Maybe I ought to start "Tom & Dan" (in the vain of Early & Adopter)...
Dan says:"...You mentioned the Maybach but didn't post a picture of it--was that one of the pictures that didn't turn out? I've seen lots of Maybach pictures before, but the particular vehicle on display was exceptionally beautiful and a perfect example of a Maybach with its game face on. Curiously, "official" DC pictures of the Maybach show a vehicle in plain black that doesn't look much different from a "plebian" S600, so any pictures you could post of the example from the show would be nice to have.
Also, to be technically accurate, a Maybach is not "Mercedes-Benz' ultra high end model". The car is obviously derived from a Mercedes platform and shares some body panels and interior appoinments with the S, but it is being marketed as a distinct DaimlerChrysler brand. A true-blue DC marketing guy will insist that the Maybach is not a Mercedes (and obviously not a Chrysler), but that it is "built in the fine tradition of Mercedes-Benz".
It will be interesting to see if DC continues to distance Maybach from Mercedes-Benz--thereby risking the exclusivity of the Mercedes brand by limiting its upper end--or if they will do what historically happens in this case, which would be to build up the Maybach brand, then fold it into Mercedes later on as a model line that sits above the S-class.
Interestingly, this is not unlike Ford's effort with the original Continental or Chrysler's effort with the Imperial. It's probably hard for most people to think of either of these brands as super-cars, but the Continental--as a distinct brand--was sought after by celebrities and world leaders as companions to their Rolls Royces. So chic was the Continental name that it was still considered a car for the ultra-rich into the early seventies, long after it had been folded into Lincoln.
Imperial was strictly an American phenomenom, but it also enjoyed semi-super-car status in the late 50's and early 60's. Chrysler even strictly limited its marketing efforts to Doctors and Lawyers, although the Imperial was also a staple among Hollywood celebrities, who tended to keep at least one Imperial among their obligatory collection of Cadillacs. It's also worth noting that Imperial is a slight deviation from this practice of creating super-car brands in that it started life as a production Chrysler, then separated into a distint brand in the 50s', then reunited with Chrysler after 1975, then separated again in 1980 and reunited again a few years later. (BTW, the 1980-1983 Imperial is on Dan's top-10 list of most beautiful cars ever produced.) :)
Okay, okay, I know you're dying to know whether Cadillac ever launched a super-car brand. :) Cadillac marketed a super-car twice, but each time under the Cadillac name: the Cadillac V16 of 1931-1940 and the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham of 1957-1960. Both lost money with each unit sold and were discontinued after they had served their purpose of establishing or retaining Cadillac's exclusive standing in their day.
Other ventures outside Cadillac's traditional price class (i.e. into upper-end Mercedes territory but below super-car status) include the original 1953 Eldorado, the 1987-1993 Allante, and now the XLR. The '53 Eldorado was always intended to be a volume car after its first year, and it was difficult to maintain the distinction of the Allante after the introduction of the much improved (and much cheaper than Allante) Northstar Seville and Eldorado in '92 and '93. In fact, if the XLR is successful and remains in its $75K+ price range for a few years, it would be the an exception to the rule at Cadillac.
Shoot, you got me started again. I meant for this to be a two-liner thanking you for the pictures! ..."
1:00:57 PM 
|
|
