Auf Wiedersehen: Daimler to Pull the Plug on Maybach Brand

During the past decade or so, many carmakers have looked into their past to shape their future: the BMW Group's new Mini, the Fiat Group's 500 and the Volkswagen Group's Beetle are among the most well-known examples. But as Mercedes-Benz found out the hard way, not all second comings prove successful.

And now, only a decade after resuscitating Maybach, Daimler is ready to accept defeat and stop producing the $350,000 luxury limousine when the next generation of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class hits the market in 2013.

“It would not make sense to develop a successor model”, Daimler Dieter Zetsche said in an interview with German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “The coming S-Class is in such a way a superior vehicle that it can replace the Maybach.”

Read more »

Daimler Puts a Third Option on the Table: Turn Maybach into a Sub-Brand for Mercedes

The future of the ailing Maybach brand will be decided, according to reports, until the end of July. Up until now, the German firm’s parent company, Daimler, was faced with two options: either axe the brand entirely, or work with another carmaker, preferably Aston Martin, to share the development and manufacturing costs to the successors of to its not-so-well received uber-sedans.

Now, according to Automotive News, it seems that a third option is on the table: that Maybach will become a sub-brand of Mercedes-Benz.

Read more »

Mercedes-Benz’s Parent Company Nearing a Decision on the Fate of Maybach

It’s no secret that for quite some time now, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler has just about had it with Maybach and is looking to either shut down the über luxury car brand and call it a day or partner up with British sports carmaker Aston Martin on the development of a new model.

According to a report from Autoweek, the time has come for the German carmaker to make a final decision with the fate of Maybach to be decided by July 1. At a recent press event in Stuttgart, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche told journalist that "there is a higher likelihood to come to a positive decision" for Maybach if the company can find a partner. Up until now, the only automaker that has showed interest in working with Daimler on Maybach is Aston Martin.

Read more »

Mercedes-Benz Reprises Role in Sex and the City 2 Film [with Video]

Question for our readers: In your opinion, how do four cougar-aged women who can't keep their panties (or their brains) on after one shot of tequila and a guy named 'Mr Big' relate to Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and Maybach products/brand?

While you think about it let us tell you that, as with the first installment of the male-snoozefest that is "Sex and the City", the sequel to the movie that hits cinemas on 27 May will see most characters driving or being driven in a bunch of Mercedes-Benz and Maybach models.

Read more »

Maybach Coupe 57S: Official Pictures of Limited Production Special by Xenatec

Since Mercedes-Benz's parent company Daimler has no official plans to introduce an 'uber' luxurious coupe for its fading Maybach brand, the company gave its blessing to German-based engineering firm Xenatec to create a two-door version of the Maybach 57S.

Said to be developed in close cooperation with Maybach, the 57S Coupe special will be built in a strictly limited number of 100 examples each priced from a hefty €650,000 or about US$805,000 at today's exchange rates.

The transformation from a limo to a coupe includes redesigned A-, B- and C-columns with the second column moved back by 200mm, a more raked roofline, restyled front and rear ends, and a slightly wider body while retaining the same 3.39m-long wheelbase as the sedan model.

Read more »