Opinion: Postmortem: Maybach meets its maker

[Haltech]

Filed under: Sedan, Maybach, Luxury

Why Daimler's Ultra-Luxe Brand Couldn't Compete With Bentley And Rolls

Daimler took hubris to a new level believing that it could simply invent a new brand.

What was intended to make a big splash in the premium luxury car market has ended with a dull thud. Almost exactly a decade after it lifted the first of the big cars into New York by helicopter, Daimler AG has pulled the plug on its Maybach marque. And the odds are that few, if any, of the affluent motorists it was targeting will even notice the brand's departure.

Maybach was intended to go up against the most elite nameplates in the automotive market: Rolls-Royce and Bentley. But, in hindsight, it appears that Daimler took hubris to a new level believing that it could simply invent a new brand that would be taken seriously by the sort of buyers who want the Spirit of Ecstasy or Flying B hood ornaments on their cars.

Paul A. Eisenstein is Publisher of TheDetroitBureau.com and a 30-year veteran of the automotive beat. His editorials bring his unique perspective and deep understanding of the auto world to Autoblog readers on a regular basis.

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Postmortem: Maybach meets its maker originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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