2011 Land Rover Range Rover Autobiography Supercharged on 2040-cars

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These are the top luxury cars bought by people entering the segment for the first time

Let's say you just got a big promotion at work or the kids are moving out of the house, and you finally have some extra money. You decide to blow it all at once and treat yourself by upgrading your ride. Naturally, you look to a luxury automaker. What do you choose?
Models like the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class may be tailor-made to introduce buyers to the premium segment, but a new study finds that they don't garner the highest rates of non-luxury customer conquests. It turns out that a Volvo leads among folks moving up to a premium brand, and it isn't even one that's made anymore, at that.
A recent study by Polk and IHS Automotive looked at what models had the highest rates of buyers upgrading from a non-luxury segment. The information comes from its new vehicle registration data through April 2014. All ten top models boasted conquest rates of over 50 percent, but the Volvo C70 led the field with 68.01 percent of its customers coming from non-premium brands.

Weekly Recap: Ford GT inspires guitar, foosball table, sailboat

Ford design vice president Moray Callum had just wrapped up a briefing on the interior of the Ford GT last month, but something seemed out of place. He grinned and pointed behind him, "You might be wondering why I have a boat behind me," he said mischievously. It was there because Ford set its designers on a mission to stretch and showcase their talents: design non-automotive objects inspired by the interior of the GT supercar. Callum received quite a response, too. His team produced a guitar, a foosball table (yeah bro!), a racing sailboat, a Wi-Fi speaker and some furniture. As the veteran design chief explained, "It's a really great exercise both to highlight our designers' talents, but also to really see how our design philosophy can work and how you can use it and get a common response back from a worldwide design team." Guitar View 25 Photos The objects have been on display this week at the Salone del Mobile furniture and fashion design fair in Milan, Italy, where Ford has had a presence for three years. There's also a light exhibition that apparently was inspired by the GT, as well. While this might seem a little far-fetched for the automaker, Ford said exhibitions like the Salone del Mobile give its designers another way to be creative and ultimately produce striking interior style. Ford wants this to be a differentiator, as research shows consumers are placing emphasis on the layout and features inside when they're making a decision about buying a new car. It's a little light hearted – but it's also potentially big business. Other News & Notes Cadillac CT6 platform could be used for Buick General Motors product chief Mark Reuss said the Cadillac CT6 platform could be used for a large Buick, though "not yet," Automotive News reported. The underpinnings can accommodate rear-wheel or all-wheel drive and would give Buick the large flagship it lacks. The report jibes with comments Reuss made at a roundtable with Autoblog and other reporters at the New York Auto Show. When asked if Buick had space for a large car on the CT6 chassis, he replied, "Yeah, I think it does. Yeah, I think we do." Buick has revamped its lineup in recent years with attractive crossovers and small and midsize sedans, but hasn't added the proverbial flagship that's yearned for by enthusiasts. Buick surprised industry observers with the stylish Avenir concept at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year that raised the possibility of a halo sedan.

Jaguar Land Rover recalls Takata airbag-equipped cars

In the latest chapter of what feels like the never-ending recall, Jaguar Land Rover announced that it's calling back 2009-2011 Jaguar XFs and 2007-2011 Land Rover Range Rovers for defective Takata airbags on the front passenger side. These Takata airbags have propellant that may have degraded and, if activated, could release metal shrapnel. The company is breaking up the recall into four phases, since currently there are not enough parts to do a full recall. Since the airbags can be more seriously affected by high heat and humidity, the first phase will cover vehicles that were sold and/or registered in regions with high temperatures and humidity. The regions included are as follows: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the US Virgin Islands. Other phases will begin as parts become available, and priority will be given to regions at greater risk of having defective equipment. Jaguar Land Rover encourages owners of affected vehicles to go to www.SaferCar.gov to check if their vehicle is included in the current recall. The first phase includes 54,000 of 108,000 affected vehicles. The company is also notifying owners of the issue, who will eventually get a second notification when parts are available so they can schedule a time to have the airbags replaced. Related Video: