James's Weekly Chatter - 15th December 2011

By James Preston
makeandmodel.co.uk
15 December 2011
What’s been going on this week?

Daimler have revealed that the Maybach will cease production in 2013. This hasn't come as a surprise too many after recent poor sales of the current 57 & 62 limousines. Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche confirmed the news by saying "It would not be sensible to develop a successor model for the current Maybach. We have had full discussions within the company about which path in the luxury segment was the most promising. And we came to the clear conclusions that the sales chances for the Mercedes brand were better than Maybach’s." A recent plan to involve Aston Martin in the development of future Maybach models was abandoned earlier this year.


Is this the world’s most expensive car accident? Eight Ferraris, three Mercedes-Benz, a Lamborghini and two other vehicles were involved in the pile-up in the southern prefecture of Yamaguchi, Japan. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt, but the road was closed for six hours after the accident. Reports are suggesting the damaged cars are worth at least 300m Yen ($3.85m; £2.46m) in total.


Top Gear Magazine have named the Range Rover Evoque as 2011 Car of the Year. It beat off competition from the BMW 1 Series M, Mclaren MP4 12c, Ferrari FF, VW Up! and the Kia Picanto. It was chosen by Jeremy Clarkson and he revealed, "There have been many great cars launched over the last 12 months, but these are just one-trick ponies. The Evoque is more than that. It’s a pony that is also a racehorse, a shire horse, a dray horse, a show jumper and an easy rosette-winner in the dressage competition. Its brilliant and it’s the Top Gear Car of the Year."


Finally this week and carrying on with the Evoque - could it soon have a new rival? Volkswagen recently unveiled the new Cross Coupe Concept at the Tokyo Motor Show. It’s powered by a petrol-electric hybrid system which can drive either the front wheels or all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, it is a cool looking car and you can’t help but feel if it does go into production they have to build a 3 door version as well!


Have a good week!


Comments (1)

What a week! Agree that it was world’s most expensive car accident.

30 December 2011 12:22 | Jimm

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