Pops' Rants: And the Award for the Worst Car Design of 2018 Goes to Mercedes-Maybach

TopSpeed

By Alex Oagana

Published Apr 27, 2018

Now this is one awful concept car!

I know we usually hand out awards for the best and worst of the auto industry at the end of the year, but I'm going to start early in 2018 and give Mercedes-Maybach a medal for the worst car design of the year. And the award goes to the Vision Ultimate Luxury, which made its debut among a handful of China-exclusive vehicles at the 2018 Beijing Auto Show. Yes, it's that ugly!

Continue reading for the full story.

Yeah, I know, it's a luxury car that promises the moon and the stars and all that jazz, but I wouldn't be caught dead in it. It's the kind of car that would get you in trouble with your neighbors if you park it in front of your house. Just like the Pontiac Aztek. Huh, well what do you know, the Vision Ultimate Luxury might be the Pontiac Aztek of the 21st century. Well no, it's actually worst than that. At least Pontiac was desperate to save itself with something new and daring. All Maybach has to do is stop selling revised Mercedes models and stop experimenting with body styles.

Okay, so the design isn't awful overall. I like the front end. It's based on the cool Vision 6 concept and it looks like something that might get Rolls-Royce worried. I also don't mind the higher ground clearance. Sedan's don't need to stick close to the ground to look good and I like it when automakers are trying to do something different. But that rear end. Oh boy, it just doesn't work. Why the hell would you combine the utilitarian looks of an SUV with the rear end of a notchback sedan? Because the two body styles are popular? That's not good enough. Subcompacts and pickup trucks are popular too, this doesn't mean that Volkswagen should build a pickup truck version of the Polo.

Just check out that profile. It looks like the kind of car that the hunchback of Notre Dame would use in the 21st century. Because it looks a lot like him! The upright C-pillar, the short deck lid, the tall rear fascia. All recipes for disaster. Why didn't Maybach just stick with the classic SUV body styles for this one? It would have been perfect. A competitor for the Bentley Bentayga. Just what the company needs! But Mercedes had to go wild and design a body style that no one wants anyway. Bold? No, just drunk.

The fact that the Vision Ultimate Luxury is a concept vehicle makes matters even worse. Concepts are supposed to lead the way, to show us what the future has in store. Well, this isn't the future I want. If sedans with short, butt-ugly rear ends and SUV-style ground clearance are the future, I'm buying a horse and a cowboy hat. Screw it, I'm going home!