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Wilhelm Maybach is like Rodney Dangerfield - he just don't get no respect.
Or at least, cars named after him don't seem to last very long.
Maybach was one of the great automotive engineers in the early years of the industry, designing engines for Gottlieb Daimler (including the one that went into the first Mercedes in 1902), eventually becoming technical director of Daimler.
He left in 1907 to run his own engine-building company, and after World War I branched into producing luxury cars of the highest order.
The firm actually survived The Great Depression of the 1930s, but not World War II.
Daimler-Benz had always felt that its Mercedes-Benz brand could encompass the entire range of automotive products.
But when arch-rival BMW acquired Rolls-Royce and was about to introduce the uber-luxury Phantom - we're talking mid-six-figure range here - Daimler-Benz decided it needed a new brand name to compete head-on, and chose to honour one of the company's forbears.
In 2002, the Maybach was launched in two series, the 57 and stretched 62 variant.
The interiors were spacious and sumptuous, but even at the time, there was criticism that too much of the car was Mercedes - unlike the Rolls-Royce Phantom, where the only BMW bits were hidden from view, much of Maybach's switchgear and other visible components were straight out of the S-Class parts bin.
What's the point of spending all that loot if what you see and touch is no different from what the plebes living down the hill are driving?
Then there was the styling. One critic said it reminded him of a (contemporary) Hyundai Sonata on bad drugs, which didn't make him too popular with either Mercedes or Hyundai.
Oh yeah, that was me...
In any event, Maybach sales failed to live up to expectations, and Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler-Benz, announced recently that the marque will be discontinued in 2013.
Sorry, Wilhelm. Better luck next time.
...or is that a thorn between two roses?
This shot was taken this past Saturday at the Canadian-Belgian-Russian wave of the International press launch of the new 2012 Porsche 911 near Santa Barbara California.
The greenish one in the middle is the new car, a Carrera S.
The silver car on the left is a 997, the outgoing model, this particular one I think maybe two or three years old.
The red one on the right is a 993, the last of the air-cooled Porsches. It's a Carrera 4S four-wheel drive, perfect for our climate.
Not in this shot is a 1986 Club Sport, the first prototype - serial number 001 - of this variant. 250 horsepower from 3.2 litres, a little dodgy in the front end, 'tractor' gearbox.
Porsche may have made a wee tactical error in bringing this fleet of old 911s from their museum for us to drive at this event.
Why?
Because the old cars are simply brilliant.
They all drove beautifully.
The Club Sport was particularly endearing - so raw, so fast, so full of character.
Even 911 fans who have not driven the new car but have only read speculation about it are worried that it might be 'too good', might have lost the edge which has made the 911 such a terrific drivers' car over its nearly half-century of existence.
Sure, nobody wants their brand-new Porsche to spin back-end-first into the first ditch it sees.
But if the car doesn't scare you just a little bit, is it really a 911?
Now I have never really lusted after old Porsches.
Then I drove these.
The Hornet might just have to move over.
More on the 2012 911 in this weekend's Wheels.
Internet access willing - and that's a big maybe at this show - here's the Infiniti JX I promised you yesterday.
The seven-passenger crossover, built on the 'D' platform which also underpins such as Nissan Maxima and Quest, brings Infiniti into a new segment, one that continues to grow.
Its target, to judge from Nissan North America's chief designer Alfonso Albaisa's constant references, is the Audi Q7, although there are quite a few contenders in the premium mid-size Crossover field.
Among JX's selling propositions will be a new emphasis on interior luxury, reflecting Japanese traditions in craftsmanship, instead of mimicking German or British influences as most competitive Japanese manufacturers have done.
Infiniti tried this before with the first Q45 luxury sedan, and the North American buyer basically wasn't interested.
Albaisa feels the time is now.
Such things as new ways of applying lacquer to wood trim pieces give the JX a unique ambiance.
And while the interior is not made of paper, some of the design motifs used in ancient Japanese paper-making techniques are reflected in JX's interior.
A shame I couldn't get close enough to the car to take snaps of the interior - I'll update this when I can.
And yes, that IS the 'crescent-cut' rear roof pillar.
One of the advantages of getting to an Auto Show early - you get to see rehearsals and get a jump on the competition.
This is the XTS, the mid-size sedan which will be (I think...) the first Cadillac to be built in Canada. Production starts next spring in Oshawa.
The XTS is bigger than CTS, and will be pitched against Mercedes-Benz E Class, BMW 5-Series, Audi A6, et al. Cadillac claims it has more passenger space than any of them.
The 3.6 litre V6 engine drives all four wheels through a six-speed automatic. Full-time four-wheel drive, Magnetic Ride Control and Brembo brakes are standard.
XTS also introduces CUE - Cadillac User Experience - a system that Cadillac says brings in-car connectivity to a new level. This will migrate into other Cadillacs in the coming months.
Is it possible to make the Jaguar XK-RS look dull?
No.
But if it WERE possible, this might be the car to do it.
The C-X16 concept retains Jaguar's traditional front-engine rear-drive sports coupe concept, but with modern technology.
A 3.0 litre supercharged direct injection V6 - essentially, six-eighths of the company's V8 - produces 380 horsepower.
A lithium-ion battery, recharged on deceleration from a generator/motor contained within the rear axle, pumps in an additional 95 horsepower on demand, a system modelled after the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) units used in Formula One race cars.
0 - 100 km/h takes a mere 4.4 seconds.
But when it looks this good, who cares how fast it can go?
No production plans have been announced, but they'd be nuts not to do something like this.
After being out of the North American market for a couple of years, Hyundai introduces a new Azera.
Sized between Sonata and Genesis, Hyundai is pitching the front-wheel drive four-door Azera as a 'large sedan', up against such as Buick Lacrosse, Ford Taurus, Nissan Maxima and Toyota Avalon.
A 3.3 litre direct injection gasoline V6 engine driving the front wheels through a six-speed automatic gives Azera better-than-most power and what Hyundai claims is “best in class combined highway / urban fuel economy."
Amplitude Selective Dampers from German suspension experts Sachs are said to provide a smooth ride while retaining precise handling.
Could this be another winner from the Korean juggernaut? For sure.
But only in the US, apparently. I just found out that Hyundai Canada doesn't plan to import this car.
OK, so they've got market research coming out their ying-yangs, and I've only got gut feel.
But I think they're making a mistake...
We drove the Mazda CX-5 SUV with SKYACTIV technologies earlier this year in Iceland.
Now at LA, the real thing emerges.
It will be a 2013 model, and is about as all-new as it gets - new chassis, new body, new powertrains.
A 2.0 litre direct injection gasoline engine with the choice of six speed manual or automatic transmissions and front- or four-wheel drive should give the CX-5 a good shot at the still-burgeoning compact SUV market.
No Diesel engine yet though - apparently that's still a year away.
One of the advantages of getting to an Auto Show early - you get to see rehearsals and get a jump on the competition.
This is the XTS, the mid-size sedan which will be (I think...) the first Cadillac to be built in Canada. Production starts next spring in Oshawa.
The XTS is bigger than CTS, and will be pitched against Mercedes-Benz E Class, BMW 5-Series, Audi A6, et al. Cadillac claims it has more passenger space than any of them.
The 3.6 litre V6 engine drives all four wheels through a six-speed automatic. Full-time four-wheel drive, Magnetic Ride Control and Brembo brakes are standard.
XTS also introduces CUE - Cadillac User Expeience - a system that Cadillac says brings in-car connectivity to a new level. This will migrate into other Cadillacs in the coming months.
