Babybach: DaimlerChyrsler announces lil' Maybach to follow baby Rolls

[rahul_intlad]

BMW and Mercedes seem to always be caught up playing a game of "anything you can do, I can do better", so shortly after BMW's über-luxury brand Rolls-Royce announced it's extending the range down-market, Maybach is following suite.

The confirmation of the "baby Maybach" came from the very top: DaimlerChyrsler chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche, who verified the new limo would be ready within four years, though the definitive decision has not yet been made over whether the new car will carry the three-pointed star (extending the Mercedes range up-market) or the double-M (broadening the Maybach range down-market). The smart money's on the Maybach, though, as the S-Class has always been Mercedes' range-topping luxury sedan.

Like BMW, whose line-up has a huge gap between the $120k 760Li and the $330k RR Phantom, Mercedes-Benz has nothing to cover the $200k-range left vacant in between the $140k S600 and the $335k Maybach 57. Currently, Bentley (owned by their mutual rival VW/Audi group) has the field to itself with the $165k Continental Flying Spur and $220k Arnage sedans.

The awkward Maybach range hasn't been quite the success DaimlerChrysler had been hoping for, so it'll be interesting to see how they do with a new quarter-million-dollar sedan.





[Source: Auto Express and autoblog.com]


ps:Small article hence directly copy pasting here itself

[aniguchisan]

Design looks good to me. Hopefully, the final model will be a little outrageous, to make it worth the 250Gs.

[speedzak]

Oh ho!!!! Nice man. Now, Ghutka wallah will buy one for his grandson I think.

[ranjan united]

wow... talk about false hope. For a second there after reading about the baby Mayby, I was actually convinced that I could finally afford one in my garage. As Chris Issak said:"Wicked Game"

[elf]

Oh great! Now finally a Maybach I can afford...

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by elf

Oh great! Now finally a Maybach I can afford...

Yeah no wonder you drive a 3-cylinder Lancer right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GTO]

Why go through the trouble? It would have been better if they had priced the current Mayback more competitively. After all, it really is just a little more car than the S-Class...not 4 - 5 times more as the price would indicate.

And please make it look decent. The current Maybach looks horribly weird.

[Sahil]

They will be killing the Maybach brand image by launching this model.
The whole point of a maybach is exclusivity for many buyers, they will gain higher sales but loose the brand image in the long run.

[Jay]

Looks pretty good, need to wait for 4 years... $250k ???

[ajinkya]

I agree with Sahil and GTO.
They'll do themselves more harm than good in the long run

[Sahil]

Also, if DM is so desperate to fill up that price bracket,they should add another model line up under the Mercedes-Benz stable.
They have added the GL and R class to increase their SUV/Van segment,then why not come up with a new line better than the S-class rather than involve the Maybach name.

[GTO]

I disagree Sahil. For decades, the S has always been the Benz flagship and the most extreme "uber" sedan. The positioning alone has got them countless buyers.

[merve_extreme]

This maybach is going to be in response to the smaller Rolls that is comming out,so i think it will do well without affecting Maybach image too much.

but first Mercedes has to decide wether they want to go for technology or for old world comfort.if they opt for technology they will have to go one up on the S-class or if they go for old world charm they have to out do the Roller.both very difficult tasks.lets see what they come up with.

[naveendhyani]

with all this running around to make a smaller car, i guess soon we will see a "S" class smart car.

[Boom Shiva]

It's better to experiment with the Maybach brand which isn't doing all that well, rather than the firmly established S Class. So the concept of the Babybach is pretty good.

Now have to see if the car is worth it.