10 Most Expensive Classic Cars

Automotive aficionados know that there are cars, and then there are "cars."

There are the cars we drive to work every day, the cars we use to take our kids to school, the cars we pick up groceries with and the ones we use to haul stuff from The Home Depot. They're utilitarian, reliable, practical and in most cases, they're relatively boring, too.

But others are the rare automobiles that provide more than just transportation. They're the ones that border on rolling art. The cars that most consider to be miracles of engineering. The ones that glorify speed and luxury. The ones that are best described as madness sitting on four rubber tires.

As long as people have been driving, cars like these have existed. Some individual or some company has always been there to push the envelope, to ask, "How much faster can we make this? How much better can it be?" Every era of automotive history has its legends. They have names like Bentley, Bugatti and Ferrari.

Many of them were made in extremely limited numbers during their time, and of those few, many became lost to history. A rare handful (or fewer) are still around, flaunting record-breaking speed and handling from a time long since past.

They can be yours, too -- if you've got the cash. The average person would never even consider spending $100,000 on a car. So what would make a person spend several million dollars on a car?

You're about to find out. In this article, we'll look at the most recent list of the world's 10 most expensive classic cars, the history behind them and how much of a financial hit their new owners' wallets took just to put them in their garages.

Land Rover lookalike proof that copycat strategy persists in China

If it looks like a Land Rover and purrs like a Land Rover, it could be a copycat.

In yet another instance of the mainland's fabled knock-off prowess, small carmaker LandWind has just launched its newest model, X7, which is a striking lookalike of Evoque, a compact luxury sport-utility vehicle from the stable of British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover owned by India's Tata Motors.

Launching the new model at the just-concluded Guangzhou car show, LandWind, owned by a joint venture of Changan Auto and Jiangling Motors, has priced the X7 from just 135,000 yuan (HK$170,300), compared with Evoque's entry-level tag of 578,000 yuan.

As competition continues to be fierce, imitating foreign luxury brands was still a prime strategy for some smaller, non-mainstream carmakers, said John Zeng, a director at consultancy LMC Automotive.

"I believe LandWind X7 will sell well as its resemblance with the Land Rover model will create a talking point. That helps in the marketing and the advertising," Zeng said, adding, however, that he expected very little impact on Evoque sales as the two models targeted different customers, with substantial differences in features and parts.

Neither LandWind nor Jaguar Land Rover were available for comment. But JLR chief executive Ralf Speth told Britain's Autocar magazine last week: "The fact that this kind of copying is ongoing in China is very disappointing.

"The intellectual property is owned by Jaguar Land Rover and if you break that IP, then you are in breach of international regulations."

Andrea Graef, a principal at consultancy AT Kearney, which advises the car sector, agreed.

"It raises concerns for all international car manufacturers as it shows that copying by Chinese original equipment manufacturers is still possible and accepted in China," Graef said.

Changan is one of the four biggest Chinese carmakers and has joint ventures with Ford, Suzuki and PSA Peugeot Citroen. Jiangling also has a joint venture with Ford.

Jaguar Land Rover recently opened its first fully fledged manufacturing facility outside Britain in Changshu near Shanghai. China is among its top markets for Evoque, which it is making in partnership with Chery.

The launch of LandWind X7 showed there was a market for cheap copycats, mainly first-time car buyers in smaller cities and more remote regions, Graef said.

"I cannot afford a Land Rover, a LandWind doesn't seem bad, although it's allegedly a copycat," wrote a Weibo user named "NPC" on the microblog.

But other posts on mainland social media reflect the disquiet among a growing number of mainlanders embarrassed by the country's copycat syndrome. "I feel ashamed about LandWind," wrote another Weibo user with the handle "Will8".

Copycat cars on the mainland have a long history, with everything from Mercedes-Benz and BMW to Fiat and Hummer having been flattered with imitation.

The Refine A6 sedan launched by Anhui Jianghuai at the Beijing car show in April was said to have been a rip-off of the A6 model of German luxury brand Audi.

Zhang Zhiyong, an independent industry observer, however, said copying from foreign carmakers was a fading trend and was more common until a couple of years ago, when China's car industry was less mature.

"Home-grown brands have been making efforts to boost quality and create original models in recent years," Zhang said. "To build up their own technology, of course, Chinese carmakers still need to make more investment in research."

Zeng said large Chinese carmakers such as Great Wall, Geely and Chery had been investing heavily in original brands.

Great Wall's SUV model, H6, was received well while Geely was also making efforts to launch more new products with its Volvo marque, he said. "With some weaker carmakers likely to be eliminated amid an industry consolidation, originality is essential for survival," he said.

Top 5 Reasons Your Car Is Vibrating

Own a car long enough and there's a good chance you'll develop auto problems of some nature. And one of the most common and most bothersome problems is vibration. What's more, it often creeps up on you gradually and subtly -- until one day you find yourself wondering how you ever put up with such an annoyance.

Perhaps then you asked yourself, what does it mean if my car is vibrating? While there's no substitute for the assessment of someone with an extensive automotive background, you can develop a good feel yourself for diagnosing car problems that are relatively common, such as vibrations.

The fix could be something relatively cheap and simple, like a tire rotation or balance. Or it could signal more serious auto problems -- something more costly, like steering or suspension issues.

Diagnosing car trouble in its early stages may seem like a hassle at first, but you have to remember that it can often save you from bigger car trouble (and bigger repair bills) down the road.

If your vehicle shakes, shimmies or vibrates out of the ordinary, or if you're just interested in preventing those conditions in the first place, keep reading. This article will take a look at the top 5 reasons behind a vibrating car.

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