Since "Maybach" was not exactly a household name like Daimler or Ferrari, Mercedes worked overtime to create some personality for its cars. Customers were expected to equip their autos the way they would a yacht, spending hours selecting fabrics, colors, hides, and woods.
Determining exactly how much customers were willing to pay for this kind of extravagance required some research. Mercedes flew the concept car to Hong Kong, Monaco, and New York City to poll potential buyers. It discovered that customers may not have been very price-sensitive, but they did appreciate a bargain. Some even asked for freebies -- like a $115,000 Mercedes SL roadster -- to be included with their purchase.
Mercedes brought Maybach to market with a splash in 2002. For the U.S., it shipped the first car to New York on the deck of a ship and lifted it by helicopter to a landing place near Wall Street. The aging daughter of Wilhelm Maybach was enlisted to appear at various promotional events. The atmosphere was frothy. "Based on our research, there are enough customers who are able to afford such a car," said Joachim Schmidt, head of Mercedes's sales and marketing. "If you deliver something very special, then you have a chance to sell 1,000 cars."
Not special enough, apparently. The Maybach turned out to be a very expensive limo. Bentley and Rolls had histories behind them, and while the Rolls customer expected to be driven in his car, he could, in a pinch, drive it himself. Maybach never made a pretense of being an owner-driven vehicle. Automotive journalists, many of whom insist upon sitting behind the wheel before making a positive judgment on a vehicle, were offered rides as passengers instead. All the action was in the rear seats that reclined like those in an airplane's business class, with pillowed headrests and extended footrests. The lucky rider could access in-car refrigerators, cigar humidors and other appurtenances thought to be essential for membership in the upper classes.
It just didn't compute. Even the booming luxury car market in China wasn't enough to move Maybach off the starting line. It quickly became apparent that the brand was in trouble, and Mercedes sensibly never invested in updating the model line. In 2010 only 157 Maybachs -- from a brand nearly a decade old -- were sold globally, according to Automotive News, while BMW moved 2,711 similarly priced Rolls.
With Maybach put to rest, Mercedes won't be abandoning the ultra-luxury segment. It plans to expand its top-of-the line Mercedes segment -- the S-Class -- to six variations from the current three when a new generation of the flagship model is launched in 2013.
One hopes that it doesn't decide to name them after a guy who designed blimps.
