by Ferrari. The U.S. headquarters of the Italian automaker is located in Englewood Cliffs in New Jersey, an area that was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. So Ferrari auctioned off the first U.S.-market F 12 Berlinetta and donated the proceeds to relief efforts, raising $1.5 million for the American Red Cross.Continue reading...

Apple rumor created by Swedes as a prank goes viral.

BP nets $2.5bn in deal to sell Californian refinery business and Arco brand.

Canada's media ownership concentration criticized in new report.

Chad Johnson negates powerful personal brand as VH1 series cancelled.

Cosmopolitan founder Helen Gurley Brown passes, remembered, at 90.

Dewar's global brand ambassador chats with the New York Times.

Ford banks on 2013 Fiesta.

GE and Chobani take gold in Ace Metrix Olympics ad ranker.

HarperCollins plans pop-up record store to promote new book.Continue reading...