R.I.P: Maybach

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After years of poor sales, everyone was wondering how long the brand would last.
Now we know.
Mercedes will kill it of in a bout a year.
Just by the time the new S Class comes out.
A super fancy/expensive version of the redesigned large sedan is supposed to replace the Maybach.
Which it wont really.
The Maybach was pretty much the price of a Rolls, starting at around $380 000.
A loaded S Class is still “only” about $170 000.

It was one of the biggest mistake I have seen in years.
It just looked like a big S Class to begin with. If you’re going to charge that much cash for a car, it better not look like anything else costing less than half the price.
Plus there was no name recognition whatsoever. In a market where it was competing with legends like Rolls Royce and Bentley.

A big mistake doomed from the beginning.

But. Still very nice cars, and maybe quite a good deal on the used car market now….

Conversation 8 comments

  1. Vince,

    Please read your comments before you post. Editing/grammar is extremely poor (see this article).

    Also… Maybach (see correct spelling) is a LEGENDARY name in Europe. Just because YOU aren't familiar with it doesn't mean it isn't a name with a lot of history and recognition among its target audience.

  2. Well, now we know why talks with Aston Martin were called off.. instead of sharing mechanicals, M-B will just kill Maybach, upgrade the top S-Class to do battle with the Bentley Continental and Rolls-Royce Ghost, and ACQUIRE Aston to maintain competition with the Mulsanne and Phantom.

  3. Vince, it had name recognition, it just didn't have a world class exterior in line with what we've seen from Buggatti, Rolls, Aston Martin, and Bentley… so you knew of Maybach but an instant connection of what one looks like doesn't come to mind. The Maybach with it's current looks would be fine at a sub-200k price point. I'm saddened to see it go, Mercedes has neglected it since 2005, the original maybach concept that was penned in mid-90's should have been refreshed midway through the last decade.

  4. LOL, NBA on strike (6-speed).

    Goofy exorbanances of the dot-com / real estate era, poorly executed vehices relying on "name heritage" such as the Maybach, Phaeton, and any british car…

  5. Maybachs were re-badged copies of a poorly designed S class. Thank-you MB for putting us Automobile Affectionatos out of our misery. Apparently you can't overprice a turd and pan it off as a status symbol to enough folks to make a business case.

  6. The Maybach was a joke to begin with. An old-generation S-Class with a lot of lipstick will not fool Bentley, Rolls, or Aston shoppers

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