Mercedes-Benz axes Maybach

High ranking Mercedes-Benz sources have confirmed to Autoweek that the underperforming Maybach brand will be officially killed off in 2013. The decision to disband Mercedes-Benz’s upper luxury marque comes after a decade of disappointing sales for the Maybach 57 and 62 and a recent decision from the German car maker’s chairman Dieter Zetsche not to push ahead with the development replacement models – the likes of which were tentatively due out in 2014 – owing to what one insider describes as a “positive move to focus greater attention on the Mercedes-Benz brand” . “We’ve come to the conclusion that it is better to cut our losses with Maybach than to continue into an uncertain future with a brand that has failed to live up to original sales expectations," the insider said.

Honda takes to the skies: HondaJet completes first flight

By Tim Pollard Motoring Issues 30 June 2014 16:57 Honda's quest to apply its engineering nous to different modes of transport took another step forward today when the HondaJet completed its first test flight. Honda Aircraft Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the US Honda division and is based in North Carolina. The executives in charge vow they're following the guiding principles of Soichiro Honda, who founded the car maker, with a laser-like focus on new solutions to age-old problems.

BMW Individual program extends to 4-series Coupe and Convertible

Not that long ago BMW Individual was a little-known client program that offered unique materials and equipment to customer specification. While this may sound like a secret menu with an expanded list of interior options, in reality BMW Individual offered just about anything that buyers of Bentley or Rolls-Royce cars could specify. In the 1990s, for example, BMW Individual was the division responsible for completing the interior and exteriors of clients' L7 limousines, customizing such things as the options on the rear center console, fitting blue strobe packages and communications equipment, and creating interiors per customer specifications.