So......anyone interest in this car?

me ...i am not for sure....is a CHYSLER

Kevin

 

chrysler and benz are sister companies

 

But can you compare a Neon to a Maybach

Even they are the sister companies......

Kevin

 

in its defense, it is built on the 203 chassis, has many parts from the benz tech bin, and was designed by karmann, the folks that brought you the convertible c coupe (or tried to)

its the only chrylser i would ever even consider buying

 

well hopefully ill get to drive a maybach in a few months and ill let ya know how it compares to a town and country.

 

Actually, it's based on the 170 chassis.

 

Ill date myself by stating that I remeber when "crossfire" was on the hoods of Corvettes- some sort of bizarre attempt at fuel injection.

Hey- at least is a Benz beneath all that bulbous DC body work. Hmmm- can you say Kompressor???

 

I can only imagine what the mechanics at Chuck's Chrysler/Dodge in Lapdance, Montana will think of the first Chrysler Misfire that pulls into the service bay. They'll have no familiarity at all with any of the Mercedes-Benz operating systems in that car. If I owned one, I'd probably rather take it to a Benz dealer for any kind of service.

 

Actually, Benz bought Chrysler (for pennies) to save it from bankrupcy. So you might say that Chrysler is the baby Benz instead of a SLK.

 

Ya might want to check your history on that one...

 

We (Chrysler Group) used to account for 47% of DaimlerChrysler. Our annual profits were equal to all of DaimlerBenz and we had a third of the workforce. We also brought over $12B in cash to the table that has been paying for our loses, company restructuring and future product development for both companies.
NOTE: Jurgen Schremp wanted to merge with Ford, but the Ford family wouldn't allow it. Chrysler was second choice.

When we first merged the two companies were being run totally independently. In the past year or so we have been restructured to better benefit from the merger. Jurgen Schremp has sent Dieter Zetshe (Freightliner) and Wolfgang Bernhard (AMG) to get the Chrysler Group back to profitibility. We were in need of a restructuring plan because we had to run our plants at 121% to breakeven and now that has been reduced to only 81%. We trived in the late 90's by building lots of high profit SUVs, Trucks and Minivans. These volumes were produced with costly overtime, but it didn't matter then, because the market supported these levels. Yes, we got fat and happy. Times are tough, but we have to move forward with future products.

With Dieter and Wolfgang at the helm we are now beginning to take advantage of DamilerChrysler. As shown with the Chrysler Crossfire we are beginning to share parts and technology. The Crossfire is 40% MB! Chrysler Group is also tooling up to build a MB five-speed automatic transmission in Kokoma, IN for the upcoming Chrysler Group RWD Large cars (300, Intrepid and Concorde) for 2004/2005MY. These new RWD vehicles will utilize MB E-Class electronics, seat frames, axles and many other parts. The engine choices will be our 250hp 3.5L alum V-6 or new 345+hp 5.7L alum V-8. Development is underway with our other partners, Mitsubishi and Hyundai to build a new Neon/Lancer world car for 2006MY. Note: Chrysler Group is paying for the MB technology, we get charged for MB R&D on any products we share.

We have also started our own AMG divison called PVO (Performance Vehicle Operations). This group will be bringing the 205hp Neon SRT-4 to market as well as the 500hp Ram SRT-10. Soon PVO will be showing off a Jeep Grand Cherokee with 350hp. Now don't expect our 7 year/100,000 powertrain warranty on these specialty cars.

If anyone is interested in learning more car-truck.com is a great site for Chrysler Group Buzz.

- Will

car-truck.com