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2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600 Review [w/video]

"Hindsight is 20/20" is a handy yet disingenuous cliche. The flaw is that hindsight is only instructive up to the moment you would have made a different, perhaps better, decision. At the moment of that deviation the past goes in another direction, one that you can't peer back into because you didn't experience it. So when we say we wish Karl Benz's eponymous firm had produced the Mercedes-Maybach S600 in 2002 instead of the gilded blunder of the separate Maybach brand and its 57 and 62 sedans, we just can't know if the formula would have worked 13 years ago. But we do know the formula adds up superbly right now. A little history: Wilhelm Maybach helped Gottlieb Daimler build a high-speed, four-stroke internal combustion engine in 1885. Eventually Maybach went to work for Daimler's new car company and designed the first Mercedes, the 1901 35-hp model considered the world's first modern car. Maybach left the company after Daimler's death, started a company building zeppelins, then joined his son to start the Maybach car company. Together they developed super luxury cars including the DS8 Zeppelin models that competed with Rolls-Royce. A reviewer in 1933 wrote, "The Maybach Zeppelin models rank among the few cars in the international top class. They are highly luxurious, extremely lavish in their engineering and attainable only for a chosen few." It's a whopping 28 inches shorter than the departed Maybach 62, but 8.2 inches longer than a standard S-Class. As is this Maybach S600. It's a whopping 28 inches shorter than the departed Maybach 62, but since it's 8.2 inches longer than a standard S-Class, there's a very different driving experience. Two-thirds of a foot isn't much, but the Maybach is 639 pounds heavier than an S550, or 231 pounds heavier than a standard S600. From the driver's seat we could feel every additional pound and inch over those other models. It is as if Mercedes threw out the aluminum and steel and chiseled this sedan from basalt. We've driven scanty few cars where we've been genuinely glad for blind-spot detection and 360-degree cameras – this is one of them. The Maybach's wheelbase is four inches longer than that of a Bentley Mulsanne, even though the overall car is almost five inches shorter than the Big B. That long wheelbase translates into tranquil steering response – the S550, S600, and Maybach S600 all have the same 2.3 turns-to-lock, but this sedan feels like it takes more effort. It even looks heavy.

Sunday Drive: Volvo hits a crossover home run, and people still love sports cars

Looking back at the week that just was clearly tells us at least three things. First, crossovers don't have to be boring. Second, people still love sports cars, from the attainable (Audi TT RS) to the fanciful (Mercedes-AMG GT C). And finally, the traditional German trio of premium luxury brands had better not rest on their laurels, because credible challengers are coming in from every direction. The biggest reveal of the week, at least judging by the interest of Autoblog readers, was the Volvo XC40. Not only is the little 'ute a looker, it introduces some innovative new buying/leasing schemes designed to appeal to an audience accustomed to trading in and trading up every couple of years. Think of Volvo's flat-fee lease as you would a smartphone contract, and you'll be on the right track. Genesis looks to have a hit on its hands in the form of the G70 sport sedan. We took a Korean-spec model for a spin and found a lot to like about the upstart contender. We can't wait to sample one here in the United States to see how it stacks up against the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. In other news, we're still really excited to see a production Ford Ranger Raptor. But if you just can't wait for the official reveal — it's OK, neither can we — take a look at the renderings in our post down below. As always, tune in to Autoblog next week for a front-row seat to all the happenings worth following in the automotive industry. Volvo XC40 revealed | Crossover at the crossroads of style and substance 3 ways the Volvo XC40 is a game-changer Genesis G70 First Drive | An arrow to the heart of the Germans 2018 Audi TT RS Drivers' Notes | Five pots of turbocharged honey 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C Quick Spin | This is the AMG GT you want The Ford Ranger Raptor is real, and this is what it might look like

2015 Mercedes-AMG G65 Review

A German friend who lives in Munich told me she might have to retrieve her car from Innsbruck, Austria while I was in Germany to visit her. I said I'd be happy to chauffeur her to the Tyrol in a Mercedes-AMG G65. She responded to the offer with this question: "You mean – in the G65 Rap Train?" I had no idea what it meant, but the name stuck. Her reasoning was that I would be taken for an American rapper, because what other black American would be cruising south, East, and west Germany for ten days in a 272,000-euro, 5,676-pound chunk of... well, let's just say it: bling. Mercedes created the G65 by installing its 604 horsepower, 6.0-liter, twin-turbo V12 in the G-Class engine bay, and laying oodles of quilted leather inside the cabin. Introduced to markets outside the US in 2012, it sat above the twin-turbo, V8-powered G63 that remained the top-of-the-line here. After years of denial, US buyers will finally get their chance to buy the G65 in November for $217,900. It's a 272,000-euro, 5,676-pound chunk of... well, let's just say it: bling. A grandiose, body-on-frame SUV with a price as momentous as its horsepower might appear silly, but Mercedes can point to plenty of good reasons to bring it here now. In the abstract there's customer demand, AMG boss Tobias Moers having said, "There are AMG fans for whom our V12 biturbo engine is the measure of all things." Concrete justification is in the sales numbers: in May 2010 the G-Class sold 99 units in the US on its way to 919 units for the year. In May 2015 US buyers took home 302 G-Classes, and only five months into this year the brand has sold 1,448 of its ultimate off-roader. The G63 outsold the less expensive G550 in the US in both 2013 and 2014. In 2013 the G63 was the best-selling AMG product in the US, and the G lineup posted its best-ever sales year globally during what was its 35th year on the market. Competitive reasons are likewise substantial. The Bentley Bentayga, Range Rover Sport SVR, Lamborghini Urus, and a Rolls-Royce "that can cross any terrain" will soon join the retail celebration of six-figure SUVs. By getting the G65 here first, Mercedes gets the head start. The burble dripping from the quad pipes is quieter on G65 than the G63. In spite of its price, the Rap Train isn't ostentatious – the sample I was given to drive wearing a beautiful coat of muted satin gray. Because Mercedes is going for a more elegant look for the top of the line G-Wagen, the US-market G65 comes without bull bars.