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Why Italians are no longer buying supercars

Italy is the wound that continues to drain blood from the body financial of Italian supercar and sports car makers. The wound was opened by the country's various financial police who decided to get serious about superyacht-owning and supercar-driving tax cheats a few years ago, by noting their registrations and checking their incomes. When it was found that a rather high percentage of exotic toy owners had claimed a rather low annual income - certain business owners were found to be declaring less income than their employees - the owners began dumping their cars and prospective buyers declined to buy.
Car and Driver has a piece on how the initiative is hitting the home market the hardest. Lamborghini sold 1,302 cars worldwide in 2010, 1,602 cars in 2011 and 2,083 cars in 2012 - an excellent surge in just two years. In Italy, however, it's all about the ebb: in 2010, the year that Italian police began scouring harbors, Lamborghini sold 96 cars in Italy, the next year it sold 72, last year it sold just 60. The declines for Maserati and Ferrari are even more pronounced.
Head over to CD for the full story and the numbers. What might be most incredible isn't the cause and effect, but where the blame is being placed. A year ago the chairman of Italy's Federauto accused the government of "terrorizing potential clients," this year Luca di Montezemolo says what's happening has created "a hostile environment for ­luxury goods." Life at the top, it ain't easy.

Deadmau5 orders Nyanborghini Purracan to replace departed Purrari

EDM DJ and producer Deadmau5 is unusual among car collectors for a few reasons, like the fact that the Canadian native didn't get his driver's license until he was 32 - about two years ago and well into fame - so his first car was a Porsche 911 Carrera RS. Elsewise, his garage contains a BAC Mono, a McLaren P1 and 650S, a Range Rover, a "custom Jeep Rubicon with an SRT engine and big suspension," and a daily driver Bentley Continental GT Supersports. There is also that controversial and now-unwrapped Ferrari 458, the Nyancat Purrari with custom badging that so incensed Ferrari they sent him a cease-and-desist letter. After the kerfuffle, Nissan teased Deadmau5 with the idea of a Nyancat GT-R, but the musician has tweeted the the replacement is going to be a Lamborghini Huracan called, naturally, the Nyanborghini Purracan. Deadmau5 tweeted the delivery date is in May, so all you other Toronto-ites, you have until summer to prepare yourselves for this guy patrolling the streets. Oh, Canada... News Source: Deadmau5 via Twitter [1], [2], Jalopnik Celebrities Design/Style Lamborghini Coupe Luxury Performance Supercars

Volkswagen Group names Paefgen head of classics program

You may remember the name Franz-Josef Paefgen. Until recently, the German engineer and executive was head of both Bentley and Bugatti. Before that he was chief executive of Audi, after working for several years at Ford. He technically "retired" earlier this year, but like the cars he helped create, an executive like Paefgen could never really retire. So it should come as little surprise that the Volkswagen Group has named Dr. Paefgen head of its Classic program.
In his new capacity, Paefgen will oversee the historic automobile activities of the entire VW Group, including those of Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Audi, Lamborghini, and of course Bentley and Bugatti. It strikes us as a suitable semi-retirement for the man responsible in no small part for the Bugatti Veyron and Bentley Mulsanne, to name just two, and who was decorated in 2006 by the ACO as the "Spirit of Le Mans" for his contribution to endurance racing. Read the official announcement after the break.