#maybach

The number-crunchers have been earning their keep the last few weeks. With their mathematical weapon of choice in hand, be it a calculator, tally counter or even a trusty abacus, they’ve kept an exacting total of how many vehicles automakers sold over the past 12 months. How did things shake out? Which brand nearly doubled its sales for the year?

As 2012 winds to an end, AutoGuide looks back at all the vehicles that received the axe this year, some that will be missed, while others surely won’t be.

Last year in November, Mercedes made the decision to give its ultra-luxury Maybach brand the axe. That day has finally come, as the German automaker confirmed that all Maybach models will be discontinued for the 2013 model year.

It’s hard to imagine if you could ever afford a Maybach 57 that you’d just abandon it somewhere, but one owner did just that out on the French Coast.

With Daimler losing almost $500,000 for each Maybach sold, it’s no surprise that the luxury brand has been laid to rest . And now to help move the remaining inventory of 23 models, Maybach dealers have been granted an astonishing $100,000 cash in direct-to-dealer discounts.

Car enthusiasts probably cringed during Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Otis” video as the duo mangled a Maybach 57, but the joke seems to be on them now.

The irreverently-altered Maybach was supposed to bring between and estimated $100,000 and $150,000 at auction. That money was meant to go, at least in part, to the Save the Children Charity.

Unfortunately, as the audacious music stars learned, people don’t really like the idea of spending that kind of money on what amounts to a disfigured and outdated Maybach. The car earned $60,000 — an less than a quarter of its original value. While that’s chump change to own an ultra-exclusive Maybach (especially because the company is gone), it’s still a lot to pay for junk.

It’s too bad one of the music moguls didn’t just “give” it to the other as a memento of the video shoot. They could have collectively donated more to the charity without breaking much of a sweat. Heck it wasn’t so long ago that Birdman gave his brother and Lil Wayne Rolls-Royce Ghost and Bentley Mulsanne respectively.

Nonetheless, Save the Children is probably grateful for whatever money it got, regardless of wasted potential. At least it still raised more than Justin Bieber‘s Hyundai Genesis, though even that is questionable considering the Hyundai sold for more than its original MSRP.

You can watch the music video after the break.

Although Daimler has announced the discontinuation of the Maybach brand, young money ballers, shot-callers now have the opportunity to bid on what’s arguably the most notorious Maybach of all.

Starring in the Jay-Z and Kanye West “Otis” music video, the chopped “Mad Max” Maybach will be put on the block by auction house Phillips de Pury & Co. at the New York Contemporary Art Evening sale on March 8. All proceeds of the Maybach auction will be donated to Save the Children. Previously, this vehicle was also up for auction to benefit the victims of drought in East Africa.

Burning rubber in four-wheel drifts and spitting fire in the process, Rockafella’s insane whip is estimated to raise between $100,000 to $150,000. Considering Jay-Z and Kanye’s handiwork left us with half a car, it seems appropriate for its estimate to be half the value of a Maybach 57 when new.

When Mercedes-Benz announced the termination of its superluxury Maybach brand, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said succinctly, “It would not be sensible to develop a successor model for the current Maybach.”

With Maybach being axed, again, Bentley is now looking to entice some of the brand’s top customers, including the likes of rapper J-Z, as well as the Sultan of Brunei and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

In Maybach‘s last full year of sales before the hyper-luxury brand will be shuttered for 2013, Daimler has increased the MSRP of Maybach’s 2012 line-up.

The list of the Top 10 most expensive new cars is even more shocking that you might expect. Released by Forbes, you can forget the Ferrari 458 or the $300,000 Lamborghini Aventador because even at the low end of the scale these models start at right around the one million mark.

Mercedes-Benz‘s Maybach luxury brand will be axed, much to the consternation of rappers (pictured above), athletes and insipid nouveau riche types everywhere.

Now according to sources, the union has broken before it even started, citing money issues. If the deal had stayed intact, Aston Martin would have built the next generation models of the Maybach 57 and 62. In return, Aston Martin would have benefited from Mercedes-Benz‘s hybrid technology, the 4.6-liter twin-turbo V8 and platforms for the 2012 M-class and 2013 S-class.

It’s fair to say that any ‘ordinary’ Maybach is a decidedly rare beast. So it comes as no surprise that this, the Edition 125 ranks as absolute hen’s teeth.

Despite being the only example in the world, the Maybach Exelero has been around the block a few times. First concieved as a concept car for Fulda Tires (who wanted to use the vehicle for tire testing), the Exelero then appeared in a Jay-Z video.