2013 Rolls Royce Ghost on 2040-cars

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BMW profit of $2.7B is down as automaker invests to keep luxury lead

Despite selling 6.6-percent more vehicles - a record by volume - and posting higher revenues in the second quarter of 2013, BMW Group's profit of 2.07 million euros ($2.75 billion) is down 8.8 percent from last year. Investments in new technology (e.g. the new i3) and personnel, in addition to a competitive market, are to blame, BMW states. But the automaker remains committed to its fiscal targets for 2013, which, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Norbert Reithofer, says will be "on a similar scale to 2012."
The BMW brand's sales performance in the first half of the year, which increased by 7.7 percent to 804,258 vehicles delivered, was good enough for it to maintain its lead in the luxury market, narrowly beating Audi, which delivered 780,510 vehicles, Automotive News reports. Mercedes-Benz delivered 694,433 vehicles to cement third place.

Ex-Rolls-Royce design chief Ian Cameron killed at home

Former Rolls-Royce design chief Ian Cameron, the man who oversaw the automaker's design renaissance with the Phantom and Ghost ranges, was stabbed to death at his home in Bavaria (translated) on July 12. German newspaper reports have identified a suspect via surveillance camera (translated) whom police say is the killer. Apparently, the man went shopping at a store less than a mile from Cameron's house, then changed clothes and showed up at Cameron's door. A surveillance image before the suspect gets to the house shows him wearing the items that neighbors described, notably light pants, a dark blue hoodie, a red backpack and "yellow-green gloves." Someone reportedly cut the wires on the home security system, the suggestion being that the suspect or someone else involved had cased the house for at least a few days. It's said the killer rang the doorbell, attacking as soon as Cameron opened the front door, stabbing the designer to death. Verena Kloos, Cameron's wife, escaped to a neighbor's house and called police. This is a bizarre incident. Reports have floated the motivation that the killer wanted one of the vehicles in Cameron's car collection at the Bavarian property. Instead of going after a car, though, the killer ran off in his distinctive outfit, staying in the open long enough for neighbors to give a detailed description. He then changed clothes and ditched the backpack on a lakeside promenade not far from Cameron's house. Strangest of all, the man apparently left the clothes near the backpack, and the backpack contained items the man had bought during his shopping trip before the murder.  At the time of writing, police are searching throughout Germany but haven't caught the suspect. With a clear picture and a likely trove of DNA evidence, authorities have excellent leads. Anyone who can help is asked to get in touch with the Furstenfeldbruck Criminal Investigation Department at (+49) 8.14.16.120. Cameron's career started at Pininfarina in 1975, culminating in a greatest hits of designs while at BMW. He has exterior design of the third-generation Range Rover on his resume, as well as the BMW Z8. It was Cameron's Phantom, though, that helped create an entirely new Rolls-Royce after BMW bought the brand. CEO Chris Brownridge wrote on LinkedIn that "Ian played a significant role in shaping Rolls-Royce from when it was first acquired by BMW Group and moved to its home at Goodwood, West Sussex.

Rolls-Royce Ghost Zenith Collector's Edition is the ultimate Ghost

This generation of Rolls-Royce Ghost is coming to a close. We’ve seen a couple of prototypes for the new Ghost out testing in the wild, but it looks like Rolls has one more ace to play on the current car: the Zenith CollectorÂ’s Edition. If youÂ’re an avid Rolls-Royce enthusiast, you may remember that the British marque introduced a Zenith edition of the Phantom in 2016 when that generation of Phantom was wrapping up its 13-year tenure. WeÂ’ve had the current Ghost for about 10 years now, which means a new one is right around the corner. Before itÂ’s finished, Rolls-Royce is screwing together 50 of these Zenith Edition cars. Rolls says these 50 cars “will feature the highest levels of bespoke ever seen on a Ghost Collection car.” ThatÂ’s saying something for a company that will pretty much do anything you ask so long as your bank account can back it up. Take a gander through the photos above to see what the 1 percenters are riding around in these days. Changes to this Ghost versus a regular one are inspired from the 200EX Concept, which was the concept car for the Ghost back in 2009. Each Zenith Edition will house a commemorative ingot made from the 200EXÂ’s Spirit of Ecstasy — itÂ’s melted down, then part of it is being placed into the center console of each of the 50 Zeniths. There is a plaque that explains exactly what it is to anyone wondering. The center console features an engraving of some part of the 200EX Concept. The owner gets to choose exactly what part it is. All the door pockets are illuminated with some rather fantastic-looking lights shining through perforated leather. A special clock and door sill commemorates this Ghost as the Zenith Edition. From the outside, youÂ’ll notice that all Ghost Zenith cars have a two-tone paint scheme with only three options, all shown here. Rolls doesnÂ’t say how much they cost, but it does warn that order books for the Zenith will close imminently. The cars are being manufactured in West Sussex as we speak.