10 Car Options Nobody Needs

    As you'd expect. many high-end car manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley put ridiculous and overpriced things on their options list, and they never seem to run out of crazy ideas to put in their several-hundred-thousand-dollar cars. But, if you haven't realized, NOBODY NEEDS THESE! Sure, I'd want a whisky decanter in the back of my Rolls-Royce, but I don't need one. I would only get it because it was offered, and considering my ability to afford a Rolls-Royce, I might as well. Here are some of the craziest, most absurd (and some of the most desirable) options you can get on a car:

-In-car champagne fridge (Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Maybach, Range Rover, & even Ford?)

Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Range Rover, and Maybach all have this optional on at least one of their products. Ford even offers a less elegant variation of this in the Flex crossover (but it isn't nearly as cool). Very pointless, but if you can afford cars of this class, you probably won't care at all.

-Rolls-Royce bespoke paint

Rolls-Royce offers this on their cars, and it's basically their way of saying: "If you want, we can paint your Phantom limousine the color of your favorite tie." Stupid? Yes. Impractical? Yes. But would you want your $500K Rolls-Royce any other way?

-Bentley Flying Spur liquid metal paint range

Bentley now offers this on the Flying Spur, and I think the only really "special" thing about it is that it costs $34,995 (lots of cars have metallic paint). Oh well...

-Maybach granite interior trim

This was offered on the Maybach range (57, 62, 57/62S, Guard, Zeppelin, Landaulet) and cost a whopping $60,000. The only thing I find wrong with this is that you could buy a used 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 with $60K, so why spend it on something that is already decadent enough?

-Aston Martin Jaeger-LeCoultre AMVOX2 transponder watch

This was optional on the now-defunct DBS, and all it really is is a really nice watch that can unlock the owner's car. Cool? Yes. A tad overpriced at $37,900? Yes, especially for a watch that has more in common with the upcoming Apple watch (which will be able to unlock hotel room doors) than the car it's sold with.

-Nissan GT-R Spec V Brakes

On your own GT-R, you can fork over $50,000 for a "stellar" set of carbon-ceramic brakes. In my opinion, they seem a little unnecessary for daily usage, such as going to the grocery store, which should never include surprise under-100-feet 60-0 testing.

-SRT Viper "Striker Red" Paint

For $14,000,  SRT will paint your very own Viper in a special shade of red, which, to me, looks good, but inappropriate on a Viper (come to think of it, it would great on something like a Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman).

-Lexus LS600HL Executive-Class Seating 

Ever wondered what to spend $14,600 on? Well, look no further, because Lexus offers an option on the LS sedan that turns the backseat in to a first-class airplane on wheels. In this case, a "first-class airplane on wheels" looks like a refrigerated coolbox, individual reclining-massage seats, as well as a Blu-Ray player/drop-down display screen.

Infiniti QX80 Blind Spot Warning System

This may very well be the most practical option on this list, but is ridiculous nonetheless. Now, every soccer-mom can be sure that even while they're texting and driving, they will always know if a car is pulling up alongside them, and for only $12K....

-Porsche 918 Spyder Magnesium Wheels

Even though I am 100% sure everyone who can spend over $800,000 on a car won't care about the price of the options, I'll tell them anyway. The "magnesium" wheels you can get on the new Porsche 918 cost $32,500, which is more than two Kia Rios combined. 

2014 Lexani Motorcars Reále Review

    The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van is probably not a rare sight anywhere, thanks to its overall versatility, variety, and efficiency. But what you won't see often is a Lexani conversion van. Lexani makes many different products, ranging from rims to custom Rolls-Royces. But in my opinion, their most impressive cars are their luxury coaches. Lexani will outfit a range of vehicles for you, including a Toyota Sequoia, a Cadillac Escalade, a Lincoln Navigator, and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. Notice a pattern here? Yes, all of these cars are obscenely large. But, they have to be to accommodate the infinite amenities of one of their conversions. Their current flagship is the Reále, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter conversion, which has an incredible amount of features, such as a full bathroom (no shower, sadly, but there is a fully functional sink and toilet), espresso machine, microwave oven, flat-screen TV, fully power seats with fold-out leg-rests, and a compartment for housing assorted alcoholic beverages. Other than the interior, the Sprinter hasn't changed much appearance-wise, except for blacked-out windows for added privacy. The engine is completely unchanged, and if you can afford the $350,000+ price tag, you'll probably never look under the hood, or even think about the engine at all. And, for added protected, the Reále is armored at level B6, which can withstand weapons such as an AK-47 assault rifle. 

Click here to learn more about the Lexani Motorcars Reále

Pretty normal looking, right?

Well, then look at the inside...

...Where you'll find everything you'd ever want

2015 Bentley Mulsanne Speed Review

   The Bentley Mulsanne is one of the biggest, baddest, and most certainly expensive cars in the world, and is a worthy competitor for other massive super-limousines like the Rolls-Royce Phantom. But, for some idiotic reason, someone at Bentley had the thought: "What if we took the Mulsanne, a car not meant for speed or agility, and gave it 27 more horsepower to create a sportier version?" Obviously, they thought that expanding their model lineup would create more sales, which to be fair, is true, but only if you expand using models that make sense. Making a "sport" version of an almost 3-ton luxo barge is like creating a city car that got 12 mpg. It's completely redundant, and makes no sense whatsoever. In this case, the problem is that Bentley took their Mulsanne, which is the largest car they make, and tried to make it sporty. See the problem here? But, the Mulsanne still has good looks (except for the massive rims, which look awful on a British limousine), a sumptuous interior, and for the cherry on top, plenty of ridiculous and overpriced options for the world's multi-millionaires. The interior has everything you'd expect from a $350,000 car, such as full power, three-stage heated and cooled seats, and massaging seats, iPad picnic tables, and a 2200-watt Naim audio system. The 6.75 liter twin-turbo V8 now makes 530 hp and 811 pound-feet of torque (which, if you didn't know, is enough to spin the planet in the opposite direction), and the 0-60 time has been reduced to 4.8 seconds, which beats a lot of sports cars, such as the Subaru WRX STI. 

Click here to learn more about the Bentley Mulsanne Speed

Click here to learn more about the Bentley Mulsanne

Power rear seats w/ massage, heating, cooling, and a champagne fridge

The Supercar Legacy: Going Uphill or Downhill?

    By now, I'm pretty sure that everyone reading this is familiar with the term "supercar." This exotic type of car has been around since the mid-60s, and it all started with one great car: the Lamborghini Miura. It was Lamborghini's first road-going car, and it was the result of an argument between Enzo Ferrari (the owner of a sports-car manufacturer) and Ferrucio Lamborghini (the owner of a tractor company). This led to the birth of the Miura, a high-performance car with a 3.9 liter V12. Then came the Ferrari 365 GTB Daytona, the Porsche 911 2.7 S, the Lamborghini Countach, the Ferrari F40, and the Porsche 959. Then, a new breed of supercars came along, among the best (whatever, it was the best) McLaren F1. That car had a 6.1 liter V12 with 627 hp, 586 pound-feet of torque, and capable of reaching beyond 200 mph. After that came the Ferrari Enzo and the Bugatti Veyron, which, as you all know, are both astounding supercars that can achieve speeds well over 200mph. But now, there's a new breed of supercar, and it's more technologically advanced than ever. A lot of supercars these days are hybrids, such as the Porsche 918 and the McLaren P1. These added electric motors can have a massive effect on the car's power output, and can help efficiency. But, as you would expect, some brands have stuck with traditional setups, such as Lamborghini and Koenigsegg, which still have a lot of power, but are still less powerful and less efficient than hybrid competition. So it's your choice: do you want a more original and refined car; or do you want one with more power and higher mpg? I could never decide. 

Here are some links to some supercar manufacturer's websites:
Lamborghini
Ferrari
Koenigsegg
Porsche
McLaren
Bugatti

Lamborghini Miura

Porsche 959

McLaren F1

Bugatti Veyron

Ferrari LaFerrari

A Bentley SUV: Is It Really Necessary?

        A couple of months ago, I wrote about the upcoming Bentley SUV, which, at the time, seemed really innovative and exciting for Bentley, but now, I am a little skeptical of what will come of it. Sure, it will be new ground for Bentley, and it will increase jobs, money, and sales, but it will also make the brand less "executive," and it will hurt the 2% client base they've built up for the past 20 years. I think the reason for this is that when they were partnered with Rolls-Royce (which wasn't that long ago), their cars were just less bespoke versions of Rolls-Royce's cars, so when the brands spilt, they could make any type of cars they want. And even though the brand is owned by the Volkswagen group (Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Sköda, Seat, Bentley, Lamborghini, & Bugatti) so they have plenty of funding and resources, they still aren't making as good of an image of "the best luxury cars" as Rolls-Royce is. Sure, Bentley is definitely a high-end executive luxury car manufacturer, but I don't think it's worth it to add an SUV to their model lineup. I know that it will generate more money for VW, but it won't really help the image they've built up of executive sedans, coupes, and convertibles, NOT a brand that makes mom cars that makes up 50% of the cars in Beverly Hills. That's the Range Rover and G-Class's job, and they do it much better.

Click here to learn more about the upcoming Bentley SUV

1997 Mercedes-Benz Maybach Concept Review

    As most of you know, the Maybach 57 and 62 were some of the most luxurious cars on the market from 2003 to 2012. But, sadly, it's owner, Mercedes-Benz, decided that it didn't need Maybach anymore, and it wasn't making enough money to be profitable. So, in a couple months, Mercedes-Benz will release the new 'Maybach"-dubbed S-Class, which will just be an extra-long version of the already behemoth-like normal-length S-Class (but it isn't the Pullman, which is literally a stretch limousine). But the Maybach sub-brand idea began in 1997, when Mercedes-Benz revealed a Maybach concept at the 1997 Tokyo Auto Show. That car featured many things that ended up in the production version of the Maybach, such as reclining power rear seats (with massage, I might add), a 20-inch TV screen, two 6-inch screens for controlling the various A/V functions, a full bar with hot and cold drinks (not as extravagant in the 62/57, but basically the same thing), three mobile telephones, and an electrochromic roof. There were also some things in the 1997 concept that didn't make it to the real car, such as the on-board computer, which was positioned in place of the glovebox. The Maybach also featured revolutionary lighting, with the front headlamps incorporating different driving conditions, and sequential tail-lights. Even if the Maybach franchise went away (for understandable reasons), it was still a great nine-year run, and the Maybach was an incredible car.

Click here to learn more about the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Not a very pretty car, was it?

I think they got a little out of hand...and by that I mean a lot