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Despite premium carmakers going downmarket, luxury auto sales stick at 10-11%

According to research conducted by global information company IHS Automotive, the leporine birthing of new models by luxury manufacturers over the past six years hasn't increased their market share in the US. Even as car sales reached 15.6 million units, IHS says what's happened instead is that luxury buyers are merely moving from one brand to another, moving from larger luxury vehicles into hot segments like compact luxury crossovers or leaving the market at the same rate as other buyers enter.
Whether broken out by makes or by segment, market share has rollercoastered inside a narrow band from 10.5 to 11.5 percent since "at least" 2008. Closer investigation reveals the shifting boundaries in the aspirational pond, with brands like Mercedes-Benz and Audi gaining territory as Lexus and Lincoln lost it, and Saab and Hummer were buried, dead, under it. One neat note is that Tesla has gone from a share of zip to .12 percent.
The subcompact and compact crossover segments show growth, with those little high-riders jumping from .3 percent to 1.16 percent of overall industry sales. Their rise, though, is concomitant with the decline of four other segments: compact and midsize cars and fullsize cars and SUVs. We think the next few years that will tell if the small-car expansion can overcome the large-car retraction, with a phalanx of smaller offerings like the CLA only recently hitting the market and others like the GLA, Macan and Q1 doing so in the near future.

Porsche releases special edition 911 GTS Club Coupe

Porsche is never afraid to add one more variant of the 911 to the lineup, but its latest inclusion to the range is being kept extra limited, to keep things super special. The automaker is building just 60 examples of the 911 GTS Club Coupe, and only members of the Porsche Club of America can order them. The organization fittingly celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Prices for 59 of the cars start at $136,060, plus $995 destination, with deliveries in June, and club members can win the last car (the showcar) as a prize. Mechanically, these vehicles take the 430-horsepower engine, wider body and rest of the updates from the regular 911 GTS, but all of these come in a unique color called Club Blau. The cobalt shade gets set off with black frames around the bi-xenon headlights, tinted taillights and black chrome exhaust outlets. The limited coupes also get a vintage-inspired ducktail rear spoiler and 20-inch Sport Classic wheels in a mix of semi-gloss black and polished metal that evoke the look of the classic Fuchs wheels on older 911s. For added contrast inside, the seat stitching, seat belts and tachometer are offset in red. Plus, the trim for the dashboard, doors and center console features carbon fiber. Capping things off, a plaque reading "GTS Club Coupe 60 Years Porsche Club of America" is near the glovebox. Being a Porsche, there are still options on these special models. The Extended Club Coupe Package goes so far as to include the key painted in Club Blau and adds leather-edged floormats. A custom car cover is also available. Check out the gallery to pick out all of the stylish tweaks for these celebratory 911s. GTS CLUB COUPE REVEALED IN THE NEW PCNA HEADQUARTERS AT ONE PORSCHE DRIVE Porsche celebrates 60th anniversary of Porsche Club of America with limited-edition 911 model Atlanta. Celebrating six decades of the largest Porsche club organization in the world, Porsche Cars North America is commemorating this milestone with a 60 unit limited-production run of the Club Coupe based on the 911 Carrera GTS. Known as the GTS Club Coupe, the 430 hp sports car is painted in a color unique to this model appropriately named "Club Blau," which was created exclusively for this anniversary edition by the Porsche Club of America.

Motor Trend hits Laguna Seca with Ferrari F12, Chevy Corvette, Porsche 911

According to the crew at Motor Trend, we should think of the video below "as an addendum to Best Driver's Car," a test the magazine put together that elevated the 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S above all others in the category of driving joy. It seems the brand-new 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray wasn't able to take part in the magazine's official test, and neither was the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.
And so Motor Trend did the only logical thing: It procured both the 'Vette and Prancing Horse as soon as it could, and put them both on track with the Driver's Car-winning 911. Of course, these cars don't actually compete against each other - the Ferrari offers up 731 horsepower and wears an asking price of $434,144 as tested, which means you could buy four loaded Corvettes for the price of one F12, and still have money left for a garage to store them in - but that's not the point of this particular test.
The point of this test isn't to listen to the beautiful sounds coming from the Porsche's flat-six-cylinder, the Corvette's pushrod V8 or the Ferrari's luscious V12, either, but the video below is worth watching for those three reasons alone. You know what to do.