Maserati

It seems that Mel Gibson has certainly had his fair share of bad luck lately, and the streak continues, as he has reportedly crashed his 2008 Maserati Quattroporte into a rocky hillside on a difficult section of Malibu Canyon Road.  Mel’s Maserati was towed from the scene, and the actor was uninjured in the collision.  I can’t say the same for his already tattered reputation.

California Highway Patrol asked Gibson if he had been using a cell phone at the time, and he denied it (I am sure records will be pulled from his provider, as is becoming common).  The police do not suspect the star of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the incident.  It certainly appears that Gibson is hard on things, reportedly his ex, and now luxury cars.  Do not sell this man a Ferrari 458 Italia, my heart couldn’t take it.  TMZ photo taken shown at right.

 Who doesn’t turn their head when a nice car goes by?  If you live in Miami or LA than it might be more typical to see a luxury car rolling down the street.   I guarantee no matter where you live or how many exotic and luxury cars you see, you will appreciate the pictures below.  Imagine Lifestyles has complied 20 interesting pictures of luxury cars, some in very odd places. Enjoy the pictures below.

Carlos Justo was once a big time real estate mogul, who once squired his clients on real estate tours via a private helicopter charter and owns a multi-million dollar condo overlooking Biscayne Bay.  A victim of aggressive investing and the real estate meltdown, Justo is now just uh…broke.  Well, when he gets back on his feet, here are the top 5 cars we are holding for Carlos Justo:

The headline stealing ponzi scheme of disbarred Florida attorney Scott Rothstein has climaxed today, with his coveted luxury cars, yachts and toys auctioned off in efforts to pay back those he ripped off.  The auction held today fetched a lofty $5.8 million dollars, to be funneled back to the investors he wronged.  Imagine Lifestyles was there to witness history.

In just over one hour, the luxury auction unloaded 11 exotic cars, 4 yachts and 2 wave runners scored $5.8 million.  This is not much compared to his estimated $1.4 billion dollar investment fraud, but hey, every little million helps.

Don’t worry, keep spending.  This certainly seems to be the message communicated recently, based on encouraging jumps in the luxury spending department.

Yes, it seems that luxury shopping and spending are indeed making a comeback, with affluent buyers regaining confidence.  Another issue that has kept the wealthy from spending has been the fear of ‘conspicuous consumption’, with the economy in shambles it has been rather frowned upon to be seen spending ‘obscene’ amounts of money on luxury items.

Do any of you gearheads remember the Maserati Birdcage 75th concept car?  I must say that I love this exotic concept car!  I love it enough to bring it back via blog.

The Maserati Birdcage (it even has a cool name) concept was created by Maserati, and designed by Pininfarina.  I think the appeal comes first from the brand, as I am a big fan of Maserati as a force in the world of exotic cars and luxury rental cars, and from its appearance. 

For those of you who have been following the case of Florida attorney Scott Rothstein’s ponzi scheme, the latest is the auction that will be held to sell his fleet of luxury cars and yachts.  Might I mention that the inventory is quite shocking, in fact, it is jaw-dropping.

A millionaire Suffolk businessman has passed away, leaving a surprise in his barn.  Apparently, the man grew bored with his fleet of exotic cars, and simply left them in a barn for about 20 years collecting dust.  Well, what failed to pique his interest has certainly grabbed ours!

Yes, the seven luxury cars were discovered after the deceased man’s family suggested the auctioneer might want to examine “the old cars in the barn”.  By old cars, they meant:

They say “Everything is bigger in Texas”, and upon reading about the latest exotic wreck in Houston, I would agree.  I would seem things are larger in Texas; even their car accidents are exotic and expensive.  After the recent Bugatti drowning there, we learned of a Maserati hitting a Texas cop car, head-on.

It is winter in South Florida, which translates to the most popular time of the year for tourism, not to mention all of the fans who will be flocking here in February for Super Bowl 44!

Yes, this is the perfect time to visit Miami, as the sweltering summer and fall have past, and the weather is usually perfect-in the 70s and 80s.  That said, here are the top 5 options for a luxury rental car for your Miami winter escape: (we guarantee you will not have to wait for a valet in these rides!)

If you are going to get naughty, you may as well take a tip from David Letterman and lock lips in a luxury car.  If anything, the expensive car will distract from whom you are kissing, just in case it isn’t your significant other.  So without further ado, our top ten exotic cars that we deem acceptable to get caught kissing in are as follows:

Luxury sedans sizzle-and they are always in fashion.  This month, we at Imagine Lifestyles have selected our top 5 luxury sedans to showcase:

•    Rolls Royce Phantom
•    Maybach
•    Bentley Flying Spur
•    BMW 750
•    Maserati Quattroporte

The 2009 Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S is a prime example of all the right stuff congregating in the same place.  This luxury ride offers amenities, speed, style and sophistication all in one sporty package, and has been a favorite since its introduction.

Maserati has been working on a top secret, topless version of the GranTurismo coupe. A GranTurismo Spider prototype was seen at the German Nürburgring in heavy camouflage. Which has caused speculation to escalate, the Maserati Spider will have probably have a choice of a 4.2 or 4.7 liter V8 engine; with automated manual or automatic transmission. The GranTurismo variant will have a retractable roof but as to whether it will be hardtop or soft is still unknown. The 2010 GT Spider has been revised and revamped since its predecessor and the new model is likely to be a four seater rather than a two. The 2010 Maserati GranTurismo Spider is expected to hit markets sometime next year, priced around $130,000. And by the looks of it, the new Maserati convertible could just give Ferrari's brand new California convertible a run for its money. Oh the suspense! That's what we have so far, it is what it is. Check in for more news soon.

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Donald Trump claims “now” is the time to buy property, if only it were that easy.  Many who still have the money to buy “now” can’t find financing. If financing isn’t stopping you, consider yourself lucky and look to South Beach. Right now in South Beach properties are being sold for way less than asking price.  Take, for instance, luxury building Murano at Portofino, located at 1000 S Pointe Drive in the South Beach area of Miami Beach. Where a penthouse unit with an asking price of $12,000,000 just sold for $7,600,000. The spacious three bedrooms, five and a half bath unit is just one example of what’s going on in South Beach, there are lots more just like this. The question is, when will the real estate market finally hit bottom? The question is tough to answer but it seems like buyers are moving towards the beach. Activity is gradually picking up, more inquiries, and more viewings, will sooner or later translate into more sales.