Merc1

Ultimate Car Guy, Osnabrueck you guys make good points here. I really believe that if Maybach was selling up to expectations this Ocean Drive concept would have been a Maybach not a Mercedes. If Mercedes decide to produce this I think we will see the Maybach brand folded back into Mercedes. Meaning the replacement for the 57/62 models will be called the "Maybach by Mercedes". Another big grand car but with a Mercedes star/grille, but of a different design both inside and out. Also another way to tell if Maybach is dead or not is the see if they launch anything in the next 12 to 18 months. We should be seeing a concept or something from them since their sedans aren't selling, that is if they want to save the brand. Maybe they should build the Exelero? It sure looks good in Jay Z's video and it would be just outrageous enough to draw some attention to Maybach.

This all goes back to what I, Rob and others have been saying all along. The Maybach 57 and 62 should have been Mercedes-Benzes in the first place. The Maybach 57 by Mercedes sounds good enough to me. Ditto for the 62. They could have featured bigger MB grilles and other visual tricks, but still be Mercedes'.

That said, what I'm hoping for is a new Maybach Sedan (think something like the current 57S in size/power with a cheap price to challenge the Arnage), Coupe (think Exelero) and Convertible (think Rolls Phantom Drophead) all based on a Maybach specific chassis or a heavily re-worked W221 chassis, that look nothing like a Mercedes. If MB can take the E and make it into a CLS surely they can take the W221 chassis and make something for Maybach that doesn't look like the S-Class. This is the best way to do it IMO because that way you don't have the Maybach sedans being upstaged by the S-Class and vice versa under the same brand. Maybachs are supposed to be "better". The next Maybach sedan design needs to be something outrageously beautiful or at stunning, but again not a Mercedes look-a-like.

M