The Last Line of Luxury

Unless your name is Adolf and your surname Hitler, nationalism and national pride is a very good thing and something that must be actively promoted. In the modern age of globalisation and cultural monotony, it is nice to know that there are stereotypes and institutions in place that allow a nation to stand out amongst peers, breaking through from the homogenised mulch the world has descended into. The Irish are now known as infamous drinkers, Germans are notoriously boring and efficient, America is one large cheeseburger and the French have a strange obsession with onions. But what of Britain? Barring the inevitable references to the slightly moisture-rich climate and a seemingly daft obsession with tradition, tea and royalty, Britain has now become the last bastion of something the public at large never knew was disappearing, the luxury car.

Bland styling mirroring national identity

It is essential though that one does not confuse the term luxury car with the definition given to luxury by the country that defines vulgarity, the United States of America. The country that gave us Las Vegas and spray-on cheese seems to think that luxury is creating a car that is a nerd's wet dream with more kit and gadgetry than Microsoft, whilst over in Britain, luxury is defined by comfort and peace and quiet. Or in other words, being civilised. Britain now has the right to the domain of the luxury car due to the demise of the last non-British luxury car maker, Maybach. Mercedes recently confirmed that the giant luxo-barges, available in enormous 57 or stratospheric 62 sizes, would be pulled from production leaving only Rolls Royce, and in some part Bentley to cater for the market.

The demise of the renowned German marque brings to light the difference between the British sense of luxury and that of the rest of the world. Rolls Royce perceives luxury to be more than loads of kit and shag pile but also that a car's interior must have an ambiance of serenity. The sound-proofing of a Rolls Royce phantom dominates the design and structure of the car to the point that where a Maybach would aim to blast you with its million watt audio system, the Phantom aims to soothe your brow and protect your ears from the attack of east coast rappers. And it would be rappers, because this was the Maybach's second downfall, it's clientele. Recent popular culture icons favoured the levels of gadgetry and one even made a convertible Maybach, whereas the Phantom is for those dressed in dinner jackets, not straightjackets. The look of the Maybach also proved to be far less appealing to potential buyers, so much so that it could be said that the Maybach mirrors the dull, humourless reputation that the Germans have become known for, in the automotive equivalent of a dog resembling its owner.

Automotive stiff upper lip

With the recently refreshed Range Rover and new Jaguar XJ catering for those whose bank accounts aren't measured in six figures, it seems that Britain can claim to be the stereotypical purveyor of good taste and class in the automotive world and I for one salute this image. Now, what to do with the football hooligans?