# Why was the Mercedes Maybach a flop? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 14, 2005, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-mercedes-maybach-a-flop/316916 "2005-08-14T00:47:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-mercedes-maybach-a-flop/316916/21 "2005-08-14T17:13:00Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > I’m someone who likes to drive and would not want a chauffer. If I could afford a $400,000 car, I wouldn’t buy a Maybach. I’d get the snarliest BMW or Mercedes AMG for less than half of that price. I find the Maybach rather ugly. To me it just looks like another big Mercedes. (Incidentally, I have a magazine from 1966 or 1967 that reviews a monster Mercedes built for the wealthy. IIRC, it didn’t do very well either.) Since I like to drive, I’d get something A) more visually appealing, and B) with better performance instead of ‘luxuries’. Probably a Vanquish or something. ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-mercedes-maybach-a-flop/316916/22 "2005-08-14T17:21:27Z")
Mercedes hasn’t been doing so well for the past few years. Their cars have started to nose-dive in terms of quality, and the merger with Chrysler was ill-conceived at best. Their relentless move downmarket has hurt the image of their more expensive cars, and Lexus, and to a lesser extent Infiniti has really eroded their market share. The idea to revive a marque that only a few auto collectors had ever heard of was a bad idea. They could have called it the Mercedes Maybach, and given an image boost to their overall line. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-mercedes-maybach-a-flop/316916/23 "2005-08-14T21:51:37Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I find the Maybach rather ugly. To me it just looks like another big Mercedes. (Incidentally, I have a magazine from 1966 or 1967 that reviews a monster Mercedes built for the wealthy. IIRC, it didn’t do very well either.) > > Since I like to drive, I’d get something A) more visually appealing, and B) with better performance instead of ‘luxuries’. Probably a Vanquish or something. So, you want better performance? How about a [Brabus-tuned Maybach?](http://www.rsportscars.com/eng/cars/maybach_brabus.asp)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-mercedes-maybach-a-flop/316916/24 "2005-08-14T22:57:17Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > As for the car - it looks like a big Rover. Not a good thing to spend six figures on To me its the new [Bentley Continental](http://www.wallpaper.net.au/wallpaper/automotive/Bentley%20Continental%20GT%20-%20800x600.jpg) that looks more like a big puffed up [Rover 75](http://www.kakaku.com/kuruma/images/car/rover_75saloon.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-mercedes-maybach-a-flop/316916/25 "2005-08-15T00:24:48Z")
> [@mike1dog](#): > > Mercedes hasn’t been doing so well for the past few years. Their cars have started to nose-dive in terms of quality, and the merger with Chrysler was ill-conceived at best. A year or two ago, I was at a job fair for engineers, and I talked with some recruiters for a German company. I mentioned a news article I had recently read: within Daimler-Chrysler, Chrysler’s quality was now better than Mercedes’. The German’s response was, in a word, total pathological denial. This article was a lie. It had to be, because it was absolutely impossible that a fine German-engineered automobile could be inferior to a common American car. I walked away, silently laughing. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-mercedes-maybach-a-flop/316916/26 "2005-08-15T00:29:00Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > To me its the new [Bentley Continental](http://www.wallpaper.net.au/wallpaper/automotive/Bentley%20Continental%20GT%20-%20800x600.jpg) that looks more like a big puffed up [Rover 75](http://www.kakaku.com/kuruma/images/car/rover_75saloon.jpg) Wow…that is a spooky lookalike. Is there something hardwired in the designer’s minds that insists on having a big ‘bared-teeth’ front? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-mercedes-maybach-a-flop/316916/27 "2005-08-15T00:41:34Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > So, you want better performance? How about a [Brabus-tuned Maybach?](http://www.rsportscars.com/eng/cars/maybach_brabus.asp)🙂 Nah. It’s still ugly. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-mercedes-maybach-a-flop/316916/28 "2005-08-15T00:48:17Z")
In the newest issue of _Road & Track_, there’s a picture of Mercedes’ next S-class. It looks a LOT like the Maybach. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-mercedes-maybach-a-flop/316916/29 "2005-08-15T00:50:32Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > In the newest issue of _Road & Track_, there’s a picture of Mercedes’ next S-class. It looks a LOT like the Maybach. :smack: [Here’s a look](http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=9&article_id=2406). Look at the 2nd row, third pic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-mercedes-maybach-a-flop/316916.md?page=1)