Custando uma média de 500 mil euros, todos os modelos da marca registraram, durante o ano passado, cerca de 146 unidades comercializadas. O modelo mais barato custa algo em torno de R$ 825.000, enquanto o mais caro, o Landaulet, é vendido 1 milhão de euros (ou R$ 2,99 milhões). Este, por sinal, fez bastante sucesso, mesmo com o preço elevado.

Por Fillipe Vivas

Depois de muito se especular e nada ser realizado, porém, o mesmo Zetsche teria dito à agência Automotive News que a Maybach não vem registrando perdas e que a marca não será descontinuada tão cedo. Ele revelou que há suporte para a fabricante de modelos de luxo dentro do grupo alemão. Embora a empresa não tenha rentabilidade em seus investimentos, o executivo afirmou que "isto não importa", pois a Maybach já provou ter condições de produzir veículos que podem competir com Rolls-Royce e Bentley.

O outro ponto positivo nos custos de desenvolvimento para a marca é que há um preço relativamente baixo para a produção dos modelos, poistanto o 57 quanto o 62 são amplamente baseados na antiga geração do Classe S - embora tenham inspirado o estilo do modelo atual. Um novo modelo ainda pode surgir. Segundo Zetsche, uma decisão ainda não foi tomada sobre os próximos veículos, mas ela virá dentro de dois anos. O principal motivo do "atraso" seria a volta da Lagonda, antiga fabricante de veículos de luxo pertencente à Aston Martin.

O mais recente veículos da Maybach, o 62S Landaulet, foi colocado à venda, mas somente uma quantidade limitada de unidades deste modelo devem ser fabricadas. Mas a empresa pode repensar em seus projetos - e não apenas devido ao retorno da Lagonda. Com o desenvolvimento da nova geração do Arnage por parte da Bentley e os planos da Rolls-Royce de criar um veículo menor, a disputa no segmento de automóveis ultra-luxo pode se tornar mais competitiva (e até lucrativa) do que nunca.

2. Ferrari Enzo $1,000,000

3. Pagani Zonda C12 F $741,000

4. Koenigsegg CCX $600, 910

5. Porsche Carrera GT $484,000

6. Mercedes SLR McLaren $455,500

7. Maybach 62 $385,250

8. Rolls-Royce Phantom $320,000

9. Lamborghini Murcielago $279,900

10. Aston Martin Vanquish $255,000

-This is the world of cars and its expenses. Tell me what do you consider is the best car on here. PLEASE LEAVE COMMENT!!!!!!!!!

Maybach Exelero je vysoce výkonné sportovní dvoumístné kupé, postavené na podvozku luxusní limuzíny Maybach 57. Bylo navržené a vyrobené německou automobilkou Maybach v jediném exempláři a představeno v květnu 2005. Délka je 5890 mm, šířka 2140 mm, výška 1390 mm, hmotnost 2660 kg. Motor má výkon 700 koní, spotřebu kolem 50 l/100 km, dodá zrychlení z nuly na 100 km/h za 4,4 s a je schopen vyvinout rychlost až 351 km/h. Cena je přibližně 8 milionů dolarů (v jedné z epizod seriálu Kobra 11, kde byl automobil použit, byla cena vyjádřena slovy „přes 9 milionů euro“).

BRUTE STRENGTH!
That's what the Southern Pacific was looking for in the early 1960s. The SP found it in Europe in the Krauss-Maffei ML4000. The 4,000-hp ML4000 was powered by high-revving Maybach diesel engines, driving one axle in each truck through torque-converter hydraulic transmissions. All axles on the truck were geared together, in theory reducing wheel slippage.

Not wanting to eat the entire cost of "proofing" the "hydro"s, the SP shared an order of six units with the Rio Grande. Delivered in 1961, three went to the SP (#9021-9023), and three to the Grande (#4001-4003). Delivered with hydraulic M-U connections, in short order both roads changed to electric M-U connections. Initially, all the units suffered from "breathing" problems in tunnels, due to the topside air intakes. Again, both roads modified the ML4000s by internal ducting of intake air from truck height. This required relocation of the air tanks to the top of the engine cowling. (As an interesting sidelight, theD&RGWmp;RGW applied temporary plywood ducts on the outside of the engine hood.)

Surprisingly, it turned out that the ML4000s were prone to slippage and had significant problems with maintenance, and by 1964 the Grande had had enough. Their units were sold to the SP. The initial K-Ms had a cab-type/"bulldog" nose while later models came with the more diesel-typical hood nose.

Rio Grande ML 4000 Krauss Maffei

From day one, Eugene knew he was meant to have it all – rich, famous and most importantly, known. That was his lot in life. The only question was how to get there.

He was a hustler as a child. Yeah, he had the paper route back in the day when that was still a job for kids, but his real income came from his protection plan. It was a foolproof plan for not making money and bumping up his social status. It was simple genius – he organized a bunch of his tougher neighbors and promised a twenty-five percent cut of any revenues he generated. In exchange, they would talk tough and terrify the smaller, nerdier kids. Eugene would befriend them, and offer to befriend and protect them for a small fee. By eighth grade, he was netting about twenty dollars a week from the scheme, and was the favorite of both the threateners and the threatened. Even better, since the two sides were so segregated, he knew they would never find out that he was at its heart. It was amusing to see how all sides trusted him, and no one ever realized that the reign of terror had been his brainstorm.

Eugene was smart. He took half the money he was making each week and put it into a bank account with a decent interest rate. One of his favorite activities was calculating the interest compounding in the account. Money and power were his gods, and he worshipped them with all his heart.

By the time he graduated High School, he had almost thirty grand in the bank and grandiose plans for his future. Entering a first class college for a first class education, he was hit with the brutal truth. For the first time, he was neither the smartest nor the slyest. Most of the folks could run him in circles. It came as a shock. Instead of buckling down and getting the job done, he decided his future lay in shortcuts. There had to be an easy way to make people remember his name. Taking a good look around he discovered a few things. He had more style and street smarts than most of the folks around him. It could be his ticket.

Within weeks, he was the man. Known by everyone on campus and by most of the town. All it had taken was a little pizzaz and balls of steel. Eugene had decided that a romp in the colorful fall leaves, wearing nothing more than the tiniest of speedos was his ticket to infamy. Now, when he walked into a room, a store or just onto the Quad, people would wave, call out his name, and invite him over. Of course, investing a few hundred dollars in booze that he shared liberally with his new buddies helped too. He was the go to guy for party favors and keg funding. Eugene was happy enough with this new role, as he tacked an asshole tax onto everything. If he spent ten bucks on some cheap ass vodka for Larry, he’d gift it, but Larry would offer to write his English paper. Forty on a keg included the answers to Professor Klingman’s last three exams. Even better, when he sold direct, there was a surcharge for his time and effort, so in no time at all, his initial investment had been returned and he was living large on the interest. Eugene coasted his way through the years, attending an occasional class, but investing in his colleagues, because he knew that was where his future lay.

Sure enough, by the time he was throwing his cap into the air, Eugene had landed a job on Wall Street. One of his dorm mates Dad’s had been so impressed with his procurement skills, that he was offered a plum job with a starting salary that made his eyes water. Eugene loved the Street. It was as perfect a life as any he could imagine. The job was a breeze and within months he was moving up the ladder.

He was finally living the life with the expensive suits, even more expensive cigars, and the car. Eugene always said that the choice of cars were critical. A car is a direct expression of who you are and how you expect to be treated by those around you. Naturally, first up was the Porsche. Black lacquer sheen and a matching black interior and it was framed front and back by his personalized plate, LUXURY. As his jobs upgraded (along with his salary and bonuses) his cars upgraded as well. In less than ten years Eugene had his Maybach. Just sitting in the car gave him a hard-on. The LUXURY plate looked perfect on the car that turned heads. Eugene looked the part – dark suits, dark glasses, and just the right amount of stubble to make people think that maybe he was an actor, not just a banker. He was money and everyone knew it.

Taking a side trip one day, he had his driver cruise him through the old neighborhood. The school where he used to score protection money stood where it always stood, big and teeming with kids. Stopped in front, he watched silently as the big kids lorded over the smaller kids, smiling, knowing that things don’t change.

In the morning, he strolled into his office, phone in one hand, fancy leather briefcase in the other. Like every morning, he smiled at the city spread out at his feet. It was a good life. Or so he thought before the he was handcuffed. Those shortcuts he’d been taking, the insider trading, the stock pumps had finally caught up with him.

Six years later, Eugene walked to his car slowly. The Maybach was gone, replaced by an Accura. But the plate was still there. LUXURY. He’d get it back. All of it. As soon as he found his shortcut.

By:  Lauren J. Walter   September 16, 2008

This is one in a series of flash fiction stories based upon license plates that I've noticed on the streets.

Сама фирма была образована в 1909 году, как производитель двигателей для дирижаблей (Цеппелины и все такое), что явно отразилось на стиле возрожденного бренда. Первый автомобиль под этой маркой увидел свет в 1919 году, но производство продолжалось недолго - последняя модель была сделана в 1945 году, после чего производство было прекращено. Это, разумеется, понятно - в разгромленной Германии (да и пребывающей примерно в таком же состоянии Европе) автомобили класса суперлюкс особым спросом не пользовались, а нефтяные шейхи еще не научились зарабатывать достаточно денег на такие игрушки.

Бренд был возрожден компанией Daimler (тогда еще Даймлер-Крайслер) в 1997 году. Для тех, кто не в курсе, Daimler является владельцем таких брендов, как Mercedes-Benz, Smart и тюнингового агенства AMG. Теперь к ним прибавился еще и Maybach.

Для чего Daimler понадобился Maybach? С точки зрения здравого смысла - ни для чего, кроме распальцовок. Распальцовок в смысле "у них есть, а у нас нет? Значит, будет!". В то время было уже известно, что VW собирается купить Bentley, а BMW точит зубы на принадлежащий тому же VW Rolls Royce (там вообще можно было писать комедию о том, кто что купил и как продал). Так что, руководство Daimler решило опередить конкурентов и выкупило права на Maybach. Однако, несмотря на первенство в борьбе за "люксовые" бренды (Daimler приобрел права на Maybach в 1997 году, VW купил Rolls Royce и Bentley в 1998 году, а BMW получили права (но не саму компанию!) на бренд Rolls Royce в том же 1998 году, полностью выкупив фирму только в 2003), успеха это не принесло. Если судить по продажам, то бренд серьезно отстает от своих конкурентов, причем, это отставание где-то на порядок. Если учесть, что в 2007 году было продано около 300 машин (по всему миру), то становится понятно, с прибылью дела обстоят не лучшим образом.

На сегодняшний день, компания продает три модели: 57, 62 и Landaulet. Первый является седаном длиной 5.7м и начальной стоимостью в £250.000; второй - седаном длиной 6.2м (отсюда и номер модели) и начальной стоимостью в £300.000. Landaulet же представляет собой довольно странную, на мой взгляд, машину в кузове, собственно, ландоле (седан с открывающейся крышей) и стоит ни много ни мало £680,000. Вот так он выглядит:

Крыша прячется в горб на багажнике машины.

С недавних пор, автообщественность стала задаваться вопросом - а что же дальше? Сначала, поползли слухи о том, что Maybach готовит к выпуску компактный и дешевый (по меркам бренда, разумеется) автомобиль под названием 51 (то есть, длиной в 5.1 метра). Кроме того, высказывались мнения, что фирме жизненно необходим внедорожник в стиле Mercedes GL, но более навороченный (разумеется). Потом, агенство ОБС (одна бабка сказала) распространило достовернейшую информацию о том, что в 2008 году бренд исчезнет. Затем, дата конца света компании была передвинута на 2010 год. И так далее...

Так что, если судить по интернет-предсказательным статьям (а также, статьям в автомобильной прессе), можно с уверенностью сказать только одно - будущее бренда неясно. Но вместо того, чтобы гадать на ромашке ("закроют-не закроют", "выпустят компакт - не выпустят"), просто посмотрим на то, что, возможно, нам все-таки представят под видом Maybach Compact, или Maybach 51. Заранее извиняюсь за фотографии - поскольку никто точно не представляет себе как будет выглядеть машина (да и будет ли она вообще), я просто утащил кажущийся мне подходящим вариант с Car, на котором, вроде бы, изображен один из Mercedes-ов. Если судить по слухам (опять слухи!), машина будет иметь "спортивный" вид, который должен привлекать активную молодежь (ась? это у какой-такой активной молодежи найдется 170 килофунтов на псевдоспортивный седан?). Возможно, если учесть некоторые контакты между Daimler и Aston Martin, автомобиль будет построен (ужас, ужас!) на шасси Aston Martin Rapide, а не привычной платформе от S-Class. Я могу к этому только добавить, что, если судить по абсолютно достоверным слухам, сообщенным мне лично неназванным источником в автомобильных кругах, собирать машину будут на ГАЗе под кодовым названием Volger-51. Отделка кузова будет проводиться с помощью специалистов от ЕрАЗ, достигших неимоверных высот при работе с деревянной обшивкой.

Ладно, хватит упражняться в создании "абсолютно достоверных" измышлений, посмотрим на то, что, вроде бы, собирается выпустить Maybach:

Модель: Maybach 51
Платформа:S-Class? Aston Martin Rapide?
Класс: Представительский
Двигатели: 5.5л V12 (600 л.с)
0-100 км\ч: нет данных
Макс. скорость: нет данных
Средний расход топлива: нет данных
Выбросы СО2: нет данных
Цена: £170.000
Конкуренты: Aston Martin Rapide, Bentley Coupe
Начало продаж в UK: 2010 год
Шансы: Как можно писать о шансах машины, которой вполне может и не быть? Мало того, даже если она и будет выпущена, то в каком виде - неясно. Да и будет ли жива к тому времени сама фирма - тоже. Так что, ограничусь общими фразами в стиле политобозревателей - ситуация интересная, возможны позитивные сдвиги, которые могут привести к положительным результатам в данной области при благоприятном стечении обстоятельств (уф! я долго выдумывал фразу, которая бы выглядела заумно, но не говорила бы абсолютно ничего!).

По материалам Car, Autoblog, The Car Connection и информагенства ОБС.

Twój Weekend – 9/2007

• Maybach 62S: Rydzyka na niego nie stać!
• Gwiazda Erosa: Carmen Luvana
• Męskie zabawy: Zjazd na ręcznym
• Babskie sekrety: Jak nami kręcą
• Tajemnice seksu tantrycznego
• Uważaj! Jak się chronić przed HIV

Nu inteleg de ce se mira Cancan. Ala nu-i maibac bai hahalerelor care sunteti niste hahalere, ala e un amvon de unde se predica si se binecuvanteaza.

Aratati-mi voi mie unde e service-ul Patriarhiei si p-orma vorbiti...

1) Porsches that are painted pink. I saw one the other day and thought 'why ruin a perfectly good car with a dreadful colour?' Surely the only reason you paint a car a dreadful colour is to get noticed and with a Porsche you've got that anyway, rendering the whole exercise kind of pointless.

2) Porsches that are painted yellow. Ditto. Do people not think of the depreciation on these things???

3) the Daewoo/Chevrolet Matiz. Branding it a chevrolet is not going to make it cool, it's just going to bring Chevvys image down.  It is cheap, but looks it and lots of the ones I've seen seem to be painted 'Burnt Sienna' (a.k.a urrrrgh-ish orange)

4) The Mini. I may be alone in this one, but I dislike it (this is referring to the new one. The old one was fine) because it is an obvious fashion statement, and I dislike obvious fashion statement cars especially ones with a 'retro image' like this one. It is also not that mini any more, so defeats the purpose of the name, and you are paying so much for the styling, as a decent one costs about the same as a decent Ford Focus and that is a much more practical car, that in my opinion looks better. It's not even like the mini is rare. I see so many that its just nto head turning at all. If you want a mini get an old one. They might be more expensive to run, smaller and secondhand but noone buys a new mini on practicality anyway...

5) The Beetle. Ditto the mini. The only exception to this retro styling thing is probably the Fiat 500. I quite like that actually, however I can see I'll like this car much less when  a few more get sold, although at least it is fairly cheap compared to the Beetle and MIni.

6) The Maybach. It is ostentatious, an outrageous display of wealth, from what I've heard not even that great unless you've got  a chauffeur, hideously expensive and you might as well buy an S-class mercedes. Or just go for the obvious choice of the Rolls Phantom if you really want to spend over 300 grand on a car. At least thats imposing and scary not just showy-off.

7) The Subaru Impreza WRX. I am not a fan of normal-ish cars with massive spoilers on the back and this is probably the worst. I also don't like racing stripes on non-powerful cars but this is nto the worst culprit for people painting those on. Yes, I know this car has over 200 brake horsepower so its not exactly slow, but does it really need such over-the-top race styling?  I prefer things like understated hot hatches that look the same as the normal version, unless you're going to go for the full-on supercars, which can of course get away with showy because that's msot of their reason for being.

8) The Perodua Kelisa. If you've only got £5000 to spend on a car then don't buy a new one or you'll end up with this. Be sensible and get a nice used polo or something...

9) Any Hummer. They are just too big. End of.

10) The Toyota Prius. Unfortuneately I must end on a classic target for people to criticise but it must make this list sheerly for it's so called environmental statistics that don't seem to add up. Fristly, the quoted figures are 65mpg. The new Polo Bluemotion can do 74.5mpg and that is a diesel and is significantyl cheaper. I know that the Prius is much bigger, but a lot of people don't need a bigger car and if you do you could get the greenline focus which does over 60mpg.  On a road test I read recently, the Prius was out-mpg'd by a BMW 5 series, which is a much bigger car with efficient driving stuff enabled, so it shows you don't even get the stated figure. Also, think how much of a carbon footprint the Prius must have had to be made. It is from an international company so all of the materials and labour will have been sourced from wherever is cheapest meaning high carbon from shipping, and from what I've heard, the Prius is worse than a lot of cars for this. The really green thing would just be to keep your old car for a few more years until it is no longer economical to run. You may be able to look down on all the 'un-green' people in thier old bangers that only do 30mpg, but they're not having the carbon footprint of importing a new car. If you're going to buy a new car anyway, you might as well get something you like, not just something that you think will make you look green. Rant over now, sorry.

So, there it is, my bottom 10 list of my least favourite cars. I'll probably think of one I've forgotten then... I hope you stayed with me and didn't get bored (which you probably did as I realize I've moaned about the prius rather a lot, and one of these days I'll get round to writing a less moany car blog, with the cars I do like. Until then, adios amigos...

Pagani Zonda

Foto: Pagani Zonda, el coche más caro del mundo, vista en: http://ralphzapata.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/max-velocidad/

Los 10 coches más caros del mundo

Según un artículo visto en MotorPasión, son los siguientes:

1. Pagani Zonda C 12 S 7.3 Roadster: 598.025 dólares
2. Koenigsegg CCR: 522.120
3. Saleen S7 Twin Turbo: 562.659
4. Koenigsegg CC8S: 522.120
5. Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren: 450.000
6. Porsche Carrera GT: 440.000
7. Maybach 62: 375.000
8. Rolls-Royce Phantom: 328.750
9. Spyker C8 Double 12 S: 325.560
10. Maybach 57: 324.000

Y tú, qué coche sueñas con poder conducir algún día?

Back in 2005, Maybach unveiled one of the most extraordinary cars ever built. Based on a the "short" wheel base 57, the Exelero is their first go at a coupe body style in like 50 years. Now I'm just going to let that sink in. A coupe that has a 57 inch wheel base. A 2 passenger car that is as long as an S Class. Umm, gross. Because the car just recently became available to the public, NewsWeek also just named it their pick for most beautiful Car. I think I agree. I know that I posted the 62s Landaulet was the most beautiful car ever, but I'm also entitled to changing my mind.

So originally, the concept was built so that the tire company Fulda could test and develop new products. While all of this is interesting, lets get to the good stuff. The car would move all 2.6 tons to 100km in 4.4 seconds (faster than most exotic s) and topped out at 218 mph. Most of this performance is due to the 700 hp amg V-12 that sits under the bonnet. This also means that it is the first Maybach to come with a 6pt racing harness. When it was unveiled, the estimated price tag was around $16 million. (insert vomit sounds). Today, the converted price is closer to the much more reasonable $7.8 million. So if you sell any small countries and want a place to put all that fresh green, you might be interested. But there was only one made, so don't think for too long.

Powyższe, to dzisiejsze gazetowe cytaty. No cóż, jak widać, Unia nie dała się nabrać. Pozostali więc, nie do zdarcia, wierni słuchacze. Tylko czy Rydzyk ma pojęcie o ich skromnorentowym, globalnym budżecie i, w związku z tym, możliwościach? Tylko, cóż to może ojca ojców obchodzić?
Szalenie ciekawy pogląd /wewnątrzśrodowiskowy/ prezentuje ks. Sowa. Też jestem podobnego zdania. Kasa i hop-sasa. Maybacha też by się przydało wymienić na nowszy model. Jako też dzieło. Nie polskie wprawdzie, niemieckie, więc tym bardziej. W intencji poszanowania niemieckiego papieża. A więc radujcie się wierni. Skąd się bierze hossa? Z hosanny. A hosanna? Rydzyk trzepie z rękawa. A więc, radujcie się wierni.
I tym oto smutno-opty...
31.07.08
ps. Nie odniosłem się do środkowego cytatu. Lecz tu wielkich komentarzy nie potrzeba: kasa, kasa! Dodatkowo chciałbym sprostować nieobiektywną i szkalującą wypowiedź ks. Sowy, że odwiertów nie będzie. O, przepraszam, jak na odwierty, to na odwierty. Jak pieniądze nie pójdą na odwierty w ziemi, pójdą na odwierty w niebie. Co swoim wyznawcom, z łatwością ojciec dyrektor wytłumaczy. Jako że to wszystko dla nich. W ramach drogi do Nieba.

W geotermii wrzawa, kłótnie i rozróby
Przeciwnicy swoje, swoje Ojca Tuby
Ja wszystkich pogodzę, ciepłym, dobrym słowem:
Najcieplejsze źródła – renty moherowe.

I nuovi proprietari indiani di Tata, entrati in possesso di Jaguar qualche mese fa, vogliono spingere forte sul marchio Daimler, che al momento è lasciato un po’ in balìa di sé stesso. Nella mente di Ratan Tata, che vuole sfruttarne nome, immagine e prestigio in modo molto più ambizioso di oggi, si rincorrono progetti di respiro amplissimo. Ecco quali.

Fondamentalmente, il management indiano ambisce ad avere nel ventaglio dei marchi controllati una degna rivale di Rolls-Royce e Bentley: i fondi destinati a questo programma di vera e propria rifondazione fanno parte del miliardo di dollari stanziato da Tata per lo sviluppo delle neo-acquisite Jaguar e Land Rover.

La gamma di Daimler, attualmente limitata alla semi-sconosciuta Super Eight, si amplierà verso l’alto, partendo da dove termina quella del marchio Jaguar ed andando di fatto a insistere su quei segmenti oggi appannaggio di nomi altisonanti quali Rolls, Maybach e Bentley, secondo quanto riportato dal Times.

A chi pensa Tata Motors preparando questa inattesa mossa? A tutti quei paesi emergenti, come la Russia, gli stati del Medio Oriente e la stessa India, dove una fascia di nuovi ricchi è sempre più desiderosa di prodotti superlussuosi e magari anche un po’ esotici ed inediti: l’identikit perfetto della “nuova” Daimler.

[via: autoblog.it]