We really don’t know what Mercedes is doing here. On the one hand, they are morally and ethically corrupt for not giving two fs about their workers in Spain during the early stages of the covid pandemic. And on the other hand they were willing participants in the dieselgate scandal. Dieselgate was so bad they were subsequently forced into a corner to go electric by the political establishment. This indicates that their onboarding to a sustainable pure electric future is merely lip service. And they rolled out the suits, the marketing, and PR to rubber-stamp their commitment to switch from gasoline cars to electric by 2030, that they didn’t envisage. Even though we know it is all being done through gritted teeth, we here at DCBHQ stand in line to applaud Mercedes… through gritted teeth.

However Mercedes could have sent a message with the Maybach S680. They could and should have re-engineered this overpriced S Class to run on a pure electric drivetrain. They already have a small but growing range of electric cars. The technology is there. And it would have sent a message that the S Class moving away from luxury combustion engines to luxury batteries and electric motors. It would have been a great message of hope and change. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it would have made a statement of intent. But nope… Mercedes ‘done’ it, they ‘done’ it again, just as they always ‘done’ it again.

Like a drug addict trying to hide the failure of their personal recovery commitments, Mercedes decided to stick with the V8 and V12 combustion engines. Prices start from £162K and £204K respectively. And while nothing can replace the drama of a V8 and V12, and electric never will, they could have shown the way forward to an inevitable future they tried with all their corporate power to stop.

But nope, they can’t help themselves, the Maybach S 680 is laughing in the face of everything they now pretend to stand for. And the final oddity. The press release states that the Maybach S 680 has an mpg rating of 25mph. As though the individual buying such a car really cares about how much fuel they use or can afford. The Mercedes Maybach S 680… it could have been a contender, it could have been something, instead of the worst car of the week on so many levels.