Maybach Reaches the End of the Road...Again

LONDON - December 2, 2011: Despite its exhibit floor presence at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show - as well as its participation at last month's 2011 Los Angeles Design Challenge - Mercedes-Benz (Daimler AG for you sticklers) has apparently finally decided to call an end to its ultra-high luxury experiment, according to a story published by TIME magazine.

Jay Nagley, an analyst at Redspy, was quoted in the article as saying, "It's really a mercy killing. I'm surprised it took them so long."

Mercedes had hoped to sell about 1,000 new Maybach models per year but actually averaged only a couple of hundred during its several year run. The Auto Channel originally reported on the re-emergence of the Pre-WWI luxury car in June 2001: "Most car buffs are unaware of Maybach's background, since the last one was built in 1938. Through a very circuitous series of post-war mergers, sales and transactions, the name is now owned by Mercedes and a new Maybach is going to appear soon. And it's going to be very big. The "small" model will measure over 19 feet while the big one will be 18-inches longer. At over 5000 pounds, this land-yacht will need lots of power and buyers will get it in the form of a twin-turboed 6.0-liter V12 engine that will put out around 500 horses and enough torque to tow the Orient Express. Originally the car was to be labeled the Mercedes Maybach but the name was shortened to simply Maybach to differentiate it from the entry-level (only $140,000) top-line Mercedes S600 sedan."