????由于“邁巴赫”并不像戴姆勒或法拉利那樣家喻戶曉，因此奔馳花費了大量時間為這款車型打造一些個性。顧客可以像裝飾游艇一樣裝飾自己的車，花上幾個小時的時間選擇內飾的織物、顏色、皮革和木頭等。

????要想確定顧客愿意為這種奢侈品花費多少錢，一定要先做些研究。梅賽德斯奔馳將概念車空運到香港、摩納哥、紐約，然后對潛在買家進行民意調查。結果顯示有意購買豪車的顧客可能對價格并不是十分敏感，但是卻喜歡討價還價。有些顧客甚至要求贈品——比如買車時贈送一輛價值11.5萬美元的奔馳SL跑車作為贈品。

????奔馳在2002年將邁巴赫推向市場，當時引起了不小的轟動。美國市場上的第一臺邁巴赫是擺在一艘輪船的甲板上運到紐約市的，然后用一架直升飛機吊起來，運到華爾街附近的一個降落地點。威廉?邁巴赫的女兒已經垂垂老矣，但也出現在了該車的各種促銷活動上。整個場面都沸騰了。“根據我們的調查，有足夠的顧客有能力購買這樣一輛轎車，”奔馳銷售與市場總監喬阿希姆?施密特表示：“只要特性鮮明，就有機會賣出1,000臺。”

????當然，邁巴赫顯然不夠特別。它成了一輛非常昂貴的禮賓車。賓利和勞斯萊斯背后都有各自的歷史。而且雖說勞斯萊斯的顧客大多都有自己的司機，但偶爾在必要的時候也會自己親自開車。而邁巴赫從來沒有宣稱自己是一輛適合車主自駕的轎車。許多汽車記者在評測時都堅持要親手開上一會兒，才肯給出正面的評價，但最后還是被請到了后排座位上。所有的活動都是在后排座位上進行的，邁巴赫的后排座位可以像飛機的商務艙座位一樣向后方傾斜，而且還有頭枕和延伸出來的踏腳板。坐在這兒的幸運大佬可以使用車內的冰箱、雪茄保濕盒，以及其它一些奔馳公司覺得對于上流社會人士十分重要的物件。

????但邁巴赫并未引起上流社會的共鳴。即便在中國豪車市場飛速發展的情況下，邁巴赫的銷量也仍然止步不前。很快人們就看出這個品牌陷入了麻煩，而奔馳公司也明智地沒有花錢為邁巴赫的產品線升級換代。據《汽車新聞》（Automotive News）報道，2010年，邁巴赫這個將滿10歲的品牌在全球只賣出了157臺轎車，而同年寶馬卻賣出了2,711臺售價相差無幾的勞斯萊斯。

????邁巴赫就此安歇了，但奔馳并不會放棄超豪華汽車市場。奔馳計劃將產品線中最高級的S級轎車由當前的3款車型擴展成6款車型，而最新一代的旗艦車型也將于2013年推出。

????我們希望這一次它不會再以一個造飛艇的家伙來命名。

????譯者：樸成奎

????Since "Maybach" was not exactly a household name like Daimler or Ferrari, Mercedes worked overtime to create some personality for its cars. Customers were expected to equip their autos the way they would a yacht, spending hours selecting fabrics, colors, hides, and woods.

????Determining exactly how much customers were willing to pay for this kind of extravagance required some research. Mercedes flew the concept car to Hong Kong, Monaco, and New York City to poll potential buyers. It discovered that customers may not have been very price-sensitive, but they did appreciate a bargain. Some even asked for freebies -- like a $115,000 Mercedes SL roadster -- to be included with their purchase.

????Mercedes brought Maybach to market with a splash in 2002. For the U.S., it shipped the first car to New York on the deck of a ship and lifted it by helicopter to a landing place near Wall Street. The aging daughter of Wilhelm Maybach was enlisted to appear at various promotional events. The atmosphere was frothy. "Based on our research, there are enough customers who are able to afford such a car," said Joachim Schmidt, head of Mercedes's sales and marketing. "If you deliver something very special, then you have a chance to sell 1,000 cars."

????Not special enough, apparently. The Maybach turned out to be a very expensive limo. Bentley and Rolls had histories behind them, and while the Rolls customer expected to be driven in his car, he could, in a pinch, drive it himself. Maybach never made a pretense of being an owner-driven vehicle. Automotive journalists, many of whom insist upon sitting behind the wheel before making a positive judgment on a vehicle, were offered rides as passengers instead. All the action was in the rear seats that reclined like those in an airplane's business class, with pillowed headrests and extended footrests. The lucky rider could access in-car refrigerators, cigar humidors and other appurtenances thought to be essential for membership in the upper classes.

????It just didn't compute. Even the booming luxury car market in China wasn't enough to move Maybach off the starting line. It quickly became apparent that the brand was in trouble, and Mercedes sensibly never invested in updating the model line. In 2010 only 157 Maybachs -- from a brand nearly a decade old -- were sold globally, according to Automotive News, while BMW moved 2,711 similarly priced Rolls.

????With Maybach put to rest, Mercedes won't be abandoning the ultra-luxury segment. It plans to expand its top-of-the line Mercedes segment -- the S-Class -- to six variations from the current three when a new generation of the flagship model is launched in 2013.

????One hopes that it doesn't decide to name them after a guy who designed blimps.