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Ultra-rare Maybach 57S Coupe ordered new by Moammar Gadhafi is for sale

One of Maybach's rarest 21st-century cars is for sale in Holland, and it owes its existence to one of the most controversial African leaders in recent history. Dutch exotic car dealer Auto Leitner listed a Xenatec-built Maybach 57S Cruisero coupe ordered and customized by Colonel Moammar Gadhafi but built after his death. Short-lived German coachbuilder Xenatec chose to start with the short-wheelbase 57 rather than with the longer and more stately 62. It didn't alter the sedan's length or wheelbase; instead, it created the Cruisero by extending the front doors, removing the rear doors, and adding more rake to the roof pillars. Several other minor visual tweaks set the coupe apart from the sedan, and the interior was given a more superficial makeover. Xenatec made no mechanical modifications, so power comes from an AMG-built 6.0-liter V12 twin-turbocharged to 604 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. It spins the rear wheels via a five-speed automatic transmission. Although the coupe weighs 6,000 pounds, it takes five seconds to reach 60 miles per hour from a stop. The 57S Coupe was not a hefeweizen-fueled hack job haphazardly welded together in a shed. It was authorized by Daimler, and it was engineered to the same standards as the regular-production car. Executives were confident that they could sell 100 units to politicians, entrepreneurs, oligarchs, and other wealthy people around the world, but Xenatec filed for bankruptcy and closed after making only eight when one its main investors, a Saudi Arabia-based company named Auto Kingdom, abruptly stopped funneling money into the project. Gadhafi configured Auto Leitner's 57S Coupe, which was the fourth one built, and he should have taken delivery of it in 2012, but the Libyan Civil War that erupted in 2011 and ultimately led to his death on October 20 of that year derailed those plans. It was instead sold to another buyer whose identity is unknown. What's certain is that the person who ended up with Gadhafi's Maybach rarely drove it: its odometer shows about 1,429 miles. Highly optioned, this 57S is equipped with 20-inch wheels, soft-close doors, heated and massaging individual rear seats separated by a fridge, rear tray tables, front and rear air conditioning systems, a rear-seat entertainment system, and, for good measure a fire extinguisher.

Recharge Wrap-up: Honda FCV Concept comes to Detroit, Toyota seeks young green energy fellows

Honda will bring its FCV Concept to the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. The hydrogen-powered concept made its Japanese debut in November, and will now make its way to North America for the first time. The FCV concept improves upon the design of the FCX Clarity with a more striking appearance and roomier interior. Its smaller powertrain packaging means more space for people, and the FCV Concept seats five passengers. Honda also expects the next-generation fuel-cell car, which is scheduled to go on sale in Japan in March 2016, to cost less and have a range of over 300 miles. Read more in the press release below. The Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive has been awarded an environmental certificate from the TUV Sud technical inspection authority. The certificate is based not just on the vehicle's operation, but the entire lifecycle of the car, including production and recycling. The B-Class Electric Drive produces 24 percent less CO2 over its lifecycle than the Mercedes-Benz B180 when using the EU electricity mix, and 64 percent less when powered by hydroelectricity. Mercedes credits not just the use of electricity, but also the car's energy management system - such as its radar-based regenerative braking - for its carbon reductions. Read more in the press release below. Scania will test a wirelessly charged plug-in hybrid bus in Sweden. Beginning in June 2016, the bus will be put to daily use in Sodertalje. One of its stops will have a wireless charging station where the bus will recharge for six to seven minutes before continuing on its route again. The charger is located under the road surface and the bus positions itself above it to charge inductively. About $1.3 million will come from the Swedish Energy Agency to fund the test project, which could save up to 90 percent of fuel costs. If expanded to a fleet of 2,000 buses, it could save up to 13 million gallons of fuel each year. Read more at Green Car Congress, and in the press release below. Sandia National Laboratories and Linde are teaming up to expand hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The two groups have signed an agreement to research and develop new hydrogen stations, as well as ways to make fuel cell vehicles more desirable for consumers. They are looking at ways to incorporate hydrogen into existing fuel stations where possible, and make sure that it is able to be done safely.

Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.