The team will be available to answer questions about the club and give complimentary rides in the vehicle of your choice.

When it comes to expensive cars, Edward Douglas has commitment issues.

Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, Bentleys — he has the urge to swap them as often as most drivers fill their gas tanks.

“My friends tease me for having a short attention span,” said Douglas, 39, who owns a Porsche and Mercedes but finds himself flipping through Automobile Magazine thinking, “What’s next?”

That’s why Douglas, who heads a wire and cable manufacturing company in Randolph, prefers to rent the ritzy cars instead of owning them.

For a fee of $29,000 a year, he can have access to a dozen exotic cars at the Vulcan Motor Club in Chester — a fair price, he said, considering his choices include new releases like the $495,000 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and the $100,000-plus electric Tesla Roadster.

While the rest of the auto industry struggles, the high-end car rental industry appears to be gathering speed in New Jersey, where at least a handful of exotic-car clubs and their multimillion-dollar fleets are headquartered. Company owners say a growing number of consumers are renting the sleek, glossy vehicles for joyrides and daylong outings.

“We’re in a renter’s market,” said Vulcan co-founder Tom Mizzone, who estimates business is up 60 percent this year and the number of annual members has grown to nearly 100.

Exotic car clubs charge either by a single-day rate, ranging from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, or by membership, a timeshare-like arrangement that costs $10,000 to $50,000 for 20 to 80 driving days a year.

That makes them attractive to a surprisingly wide swath of customers, from casual drivers to car aficionados, who drive the brightly colored exotics to country clubs, Manhattan theatres, Atlantic City casinos and Cape Cod beaches.

Tom McDermott is one such customer. The 46-year-old photographs boats and runs a helicopter training school, where he owns 25 helicopters. But when it comes to exotic cars, he prefers to rent.

The owner of five Ferraris over the years, McDermott quickly learned that while helicopters usually appreciate in value, cars almost always depreciate. Exotics are costly and time-consuming to maintain, with insurance and repairs adding up to several thousand dollars a year — a scraped bumper alone can cost $400 to repaint.

They attract a lot of unwanted attention from curious passersby, making it impractical to drive them every day. And, like computers, once you invest in one, there’s always a newer, sleeker, faster one.

He said he would rather pay $20,000 a year to cruise around in any of 20 new cars — valued at a total of more than $4 million — offered by Gotham Dream Cars. The Hasbrouck Heights company has seen a 15 percent jump in business volume to about 80 rentals a month.

McDermott’s favorite ride? The fire-red Ferrari F430 Spider convertible, which can accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.1 seconds. Inside, the tan leather interior is so supple it can be easily marred by the slightest brush with a key or cell phone.

“You get a sense of happiness driving it,” he said.

Still, he craves variety. “It’s like if every night you have lobster, you might say, hey, I want to try a hamburger instead,” said McDermott, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who rents from the club’s two locations in New Jersey and Florida.

So, on a recent afternoon, McDermott took part in the club’s “Legend” tour, a $1,500 afternoon event during which drivers in six cars travel as a caravan along back-country roads and winding mountain passes. Every half hour, they pull over and swap cars until everyone has had a chance to test out each car.

“It’s like wine tasting,” he said.

JERRY MCCREA/THE STAR-LEDGER
Bryan Zagaro of Teaneck familiarizes himself with the dashboard controls for the 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo at Vulcan Motors in Chester.
CHANGING NEEDS

Like the cars they crave, the industry’s clients come in a variety of molds. There are newlyweds and other one-off customers, like Victoria Kennedy, who once surprised her husband, Sen. Edward Kennedy, on his birthday by renting an Aston Martin Vanquish from Gotham — the car James Bond drove in “Die Another Day.”

Others are would-be buyers who are hesitant about buying an exotic car that could fall steeply in value during a time when the economy is shaky.

“People are becoming commitment-phobic,” said Noah Lehmann-Haupt, the founder of Gotham. “They don’t want to sign a lease for five or six years. A lot of people don’t know what the world will bring them.”

Then there are the “ultra-affluent” consumers, generally people with inherited wealth for whom several thousand dollars is “chump change,” said Scott Rothbort, a professor of finance at Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business. “These are people who will drink champagne out of glass slippers,” he said.

Perhaps the biggest chunk of business, however, belongs to the class of “aspirational” consumers, who come and go as industries rise and fall. They pass through the exotic car business like it’s a revolving door — entering when they’re flush with cash, exiting when their finances dwindle.

“One year it’s Wall Street mortgage brokers, the next year it’s oil and gas tycoons,” Rothbort said.

These days, those customers at Gotham include entrepreneurs, a bill collector, an anti-piracy software developer and a building contractor who got a boost from the economic stimulus, Lehmann-Haupt said. “The reality is, even in a recession, there’s always someone doing well,” he said.

A NEW KIND OF CLIENT

Meanwhile, at Xotic Dream Cars in Toms River, owner Deric Tikotsky said business has soared 250 percent year-over-year, in part because the recession has ushered in a new kind of client: Former exotic-car owners who were forced to sell the vehicles after losing their money in the stock market.

“They’re selling off their cars, they’re selling off their boats and they’ve started renting because they don’t want to lose that lifestyle,” he said.

In these tough economic times, however, clients are trying to enjoy that kind of lifestyle with more discretion, so as not to appear insensitive. In recent months, Douglas, the wire and cable manufacturer, has avoided driving the glitzy rentals to work because “it wouldn’t appear proper to my employees.” Instead, he opts for his Porsche 911 Turbo or Mercedes minivan.

And yet, for those who can afford it, resisting an exotic simply because there is a recession takes backseat to the adrenaline rush that comes from having all that horsepower, speed and luxury at their fingertips, Lehmann-Haupt said.

“People still feel the need for an escape,” he said. “It’s exhausting not to spend money.”

Leslie Kwoh may be reached at lkwoh@starledger.com or (973) 392-4147.

The Vulcan Motor Club, based in New Jersey, owns a dozen supercars, including a Tesla Roadster and a Ford GT40. Vulcan has about 100 members and annual memberships that cost up to $35,000. The founders, Aaron Fessler and Tom Mizzone, are serial entrepreneurs rather than hard-core car enthusiasts, and they began the business in 2007 because they saw an opportunity. Despite the economy, Vulcan has opened a second outlet in Glen Cove, N.Y.

Mr. Fessler said he noticed that the high price of exotics was followed by a precipitous drop of $50,000 to $60,000 once they had 100 miles on them. “For many people, and especially in this climate, it’s hard to justify that expense,” he said. “And people are time-sharing everything else, from yachts to watches, so why not cars?”

[Excerpted from Fractional Life, July 2008]

And – new for 2009 – a total of 25 driving sessions are available out of our New Jersey and New York club locations. All tours offer seat time in a selection of five supercars on some of the most thrilling road driving imaginable.

Your day starts at one of our two private clubhouses in Chester, New Jersey and Glen Cove, New York, where you’ll receive an overview of each vehicle from our staff, and a review of the tour route. Then, you’ll pilot each vehicle through some of the most scenic and demanding roads in the region, rotating cars at designated checkpoints. At the end of the tour, you’ll receive commemorative photos of your trip, as well as a chance to review your experience with fellow enthusiasts.

As for the route? It won’t disappoint. You’ll be traveling through some of the most breathtaking regions in New York and New Jersey, on a fantastic mix of river-hugging back-country roads, small towns, and some high(er) speed, wide-open interstate driving.

Reserve your seat now; when they’re gone, they’re gone!

When you visit, you’ll enjoy a luxurious and tastefully appointed lounge area, private conference room, high end detailing services, and complimentary beverage service. Downstairs, you’ll find a highly qualified service center, with on-site Ferrari and Maserati certified master technicians hard at work.

As a club member, you’ll now be able to select a Vulcan vehicle from this new location in person. Stop by for a personal tour, or call Kyle for an appointment at 516-684-9400.

(Fortune Magazine, October 10, 2008) — I have been accused of many biases in my car-critiquing life. My supposed German addiction usually tops the list, but lately a British prejudice is showing, some readers tell me. And now, it seems, I’m besotted by the Italians. Their cars have always been sinful and sexy – but now they’re on a quality and performance roll. Specifically, Maserati has giant-stepped up with the limited-edition 2009 GranTurismo S.

When a blindingly red model appeared in my driveway, I noted the normal kit: side skirts, rear spoiler, blacked-out grille. But then I looked again, intrigued by the powerful, hunkered-down stance and the audacious 20-inch wheels, on which seven massive tridents (Maserati’s symbol) bulge outward as if barely able to contain the massive brakes.

Inside was pretty fine too. Alcantara seat inserts, silver-tinted carbon-fiber trim, and the melodic sound of an Italian V-8. And then it happened. I innocently hit two more buttons: auto, to turn automatic mode off, and sport, to give me a stiffer ride and quicker shifts.

Before my hand was back on the sport wheel, an automotive snarl unlike any other I’ve heard reverberated through the exhaust. Technically, I had disengaged the pneumatic valve that controls a bypass on the exhaust system allowing unrestricted airflow – and another eight horsepower. Emotionally, I had awakened the beast – and it’s a screamer.

With that kind of siren song calling to my right foot, I ate up some deserted twisties around Camp Pendleton, a massive military base north of San Diego. The GT S took hard corners with grace and skill. I discovered the existence of yet another gem: The sublime new electro-actuated Graziano gearbox (the same hardware as in the Ferrari 599 GTB) can change gears in a blurring 40 milliseconds. Plus, the unit sits just ahead of the rear axle, giving the car a unique-in-its-class rear weight bias of 47% front, 53% rear – hence the extra touch of oversteer. Yum.

Yet nothing was tastier than the raging symphony pouring from under the hood and out the exhaust. My addiction grew. I wouldn’t move an inch until I was in full-volume setup. I burbled up and down the streets in my hilly neighborhood, the car’s ferocious growls echoing against the canyon walls.

“We wanted a very male sound, the deepest voice, at low rpms,” says Benedetto Orvietani, Maserati’s head of vehicle integration. “At higher rpms, we wanted a lion’s roar.” Can you nominate automotive engineers for a Grammy?

Just how far did my aural infatuation take me? To the curb, twice in one day, to meet and greet the local authorities, for starters. Oh, and I made the howls of the GranTurismo S my new ringtone.

Just as I seriously began to question my own health, I read about a study recently conducted by Hiscox, a British-based luxury-car insurer. Experts found that 100% of female participants showed a “significant increase in testosterone secretion” while listening to a Maserati engine revving – in fact, measurably more so than for any other sports-car sound.

I’m not sure I want to know what the marketing minds in Italy will do with that information, but it did at least explain my condition – I had been chemically altered! – and my newfound fondness for receiving phone calls. Instantaneously sparking a woman’s arousal hormones? Now, that makes $135,000 start to seem like a bargain.  

The owners and staff at Vulcan Motor Club are all too familiar with the finer things – and the lifestyles they accompany. That’s why they celebrated these things – these epicurean amenities – in an evening dedicated to those who indulge in life’s lavish pleasures. Occupying the luxurious Trump National Golf Club, Vulcan invited a select 250 bon vivants to revel in the splendor of those things that aren’t so easily attained. The cars for instance…

Vulcan is a privately-owned, membership-based automotive club whose constituents are impassioned motorists. Not satisfied with what can be had at just any dealer, Vulcan’s members are in constant pursuit of evocative driving experiences.  Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley and so on. But not just one car; members experience all of them. Such is the kind of benefit associated with Vulcan Motor Club Membership.

They commandeered the most extravagant venue that suited their needs, decorated the lush rolling greens with their fleet of exotics, and partnered with Jacob the Jeweler and the David David Gallery of Philadelphia, to offer attendees a broad arrange of art on which their senses could feast. Not to leave out the sense of taste, the soiree was catered by the Trump National Golf Club. And lest they neglect auditory yearnings, the air was rich with the soulful decadence of live jazz.

The jewelry and paintings were a splendid compliment to the automotive bliss that was already in session. The five-star food filled the parts of us that weren’t already full of elation from being around such amazing cars. By the evening’s end, we were compelled to sign up for membership with the Vulcan Motor Club. And why not? More than anyone else, they understand our obsession with the finer things in life.

courtesy of Universal Autosports, Glen Cove NY

Admission to view the lineup is free.

Learn More >>

Can’t decide between the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder and the Audi R8? No need. With membership in the Vulcan Motor Club, you can slip behind the wheel of one today and the other next Tuesday. Then there’s the Ford GT, Ferrari F430, Bentley Flying Spur – they’re all part of the club’s exotic fleet, available for members for up to a week at a time.

“We have the perfect car for every occasion,” asserts president Tom Mizzone, who founded the Chester, N.J.-based club last year. “Members can make a phone call and have an Aston Martin delivered to their office in pristine condition, drive it for five days, then make another phone call and have it disappear.”

Vulcan offers three levels of membership to sate any automotive appetite: True connoisseurs may choose the Platinum option ($25,000 annually), which provides 40 days of use and up to 4,000 miles. Gold ($14,500) offers 20 days, up to 2,000 miles. For enthusiasts in the making, Silver ($9,500) provides 10 days, up to 1,000 miles. And don’t worry about exhausting your options.

New luxury cars are added frequently, and Mizzone promises the ratio of members to vehicles will never exceed seven to one.”We’re really committed to keeping the fleet new for our members,” he says.”