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May 1, 2007
A recent report finds sales of DaimlerChrysler's Maybach ultra uxury limo continue to be disappointing and having inspected one at the recent New York Auto Show, it doesn't surprise me. I mean, who are they making these things for?
For those of you who haven't seen one, the Mercedes-Benz Maybach is a giganto limo - the Maybach 62 is so long its rear seats can fully recline - that costs in the neighborhood of $300,000 to $450,000.
But those rear seats look to me so plush as to be almost claustophobic. Sure, they can be raised lowered, heated and some even have magic massage fingers. And they are surrounded by a bevy of conveniences - TV, wi-fi, refrigerator, writing table, etc etc. The roof can be programmed to be clear or opaque and black curtains can be drawn all round the rear compartment to allow for a complete snooze. (I was going to say privacy, but that might imply hanky-panky and it's hard to imagine that being much fun in such a cluttered environment.)
No, the Mercedes-Benz Maybach seems to be built for a passive lifetyle, for the kind of rich old codger or haughty dowager of a bygone age. By contrast, we live in an age dominated by the notion of an active lifestyle.
For example, it may be sour grapes, but I don't think most baby boomers are attracted to the eternal holiday style of retirement. To be sure, many of us will keep working because we need to. But many of us, from all walks of life, want to keep involved.
And that goes for wealthy moguls. Sure it's fun to be driven around, but not in a cocoon of luxury. Wealth today buys the active lifestyle for old and and young and to many it's more prestigious to be seen driving, or being driven in, a luxury power monster BMW or Bentley than to be seen lolling in the back seat of a luxury limo.
I may be wrong - I usually am - but somehow I don't see Kirk Kerkorian (89) looking passively out from behind the curtains of a Mercedes-Benz Maybach.
Posted by 
at 9:47 AM to Companies
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