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American Morning

Pricey Wheels: Look at Maybach

Aired January 07, 2003 - 07:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From the look of some of the cars featured in this year's Detroit International Auto Show, you would not know right now that we're in the middle of some challenging economic times.
Get this now: Among the models featured, the Bently Arnage, which goes for about $200,000. Inside of this car there is a 22-inch plasma television. Also, the Cadillac Sixteen, it features a silk carpet inside, crystal champagne flutes. And the Rolls-Royce Phantom, it starts at $333,000 -- it starts at that price -- and includes a glove box humidor (ph). Creative marketing certainly.

Jeff Flock is standing by in Detroit now with more on another luxury car that's being called a private jet on wheels.

Is that what they say -- Jeff? Hello.

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They say, Bill, why bother to fly on an airplane? It's a pain in the neck anyway, and you could go in luxury if you go ahead and take the new Maybach. This is the Maybach 62 inch wheel base here. Wayne Killen is the brand manager.

It blows you away, doesn't it, $300,000?

WAYNE KILLEN, MAYBACH BRAND MANAGER: I think it does, but there's a lot of car here as well.

FLOCK: Show me why. And maybe I'll get in. As I said, I do -- I'm kind of critical of these reporters that climb into these cars. But go ahead and go around (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I guess that's the only way to truly get a sense of what this is about.

Now, this is already reclined, this seat that I got into. This is a first-class airplane seat that I'm in here?

KILLEN: Exactly. You can see it reclines to a full nearly horizontal position for absolute comfort. The seat is massaged, it's heated.

FLOCK: That's right. I've just got to hit a button, and I get all sorts of things happening.

KILLEN: Exactly, exactly.

FLOCK: Now, you've got audio, video...

KILLEN: A Boise 21 speaker, 600 watt sound system that provides home theater to each seating position.

FLOCK: And what's the deal on these?

KILLEN: These are the world's first wireless surround sound headphones for a car, and this enables the passenger to the rear to watch two independent video programs on the monitors.

FLOCK: Gotcha. The other thing is this ceiling here, and I don't know if Rick (ph) is able to see exactly. Maybe we could get somebody to put their hand up there. I don't know if they can. But what's the deal on this ceiling?

KILLEN: This is called an electric transparent roof. It's actually a world's first innovation. There's a special glass that by changing the voltage in the glass, you can vary the amount of sunlight coming through the glass. So, from transparent to opaque. It creates a nice feeling inside the car.

FLOCK: I'm looking at a phone and a refrigerator here.

KILLEN: Yes, standard refrigerator built in with a champagne service, as you can see here. The glasses don't fall out unless you pull them straight up.

FLOCK: I've got to ask you, how much is too much? Is this excess?

KILLEN: We don't think so at all. Our customers are very enthusiastic about this vehicle, and I think there's always been a place in the market for a very small quantity of super exclusive cars like this.

FLOCK: Now, the man that runs your company said there's about 8,000 people in the world that can afford this car.

KILLEN: Yes, on a yearly basis.

FLOCK: And he says, "We know who they are."

KILLEN: Yes, we do.

FLOCK: You're marketing specifically to these people.

KILLEN: Absolutely. It's not a mass-market car. We're going very into the niche (ph) that these people live. The response has been overwhelming.

FLOCK: And if we get a war with Iraq and all sorts of terrible economic trouble, were (ph) you thinking about that market?

KILLEN: We think in this segment, it's somewhat more resilient. And again, we're talking 400 to 500 cars a year in the U.S. In a 17- million-unit market, it's not a huge factor.

FLOCK: OK. Well, there you go, Bill. I don't know that any of us talking this morning can -- are in that 8,000 number, but if we want to see what the speedometer is reading in the backseat of a car, this is the car in which you can do it.

HEMMER: Holy cow.

FLOCK: Back to you.

HEMMER: Wow! Really nice stuff, Jeff. Enjoy that champagne, too, will you?

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired January 7, 2003 - 07:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From the look of some of the cars featured in this year's Detroit International Auto Show, you would not know right now that we're in the middle of some challenging economic times.
Get this now: Among the models featured, the Bently Arnage, which goes for about $200,000. Inside of this car there is a 22-inch plasma television. Also, the Cadillac Sixteen, it features a silk carpet inside, crystal champagne flutes. And the Rolls-Royce Phantom, it starts at $333,000 -- it starts at that price -- and includes a glove box humidor (ph). Creative marketing certainly.

Jeff Flock is standing by in Detroit now with more on another luxury car that's being called a private jet on wheels.

Is that what they say -- Jeff? Hello.

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They say, Bill, why bother to fly on an airplane? It's a pain in the neck anyway, and you could go in luxury if you go ahead and take the new Maybach. This is the Maybach 62 inch wheel base here. Wayne Killen is the brand manager.

It blows you away, doesn't it, $300,000?

WAYNE KILLEN, MAYBACH BRAND MANAGER: I think it does, but there's a lot of car here as well.

FLOCK: Show me why. And maybe I'll get in. As I said, I do -- I'm kind of critical of these reporters that climb into these cars. But go ahead and go around (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I guess that's the only way to truly get a sense of what this is about.

Now, this is already reclined, this seat that I got into. This is a first-class airplane seat that I'm in here?

KILLEN: Exactly. You can see it reclines to a full nearly horizontal position for absolute comfort. The seat is massaged, it's heated.

FLOCK: That's right. I've just got to hit a button, and I get all sorts of things happening.

KILLEN: Exactly, exactly.

FLOCK: Now, you've got audio, video...

KILLEN: A Boise 21 speaker, 600 watt sound system that provides home theater to each seating position.

FLOCK: And what's the deal on these?

KILLEN: These are the world's first wireless surround sound headphones for a car, and this enables the passenger to the rear to watch two independent video programs on the monitors.

FLOCK: Gotcha. The other thing is this ceiling here, and I don't know if Rick (ph) is able to see exactly. Maybe we could get somebody to put their hand up there. I don't know if they can. But what's the deal on this ceiling?

KILLEN: This is called an electric transparent roof. It's actually a world's first innovation. There's a special glass that by changing the voltage in the glass, you can vary the amount of sunlight coming through the glass. So, from transparent to opaque. It creates a nice feeling inside the car.

FLOCK: I'm looking at a phone and a refrigerator here.

KILLEN: Yes, standard refrigerator built in with a champagne service, as you can see here. The glasses don't fall out unless you pull them straight up.

FLOCK: I've got to ask you, how much is too much? Is this excess?

KILLEN: We don't think so at all. Our customers are very enthusiastic about this vehicle, and I think there's always been a place in the market for a very small quantity of super exclusive cars like this.

FLOCK: Now, the man that runs your company said there's about 8,000 people in the world that can afford this car.

KILLEN: Yes, on a yearly basis.

FLOCK: And he says, "We know who they are."

KILLEN: Yes, we do.

FLOCK: You're marketing specifically to these people.

KILLEN: Absolutely. It's not a mass-market car. We're going very into the niche (ph) that these people live. The response has been overwhelming.

FLOCK: And if we get a war with Iraq and all sorts of terrible economic trouble, were (ph) you thinking about that market?

KILLEN: We think in this segment, it's somewhat more resilient. And again, we're talking 400 to 500 cars a year in the U.S. In a 17- million-unit market, it's not a huge factor.

FLOCK: OK. Well, there you go, Bill. I don't know that any of us talking this morning can -- are in that 8,000 number, but if we want to see what the speedometer is reading in the backseat of a car, this is the car in which you can do it.

HEMMER: Holy cow.

FLOCK: Back to you.

HEMMER: Wow! Really nice stuff, Jeff. Enjoy that champagne, too, will you?

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.