trumpet1

In my opinion, I have never liked the exterior appearance of the Maybach but I love the interior. I sat in a 2008 Maybach this afternoon and noticed slight improvements to the exterior but I'm surprised they haven't changed the interior to mimic the W221 instead of the W220. Things like the steering wheel configuration, instrumentation and gauge cluster, console layout, control buttons, etc.
Quite frankly, I like the W220 layout (as presented in the Maybach) better than the W221. Do you guys think the Maybach will ever have a W221 interior or will it skip on over to whatever the next S class interior will look like assuming the Maybach stays in production???

DannyM383

honestly I doubt it stays in production, I sold one to a dealer here in houston and it took him 16 months to sell it. In the mean time he sold 3 or 4 phantoms. Its just not worth the money they command, it is a beautiful car though. They also downsized the dealer network in the US

trumpet1

I think you may be right. I feel the Maybach is to Mercedes what the Phaeton was to Volkswagen. A failure! Both are fine autos but just don't seem to have a groove to fit into here (at least in the U.S.). People couldn't grasp paying $80K for a VW and I don't think the consumers want to pay over $200K for a Mercedes. If you want a high-end chauffeur-driven car, the RR and Bentley's fit that need. I just feel the current S class is the perfect car for most all situations. It's stands out just enough to be highly appreciated yet it doesn't cause a sense of discomfort from getting too much attention like a R.R. would do.
In my neighborhood, I'd be laughed at if I drove a R.R., Bentley, or Maybach.
California, Florida, New York, Chicago and large metro areas are where those cars fit in, but not in most other smaller suburban areas.

trumpet1

Sorry. I guess this topic should be in the Maybach forum but I was wanting to focus on the W221 dash/console versus W220. Which is the best? I finally believe I like the 221 the best but it has almost taken me a year to accept it. Not having the shifter/start button in the console area is probably my least favorite thing about the new S class but I do like the rotary knob control knob in that area.

LETO

the location of the nav on the W220 is inconvinient compared to the W221. Also the W221's switch gear is better intergrated into the dash panels. Switches seem like they were designed to blend into the W221's dash. The switchgear and the nav especially look like they were lifted off another model and retrofitted there (i think that version of command with DVD orginated in the E class). Window switches on the W220, though not flat as the W221 are located too low on the door panel. The W221's electronic e-brake is also great

WSH

Only place in US where many affluent are driven around is Manhattan....

Hedge fund/PE guys in Manhattan always viewed Maybach/RR, etc as laughable/mockable stuff for various ricers/rappers/widget factory owners (or worse) from NJ/LI/FL/OC, etc....most of the serious money in NYC isn't into cars (or advertising wealth)....and is driven around in non-descript S550/600.....

Anyone tech/car-oriented knows Maybach was a POS at launch (sad/dark tech/reliability era for MB and S-Class).....and MB knows it has sunk cost in launching this debacle....but may try to recover some losses by selling it into mkts w/generally dubious tastes/sophistication....like most emerging/"aspirational" mkts......

Chucky300

I have a problem with the idea of Maybach going out of production.

Reason being - if they do that - its over.

Remmeber that Maybach had a nice marque' years ago. They shut down, and if I am not mistaken, tried to reopen at one point but it never really went anywhere. Daimler Chrysler merger gave them the access to some money reserves which helped re "re" launch the car - so the board of Directors now at Daimler Benz will have to come to terms that their signing the papers to desolve the maybach brand will and "should" be a goodbye.

As Trumpet so wisely said - the maybach brand is a nice brand - the car itself is nice - but for $385,000... I come to 2 conclusions as well.

1) IT DOES NOT look the price. If it did - then so do our S550/S600s. Personally - I think my car looks like it is worth $200,000...so if anyone says no - then I would have to ask them to also appraise the Maybach.

2) The car itself doesnt really have a "target" market. I am wondering if they are really just targetting the "celeb" (rapper, hip hop, or ultra rich celebs from movies) as a way of advertising. For example - If a designer makes a jacket or dress that is just over the freaking top outlandish - they may (MAY!) sell 2 nationwide....and one will end up on Scarlett Johansen or someone at an award...The moment they say "this is ______________" on the red carpet - the commercial splurge will most likely increase in that brand.

Maybach KNEW theyd style the S Class W221 after the Maybach - and that is their "BIG SELLING" car from Mercedes (from what the numbers have shown) and they KNEW people would want an "ORDINARY MAYBACH" - at the $100k / $150k (depends on model) pricepoint.

I believe the S Class is selling so well BECAUSE it looks the way it does - undeniably Maybachish.

So with that said - Only the accountants will know this information, however - if $500 million dollars was spent in total on the Maybach - from research to finished product - and it is resulting in $3 billion in S class sales by the end of its model run....is the Maybach really a failure? Will shutting it down really be about "we can't sell this car" or perhaps its more along the lines of "what Shock Factor can we launch next in order to energize sales of a mainline MB automobile".

Genius? Or were those pesky Germans just thinking REALLY REALLY big again

OK - That was Bradley's post from Israel FYI - Taxis here are C, E, and S class mercedes.

I did see a G500 once but it was a diplomatic armored vehicle - you don't see many civilians driving them here because of high gas prices, and narrow streets

trumpet1

Bradley, I believe the above statement you just made sums it up.

Without starting a new thread, I have a question. Does anyone know the dimensions of the nav screen?? The reason I ask is because my father who is almost 78 years old really wants a nav system for his Avalon and wants an aftermarket portable Garmin system. We found one with a 7.5" screen. If so, I believe that is approaching the size of our screens. Does anyone know??
I can't find my window sticker and the website didn't seem to show it. Maybe I didn't search deep enough.

AsianML

I like the Maybach interior over the W221, but I don't like the W220 interior over the W221.

Chucky300

That sounds like the beginning of a Highschool Math word problem...

"If Maybach interior is liked 30% more than a W221 interior - but the W220 interior is disliked 40% less than a W221....how much money will it take to by the E65 750iL"

Chucky300

Hi! How are you?

I am in Israel - Loving it!
Taxis are still E and C Classes - with a few S classes too. (W220s)

My friend pointed me to this website when I asked him shortly after reading your post.

http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2007/10/m...c.php?page=all

Nav Screen on a W221 = 8"

trumpet1

None of the above. It was a lease!

Chucky300

lol

you know - that made me laugh out loud.

When I was in Highschool - many moons ago ( class of 99) - I had a test about those two rediculous trains and which would pass first...


I wrote on the exam that my parents told me about that question when they were in the same grade as me - and if they have not yet intersected now - then "they aint neva gonna pass" - and i got partial credit because "THE LOGIC WAS RIGHT" but "NOT WHAT THE TEACHER WAS GETTING AT"

lol

Geh

People in Australia seem to like the Maybachs when i was living in Queensland, the first 4 Maybachs brought over here in 2006 (2 57's and 2 62's) Where bought within the first 3 weeks when they were put up for sale at Grand motors Prestige Mercedes-benz

And people pay alot more for the Maybachs down here the prices are

57's Went for $838,336 USD ($950,000 AUD)

62's Went for $1,103,305 USD ($1,250,000 AUD)

Don't know why they like them so much but its very rarely you find them for sale, and when you do there usually gone pretty fast

jbondox

Come on, we are mostly Americans here, don't you know that the Germans only build cars for the USA, same with the Brits, the Italians (though the French vehicles are always stuck in reverse) Seriously, do you really think that the USA is so great that the Germans market vehicles only to us? I am sure there is those discussions though that go like... the Americans want DVD, Nav, Bluetooth, Sat radio, Touchscreen control, voice activated, and they don't want to pay over $500 I am sure a lot of that crap goes on. But i think we are blinded that there is other countries out there, and with a lot of wealth... we should not be ignorant to that, especially now that China is coming to play in the market with some cash... i heard through the grapevine that a couple of Carerra GT's are making their way to Beijing. And though they were used, they fetched the new car price, plus shipping! So there is an untapped market their, the middle east, Russia, Europe in general, S. Africa, ... come on... And the one local MB dealership sells the hell out of them in lil ol Ohio.

They are the most luxurious vehicles, the RR, both the Bentley Arnage and the Phantom are not even the same league, one is a glorified BMW 760, and the other is just an abortion of Velcro and extra wires. Driven both, worked on both, and the Maybach is just perfect. you can fond new details everyday in that vehicle for a year. So those that haven't actually got to play around with one, can't really make a truthful statement... it is well worth every dime. if you can't afford it then get an S600, S63, or S550.

Hell just driving the Maybach will eat the POS Phantom for lunch. And driving the 62, it has the heavy for sure invincible feel to it, you bury the pedal and it will sit you back in your seat, steering is great for the size and weight of the vehicle, suspension is awesome, road noise is minimal, creature features are what ever you want, attention to detail, is from the front bumper to the rear... seriously it is the only way to travel if you can afford it and a driver.

pmb600

Very well said. Although I certainly am not in a position to buy any one of these cars, if I were, I would definately take the Maybach. It has the most features and has the most advanced systems. The problem is that most people who are willing to spend $300-500K on a car want it to scream "I have tons of $$$" and the Maybach just doesn't do that for them. It's too bad, because they are really just cheating themselves just so that they can show off with a Rolls or Bentley.

NZ_Benz

Damn here was me thinking that they sold the Maybach outside of the Southern US.....

They sell well in the Middle East and Asia, thing is that I'm not sure the Maybach is built to sell in large volumes. Also from what I understand is that to buy a Maybach atleast in the UK there is only one dealer and each car is built to spec and that furthermore there is a waiting list.

Even if the Maybach is not selling that well it may be placed within the market simply as a guard dog. What it does is makes sure MB still competes with RR it's not always in an effort to be profitable it simply stops others comming in and chewing into market share and getting stronger. I think this car will be around for a long time yet.

NZ_Benz

Interesting you should say that, although the MAybach is a much better car I still can't feel it having the cachet of Bentley or Rolls, I'll be honest I know the Maybach is a better car but given the choice I'd have either of those other cars over it.

IMO Maybach is in a bit of a branding crisis because it's a brand that's been gone for so long it's almost as if it's got no history at all to a car buyer these days, most people don't even know what the hell it is.

jbondox

I see some of the points, but to be honest The Bentley Arnage R I worked on earlier this year was just a PITA, it had more miles being towed than driving, was at srvc 3 times before the customer got out of it, gone for 2 out of 3 months, and not to mention everything was velcro'd in place. There is at least a 3 inch thick of wires on both sides of the vehicle and only 1/4 of the wires are used, it is like it was built using spare parts. The fit and finish was very nice, but the Maybach just smokes it. You can sit in a Maybach and stare at any one spot and ask, how the hell did they manage this? and be in awe with the craftsmanship.

The RR Phantom, is just a BMW 760 with a different shell, the interior is crowded, and is no where near as luxurious as the Maybach for any type of hauling the rear person around, the 57 would be closest to the RR but there is more room in the Maybach, and getting in and out is easier.

The fit and finish was just blah, but the interior that I was working in was black on black. so really there isn't to much to notice to begin with

I am not saying any of the vehicles suck, but they just aren't up to the Maybach standards for excellence and craftsmanship. Also we did a Brabus ECU upgrade for a Maybach to add a little bit more power, unbelievable for that vehicle.

The only downfall I see with Maybach, is that MM/MB needs to step up and stop the whoring out of used ones. It is lowering the value of the vehicle IMO. They would sell more cars that way. Not nice to see a $400k vehicle that has 9k miles and a year old depreciating $100k

Pattiboy

hey guys , i traded in a 2007 bentley, but i kept the maybach.the Maybach is worlds ahead in terms of engineering. I would like to buy a rolls, but i cant see pulling up in one on a daily basis.

trumpet1

I can understand where you are coming from. I had a poor man's Bentley (the VW Phaeton) and it just had strange shortcomings for cars in this price range. The ergonomics are way behind the times, the technology seems to be struggling also. The build quality of the Phaeton/Flying Spurs is very, very good but some of the creature comforts are deficient and awkward. I'd love to hear your comments on the Bentley and see how similar they are to the Phaeton. For example, their were always onboard computer glitches on the Phaeton that caused numerous fault codes. Most were corrected simply by shutting off the system and restarting the engine but many of them would not. I even had to invest in an onboard diagnostic device in order to enter correction codes to delete false codes so that I wouldn't have to take it to the shop all the time. Since the two cars were built on the same assembly line in Dresden Germany , I am inclined to believe the Phaeton and the F/S had similar quirks.

The average consumer just won't put up with these type of problems but I am the type of guy that enjoys figuring out why this or that happens and I love "fixing" the problems but eventually even I got tired of it and moved back to my roots ..... MERCEDES!

pmb600

The Bentley is not built in Germany. The engine and transmission are built in Germany and then sent to the UK for assembly. The cars are still made by hand.

trumpet1

You are right! I didn't realize Flying Spur manufacturing at the transparent factory in Dresden Germany had ceased at the end of 2006.
But they , at one time, were manufactured there for a short time.

Sorry about that. I am a little behind on my news

Chucky300

Forgiven

hehehe

Pattiboy

Trumpet, I just turned in aPhaeton after a 3 yr lease. The only problem i had was with the nav.They replaced the unit once , but it still had problems. Anyway i was referring to the Arnage, but i did have a 2007 fs- it reminded me of the phaeton too much so i traded it in- it had a stiffer ride then the phaeton, but no faults.