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2017 Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet includes guaranteed exclusivity

For certain buyers, the only thing better than a super-luxurious cabriolet that requires enormous sums of money to buy is a a super-luxurious cabriolet that money can't buy. That's what Daimler promises with the 2017 Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet to be unveiled at the LA Auto Show. Limited to 300 units worldwide and just 75 in the US, having just three available color combinations magnifies the exclusivity. Turning the Mercedes-Benz S-Class cabrio into a droptop worthy of the Maybach family means slight revisions outside and in, and a whole lot of Maybach badges. Instead of the three lower intakes familiar from Mercedes' corporate language, there's black mesh highlighted by a shiny design element. It's not the most graceful face from dead-on, looking sort of like a chrome-lined grimace picked up from Wallace and Gromit. A Maybach emblem adorns the fenders and gleaming kickplates, the 20-inch wheels add an edge to the brand's traditional dinner-plate design. The 6.0-liter, twin-turbo V12 carries over from the donor convertible, with the same 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque hooked up to a seven-speed automatic transmission. The only three color treatments available in the US will be Zircon Red with a porcelain and black interior and a black top, Cote d'Azur Blue with a porcelain and saddle interior and a beige top, and Designo Diamond White with a porcelain and Yacht Blue interior with a dark blue top. The cabin works nautical themes lifted in part from the Mercedes-Benz Style Arrow 460-Granturismo yacht. Perforations in the leather seats evoke waterfalls. The "Flowing Lines" trim ornamenting the seats comes two different colors depending on the exterior hue; either "Piano lacquer" black with the Zircon Red or Magnolia Nut Brown with the other two options. Buyers will find profuse badging in embroidered, embossed, and inlaid varieties, as well as chrome-plated "1 of 300" lettering in several places like the cup holder and steering wheel. The few lucky customers who buy an S650 will also find a four-piece set of Maybach-badged luggage in the truck, two travel bags and two weekenders tooled up in the same leather as the interior. The key fob gets finished in Porcelain leather. A car cover comes standard, in the same color as the convertible top. A certificate signed by the mustachioed one, Daimler Chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche, provides the corporate-badged icing on the cake.

Autoblog's guilty pleasure cars

Guilty pleasures are part of life – don't even try to pretend like you don't have one (or two, or six). In the non-automotive space, this could come down to that secret playlist in your iPhone of songs you'll only listen to when you're alone; or think of that one TV show you really do love, but won't admit to your friends. I've got plenty, and so do you. Going back to cars, here's a particularly juicy one for me: several years ago, I had a mad crush on the very last iteration of the Cadillac DTS. Oh yes, the front-wheel-drive, Northstar V8-powered sofa-on-wheels that was the last remaining shred of the elderly-swooning days of Cadillac's past. Every time I had the chance to drive one, I was secretly giddy. Don't hate me, okay? These days, the DTS is gone, but I've still got a mess of other cars that hold a special place in my heart. And in the spirit of camaraderie, I've asked my other Autoblog editors to tell me some of their guilty pleasure cars, as well – Seyth Miersma, as you can see above, has a few choice emotions to share about the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Read on to find out what cars make us secretly happy. Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG This decadent convertible is the epitome of the guilty pleasure. It's big, powerful, fairly heavy and it's richly appointed inside and out. It's a chocolate eclair with the three-pointed star on the hood. Given my druthers, I'd take the SL65 AMG, which delivers 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. That output is borderline absurd for this laid-back convertible. I don't care. You don't need dessert. Sometimes you just crave it. The SL line is about the feel you get on the road. The roof is open. The air, sun and engine sounds all embrace you. It's the same dynamic you could have experienced in a Mercedes a century ago, yet the SL gives you the most modern of luxuries. An Airscarf feature that warms my neck and shoulders through a vent embedded in the seat? Yes, please. Sure, it's an old-guy car. Mr. Burns and Lord Grantham are probably too young and hip for an SL65. I don't care. This is my guilty pleasure. Release the hounds. – Greg Migliore Senior Editor Ford Flex I drove my first Flex in 2009 when my mother let me borrow hers for the summer while I was away at college. The incredibly spacious interior made moving twice that summer a breeze, and the 200-mile trips up north were quite comfortable.

Mercedes G-Class 'Designo Manufaktur' even more upscale

Catering to customers who want the brand to provide more customization instead of having to confer with aftermarket tuners, Mercedes-Benz has added a new design book of options to the G-Class called Designo Manufaktur. Developed to offer a range of personalizing choice, a studio in Graz, Austria where the G-Class is built adds exclusive colors and hand-finished touches for buyers, some of them reserved only for the AMG models. New exterior colors include a roof that can be drenched in obsidian black and sheetmetal dressed in non-metallic fire opal, metallic designo mauritius blue metallic, and matte hues like designo yellow olive magno. The wheel selection has grown, with alloys available in black, and the spare wheel cover - normally in a polished finish - can be painted body color. The side strips can be all black instead of black and chrome, or carbon fiber-look for AMG models. Throw the Night package on top of all that and you get more black touches in places like the mirror housings and dark-tint windows. The interior options add saddle brown, deep-sea blue, silk beige, and mocha brown to the collection of swatches, with coordinating topstitching. AMG models can be decked out in red, with red seat belts, and Dinamica microfiber accents. The press release below tells the whole story. Even more individuality ex factory: "designo manufaktur" for the G-ClassStuttgart, Dec 04, 2015 - The Mercedes-Benz G-Class has been writing an incomparable success story since 1979. "designo manufaktur" is now making the classic cross-country vehicle even more individual ex factory. Customers can now tailor the off-road icon to their personal style.The name says it all: "designo manufaktur" captures customers' imagination with individual equipment and appointments features, traditional craftsmanship and the highest quality. The new individualisation programme fulfils the wishes of numerous G-Class customers for their own personal, tailor-made cross-country vehicle. "designo manufaktur" offers exclusive, unique colour and material compositions inside and out. With a host of combination options, the off-roader develops its very special character and unmistakable style.The Manufaktur hand-finishing section, which turns a G-Class into a unique "G", is located in Graz. Be it exterior or interior, topstitching or model badge, virtually every detail is lovingly crafted by hand.