Why was the Mercedes Maybach a flop?

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.

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.

So, you want better performance? How about a Brabus-tuned Maybach? :slight_smile:

To me its the new Bentley Continental that looks more like a big puffed up Rover 75

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.

Wow…that is a spooky lookalike. Is there something hardwired in the designer’s minds that insists on having a big ‘bared-teeth’ front?

Nah. It’s still ugly.

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.

Look at the 2nd row, third pic.