1982 Rolls-royce Corniche on 2040-cars

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A 1985 Ford Escort for $915,000? If it was owned by Princess Diana

What makes a used car worth more than the car itself? If it was owned by John Lennon. Or Muhammad Ali. Michael Schumacher, perhaps, or Stirling Moss. This year’s edition from the Hagerty organization of its “Power List” makes for amusing reading even if youÂ’re not on it. But you can make believe that you are. Essentially, the list, which was launched only last year, tracks the impact of celebrity ownership of a vehicle on its value, as measured by its worth at auction. Nearly 400 sales of celebrity cars and bikes have been analyzed from around the world by Hagerty using market data and “expert” analytics. Hagerty is aware, certainly, that famous folks — from royalty, sports, movies and music — grab gobs of attention from ordinary people. ThatÂ’s why the 2023 Power List comprises these categories: Art Cars, Racing Drivers, Movies and TV, Musicians, Royalty, Screen Stars, Sporting Icons. But you don't have to be a rock star or a F1 pilot to get listed: Princess Diana, besides an Escort Turbo RS that she owned between 1985 and 1988, numbered a convertible 1994 Audi 80 Cabriolet and a Jaguar XJS Cabriolet among her rides. HereÂ’s a look at some of the more notable entries: Racing driver category: In pole position was an unlikely titleholder, a 1976 Ford Bronco. This was the car bought new by legendary Canadian Formula 1 driver Gilles Villeneuve and untouched since his death; it sold at the Aguttes auction in Paris last December for $148,000, a huge 210% increase over the $47,800 that Hagerty would value a regular example in the same condition. Just a note: The list doesnÂ’t include race cars, only vehicles kept privately by the drivers. Musicians: A 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow had been Freddie MercuryÂ’s personal chauffeur-driven transport from 1979 until his death in 1991. Without celebrity ownership, Hagerty would value the Silver Shadow at a lowly $9,500, a car that would take a lot of time, effort and money to restore properly. But add in MercuryÂ’s aura and bids ended at $362,500. “ItÂ’s no surprise that MercuryÂ’s car dominated our Musicians list on the 2023 Hagerty Power List,” the company said. Movies and TV: For those readers now emerging from hibernation since 1968, the news is that the historic Highland Green Mustang from “Bullitt” remains at the top of the Power List for the second year running.

Autoblog's Editors' Picks: Our complete list of the best new vehicles

It's not easy to earn an “EditorsÂ’ Picks” at Autoblog as part of the rating and review process that every new vehicle goes through. Our editors have been at it a long time, which means weÂ’ve driven and reviewed virtually every new car you can go buy on the dealer lot. There are disagreements, of course, and all vehicles have their strengths and weaknesses, but this list features what we think are the best new vehicles chosen by Autoblog editors. We started this formal review process back in 2018, so there's quite of few of them now. So what does it mean to be an EditorsÂ’ Pick? In short, it means itÂ’s a car that we can highly recommend purchasing. There may be one, multiple, or even zero vehicles in any given segment that we give the green light to. What really matters is that itÂ’s a vehicle that weÂ’d tell a friend or family member to go buy if theyÂ’re considering it, because itÂ’s a very good car. The best way to use this list is is with the navigation links below. Click on a segment, and you'll quickly arrive at the top rated pickup truck or SUV, for example. Use the back button to return to these links and search in another segment, like sedans. If youÂ’ve been keeping up with our monthly series of the latest vehicles to earn EditorsÂ’ Pick status, youÂ’re likely going to be familiar with this list already. If not, welcome to the complete list that weÂ’ll be keeping updated as vehicles enter (and others perhaps exit) the good graces of our editorial team. We rate a new car — giving it a numerical score out of 10 — every time thereÂ’s a significant refresh or if it happens to be an all-new model. Any given vehicle may be impressive on a first drive, but we wait until itÂ’s in the hands of our editors to put it through the same type of testing as every other vehicle that rolls through our test fleet before giving it the EditorsÂ’ Pick badge. This ensures consistency and allows more voices to be heard on each individual model. And just so you donÂ’t think weÂ’ve skipped trims or variants of a model, we hand out the EditorsÂ’ Pick based on the overarching model to keep things consistent. So, when you read that the 3 Series is an EditorsÂ’ Pick, yes, that includes the 330i to the M3 and all the variants in between. If thereÂ’s a particular version of that car we vehemently disagree with, we make sure to call that out.

2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost gets high-tech suspension, AWD, rear-wheel steering

The first-generation Rolls-Royce Ghost started life as a BMW 7 Series, and in 10 years on sale became the best-selling model the brand has known. That sedan ended production last year, leading Rolls-Royce to begin the process of introducing us to the second-generation Ghost. Having abundant feedback from customers about what they'd like in the new model, and, more importantly, having listened to the feedback, Rolls-Royce realized it would need to start from scratch. Engineers modified the aluminum-intensive Architecture of Luxury that supports the Phantom and Cullinan to fit the Ghost's needs, in standard and Extended Wheelbase spec. Instead of the predecessor's rear-wheel drive, the coming Ghost will get standard all-wheel drive. And taking another page from the big brother Cullinan, the entry-level offering will come with rear-wheel steering, too. Going beyond the other two models in the brand's lineup, the Ghost will be the first to fit what Rolls-Royce calls its Planar suspension that brings together three technologies. The first is an upper wishbone damper unit that's been three years in development, placed above the front suspension. The automaker didn't go into details, but the damper unit is said to provide an improvement on the brand's "hallmark magic carpet ride and dynamic abilities." The Flagbearer camera system monitors the road surface ahead to prepare the suspension, a technology offered on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class for a few years now. The third Planar trick is a satellite-aided transmission, wherein the ZF eight-speed automatic "draws GPS data to pre-select optimum gear for upcoming corners," a technology already in use on the Phantom. The bodywork won't stray far from what we know; designers wrapped Spirit of Ecstasy opulence into a discrete package. Inside, the gauge cluster will go digital inside three fixed instrument bezels, next to a widescreen infotainment display, and driver assistance features could include everything from night-vision to some advanced self-driving capability. Under the hood, we expect the same 6.75-liter V12 utilized by the Phantom and Cullinan, with something like 560 horsepower. The global situation pushed the Ghost's launch back, we're told. Deliveries should begin early next year, with a debut sometime between now and then. The first-gen ran $314,400 in standard length, $348,400 in EWB guise.