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Boost it!

Maybach Strikes Out Down Under

cdoke submitted on 1/8/2008 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 5:59:28 PM

14 user comments | Category: Misc News | Source: | SOURCE: www.motorauthority.com

After closing 29 of the 71 franchises in the United States last October, and moving little more than 1/5th of the number of cars in their original projections, Maybach has been dealt yet another setback.



2007 was a good year for car sales in Australia with a record 1 million cars sold, that is unless you were Maybach. Approximately 5% of the Australian population purchased new cars last year. Not all of the new car sales were economy cars either- Ferrari sales were up 43.6%, Bentley was up 17.6%, and Rolls-Royce was up almost 30%. Despite this interest in luxury cars there were a total of exactly ZERO Maybachs sold in Australia in 2007.



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cdoke

All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusion is called a philosopher.

— cdoke (View Profile)


User Comments

cdoke

Only two words really; thoroughly embarrassing.

— cdoke (View Profile)

Posted on 1/8/2008 10:46:16 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

nybimmer

I guess all the prospective buyers figured out they were really just buying a tarted-up, last gen 1999-2005 S600 after all and so bought something less, shall we say, obsolete.

— nybimmer (View Profile)

Posted on 1/8/2008 10:57:26 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

no1listensanyway

I saw one on a tow truck the other day in NY. Seriously what the hell was Mercedes thinking? The car is bloated and ugly, just look at the back of the bus. I think if mercedes applied the styling of the current S Class at the time, the car would of succeded.

— no1listensanyway (View Profile)

Posted on 1/8/2008 11:26:17 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Celestion

Too many other upscale options out there... that offer more in the looks and luxury department for considerable less money.

— Celestion (View Profile)

Posted on 1/8/2008 11:56:30 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Porschinator

Maybach...great on the inside. Plain Jane on the out side. People that spend that much $$$ want more flash and style.

— Porschinator (View Profile)

Posted on 1/9/2008 1:05:42 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 6   

JUGNU

Because S Class with reclining seats i mean Maybach can't match the royality and prestige of Rolls. and no sensible person should pay the price they are asking. Maybach should cut the price by 50%.

Rolls is much much superior. More classic.

It's nearly a month now that i have seen a Maybach on the road compare to atleast 1 Phantom i see here in Dubai everyday.

To me Rolls and Maybach are not on the same level.

JUGNU

— JUGNU (View Profile)

Posted on 1/9/2008 11:53:13 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

w209w114

Maybach needs a redesign. Period. The S-Class sales are through the roof, because it offers Maybach styling at less than 1/3 the price. If they do decide to keep the brand around a redesign as good as the last S-Class' was would be a total hit.

— w209w114 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/9/2008 1:31:11 PM | | Votes: 1   

w209w114

And btw. The S Class does have reclining seats.

— w209w114 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/9/2008 1:31:42 PM | | Votes: 0   

S4cabriofoxone

It doesn't have an ottoman.

Anyway, I could never imagine someone buying a Maybach 62S over a gorgeous Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead... or two Bentley GTCs.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 1/9/2008 8:04:44 PM | | Votes: 1   

dumpsty

I believe M-B had the right intensions when pulling the Maybach brand out of the "mothballs". Their ultimate mistake was the execution of the actual vehicles representing the legendary luxury marque. The S-class platform was an excellent start, but the exterior should have been vastly differentiated from the (dare I say) run-of-the-mill S-class model. Maybe in their haste to just get a product out, they lost sight of making Maybach a unique brand, separate from DCX and the Mercedes-Benz division.

This is, clearly, a lesson they should learn from and study BMW's strategy with the Rolls-Royce brand. Had BMW released a RR that looked liked a dressed-up 7-series...it may have done just as bad as the Maybach in sales.

Hopefully, Daimler does not chose to close the brand, but instead, show the industry that they have some sort of imagination and re-design the Maybach exterior to match the all the luxuries contained in the interior.

— dumpsty (View Profile)

Posted on 1/9/2008 1:55:12 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

pushrod27

I think that with the lack of differentiation in Maybach vs. Mercedes-Benz styling, plus the fact that Maybach orders are placed at select M-B dealerships, the verdict is that Daimler just did a bad job of justifying the Maybach's exorbitant price. The Maybach looks too much like an S-Class, while the S-Class can be optioned to near-Maybach equipment levels without approaching it's cost.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom is like nothing else on the road. You can just look at a Maybach and tell that it is related to the S-Class, and the fact that it's based on an S-Class platform from 2 years ago is the real rub.

— pushrod27 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/9/2008 4:12:45 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Rupert

It's worse than that - it's not based off the 1999-06 S class. It's based off the 1990-99 S class - the chassis is beefier and can support the heavier weight.
The Maybach doesn't have as good suspension as the S class (Airmatic DC rather than ABC or full Airmatic), the gearbox is older (no 7 G-tronic), the interior is older, and it is an ugly, bland car.
Add in the excellence of the S class and the Maybach is destined to fail.

— Rupert (View Profile)

Posted on 1/9/2008 7:09:44 PM | | Votes: 2   

S4cabriofoxone

I don't know if it's just me, but there's something wrong with the person who buys a Maybach instead of a Mercedes S600, SL550 AMG, GL550 and E320 Bluetec.

— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 1/9/2008 8:08:42 PM | | Votes: 2   

Rupert

That's a very very good point S4 - 4 cars for the price of one...
let me think...in place of one Maybach 57S (selling at 300000 pounds) I would buy instead:
S63 AMG (99500)
Jaguar XKR Convertible (76000)
Audi Q7 4.2 TDI (53000)
Audi TT 3.2 Roadster (33000)
330i Convertible (yes we still have the 330i) (36000)

Wow, 5 cars. That's a lot.
You may have guessed I like convertibles.

— Rupert (View Profile)

Posted on 1/10/2008 8:27:50 AM | | Votes: 2   

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