2003 Maybach Preview
What is a Maybach? It might just be the most luxuriously appointed, exquisitely constructed automobile ever created. Who makes it? While Maybach is a distinct and separate brand it is now manufactured by DaimlerChrysler AG. But why does the multi-brand carmaker holding the revered Mercedes-Benz line of vehicles need to create a loftier image? Isn't the M-B brand synonymous with European luxury? Yes and no. Yes in North America where Mercedes-Benz enjoys nothing but premium vehicle status, but not necessarily to Europe. While Europeans rightfully respect Mercedes-Benz as the maker of some of the highest quality cars in the world, the company's three pointed star adorns taxi cabs and industrial machines as often as it does sports cars and premium sedans. What's more, this same 'manual labor' scenario is played out in most every other jurisdiction in the world, other than the U.S. and Canada. Thus to go further upscale it needs a separate identity, elevated above working class status.