Maybach brand to be discontinued

You might say to yourself, “who the heck is Maybach?” Maybach was a super-premium ultra luxury brand from Germany that competed with the likes of Rolls Royce, Bentley and Duesenberg before the ravages of World War ][ got the brand into the history books and off the streets. The folks at Daimler-Benz didn’t forget the images of grand Maybach sedans oozing through the streets of Germany and so, in 1997, showed off a concept that would become the new Maybach. Unfortunately for them, they were among the few who held a longing for the brand. 

Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche recently decided not to push ahead with the development of replacement models — 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,” one insider told AutoWeek. “Plans are already in place to fill the void left by the axing of the Maybach 57 and 62 with the next-generation S-class, which will be offered in three wheelbase variations, including a top-of-the-range S600 Pullman.”

Moves to push Mercedes-Benz further up-market into the segment follows an internal marketing study which came to the conclusion that it has more potential to succeed in the upper luxury segment against competition from the likes of Bentley (owned by German rival Volkswagen) and Rolls-Royce (owned by German rival BMW) than Maybach, which despite being revered at home in Germany failed to gain traction in key world markets.  

“We held extensive discussions internally about which way would promise the greatest success in the luxury segment, and we came to the conclusion that the sales chances for the Mercedes brand were better than that of Maybach,” Zetsche told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

“It would not be sensible to develop a successor model for the current Maybach,” he added, according to an excerpt of the interview, which will be published in the German daily on Saturday.

According to estimate in Automotive News, 44 Maybachs have been sold in the United States this year through October.

Prices for the 2011 Maybach line started at $375,250 for the 57, excluding a $2,750 delivery fee, and topped $1.38 million for Laundaulet model. Yes, that is for just one. 

Despite the plan to dump Maybach, both the existing 57 and 62 will be produced through to early 2013, at which point the fifth-generation S-class is due to be introduced. 

The Maybach brand was resurrected by Mercedes-Benz in 2002 following its failure to purchase Rolls-Royce and Bentley from then owner Vickers after being outbid by Volkswagen, which then ceded control of Rolls-Royce to BMW.

The original Maybach models, the 57 and 62, were named after their respective lengths of 5735 mm and 6170 mm. Both were based around stretched underpinnings of then already superceded third-generation S-class first introduced in 1991.

A recent proposal to involve Aston Martin in the development of future Maybach models was abandoned in early 2011.

Missing the boat?

Despite the fact that Maybach is not known to many outside of Germany, it may have gotten a huge boost in fame in a rap video where a super pricey Maybach sedan was completely dessimated by the rappers and then re-imagined like some Mad Maxx cruiser and driven around while they spewed their garbage (sorry, I don’t like rap and it’s not rap music - it’s crap). 

Unfortunately for the poor sedan, these goofballs destroyed a wonderful car for the sake of this dumb video but this is also a way to gain popularity in the US. After all, look at Newt Gingridge, people ascribe fame to crap in this country.

If you are interested in seeing the stupid video, it’s embedded below: 

So, there you have it. Another death wreath for a brand here on the Curbside. 

Comments

[martin]

haha this was a funny post. Firstly why call music you dont understand crap? But thats besides the point, i think these rap stars actually made the maybach a lot more popular than it wouldve been without them. The video above was made last year wasnt it? And the maybach had been in the mainstream for years before that with the help of these goofballs. Dont get me wrong if I could afford a maybach i probably wouldnt waste my money on it. Im happy with my 300c. We are all entitled to our opinions but I find it fascinating that in this post you sort of gave a negative review of the impact these goofballs made to the sales of the maybach.