For those of you not familiar with Maybach, it’s an extreme luxury car produced by Daimler/Mercedes that’s designed for the wealthiest of people. The latest model, the Landaulet, was announced last year and will now be available for order since the car is hand-built. At $1.4 million, you’ll discover that it’s one of the most expensive cars on the planet.

But the Landaulet has a feature that will blow any other vehicle out of the water. The back seats can enjoy a retractable hardtop roof allowing for the back of the car to remain a convertible while the front is protected from the elements. Truly a stunning feature. All the rest of the Maybach nonsense will be on hand, like the seats that recline and Grand Napa leather. If you save up enough Pepsi Points to buy one, let us know how it handles.
(more…)

Smart, that lovely micro car company that everyone adores, is currently working on an all-electric version of the Smart ForTwo called the Smart Ed in London. While that’s all fine and dandy, just wait till you get a load of some of these numbers that Smart has put out during testing.

An 8-hour charge gets up to 72 miles of travel at up to 60 mph, and the makers suggest a lunchtime top up to get 100 miles a day.

Not bad at all! To boot, Smart claims the car will get the equivalent of 300 mpg. All by plugging into your standard electrical socket. If the Smart Ed makes it to the US, I doubt Mercedes/Daimler will be able to meet the demand. Considering you could use anyone’s electric to recharge your vehicle, you’d essentially be driving for free.

Link [via]