Maybach 62 vs Gulf Stream IV-SP vs Bertram Motor Yacht

"That man is richest whose pleasures are the cheapest."--Henry David Thoreau

"Consequences, schmonsequences! So long as I'm rich!"--Daffy Duck

Henry David Thoreau would've hated the Maybach 62. Then again, the man hated anything with a pricetag. Of course, we're talking about an ill-paid writer whose idea of a rowdy good time was spending two years near a pond by himself, staring at the clouds, eating bran, and living in a house he built for $28. So it's doubtful that Henry David would have warmed to a 20-foot-long luxury sedan with a 543-horsepower, twin-turbo V-12 engine; a futuristic electro-transparent glass roof; a 155-mph top speed; and a base price of $359,500. Even if he hadn't died in 1862.

On the other hand, for lovers of the good life like Daffy Duck, the Maybach 62 is a veritable poster car. Oh, and before any stuffy academics out there dismiss the virtues of living well, consider this: How many readers do you think just grabbed the encyclopedia to look up "Henry David Thoreau"? But Daffy...well, is there anyone on earth who wouldn't immediately recognize this charismatic, money-hungry waterfowl? I rest my case.

Now suppose that rich duck is you. Your Uncle Lester has told his last dirty joke and left you with an inheritance of, say, $350 grand or so. You're rich! You're affluent! Your liquidity is assured!

Now, what are you going to blow it on?

Don't say college educations for the kids. What fun is that? I mean, you'll never get a front-row valet spot or courtside seats with the Lakers by flashing a diploma from Amherst. Allow us to suggest an obvious alternative: Purchase your very own Maybach 62, the new uber-sedan from Mercedes-Benz and perhaps the most hedonistic automobile on the planet. Or...maybe you don't want a car at all. As it turns out, that same $350 large will also buy a splendid motor yacht or flying time in one of the world's finest business jets. So, what's it going to be, Daffy: land, sea, or air?

I took it upon myself to conduct some extensive (and may I say, selfless) research, on the chance that one of you with a spare $350K or so might need assistance making just such a decision.