WannaBeAMG

agreed. the US has a handful of foriegn automakers who consistently produce quality products at factories in the good 'ol US of A. honda, toyota, nissan, bmw to name a few.

i think where a car is made has far less to do with the quality of a product than careful engineering, extensive testing, and strict quality control.


i think a big reason why MB's quality has slipped soo much in rescent years is they are growing thier product line too fast and putting too many resources into new technologies rather than perfecting the products they already have.

abhansali

Well I can understand the feelings of MB owners on this issue, but from a stock holder perspective (of which I am NOT BTW), seems like the merger is a great idea being wasted.

For example, they have a real opportunity to duplicate the successes of Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infiniti and Honda/Acura.
All of these pairs part share like crazy and certain models are almost the same with cosmetic changes. I believe the Camry and ES330 are made on the same manufacturing line.

From a stock holder perspective, think of the a situation where W211's (like E220s) with Classic Packages are imported into the US, some cosmetic changes made in the body and interior (take off the star!) and then sold as Chryslers or Dodges. The cost saving would be huge, they would probably be able to increase the brand recognition of the Chrysler / Dodge lineup, etc (customers would say "if I buy that Chrysler it is really just a low end MB"). Seems like the Japanese have been very effective making it work, DC has everything needed to make it work for them, but they have not pulled it all together and executed on it.....it seems like they are trying with some new models, but they could accelerate the process (for example, look how similar a 300M looks to the new CLS designs look, why not intro 2005 models of each as derivatives of the same chassis). same issue in my opinion with HP/Compaq merger.

Davel

This is nothing new, auto manufacturers have been doing it for a while. Saab uses a modified version of a GM's 6cylinder and the malibu platform. Jaguar's (the little one) interior has lots of
ford Tauras switches and dash parts and Jaguar was using MB trannies in the bigger models, range rover and rolls royce are using BMW v8s, and my wifes VW has tons of Audi connectors and alternator (darn no Porshe parts). Usually the Parent company will flow down its proven components to make the of brands more reliable, which means less money paid out on warranty claims. Daimler has lost a lot of money since aquiring Chrysler and can't afford to spend $$$ in new R&D for Chrysler. MB is their R&D product line. So why not flow down MB parts to improve the Chrysler product. In my opinion (never owned one) I always thought that Chrysler cars were some of the best and unique looking domestic cars. Sadly, quantity over quality is the game in the auto world now and its hurting a lot of the expensive and luxry brands, so maybe Chrysler's quantity with help MB's quality in the long run...

WannaBeAMG

i think what youre describing here is exactly what owners DONT want to see, MB's rebadged as something lesser and vice versa. the 2 will share parts, platforms, powertrains for shure but you wont see is an E-Class rebodied as a dodge/chrysler the way GM has done among its different nameplates for countless years (chevy tahoe/ GMC yukon/ Cadillac escalade, chevy camaro/ pontiac firebird, chevy cavelier/ pontic sunfire, chevy silverado/ GMC sierra, and on, and on..........) but with todays technology a shared platform can take on very different forms, example; the new Saab 9-3 and the brand new Chevy malibu, look at them and youd never guess.

another thing is that MB and Chrysler are seperate companies with completely seperate products. in the case of toyota/lexus, honda/acura, nissan/infinti those luxury names were created by thier parent company as way to sell premium cars based on existing products to markets like the U.S. and Europe, they werent seperate companies that merged together.



btw,


IMO the 300C or 300M looks nothing like the CLS

whatup?

I'm pretty sure the new Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum don't share the same platform with the new E-Class, I think they only share 20% of componentry. Does it really bother you that the new Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum share the same steering rack, seat frames, electrical system, and rear axle with the new E-Class? Since when have you noticed these things in your cars? These things are "invisible" to consumers and don't make a Benz a Benz or a Chrysler a Chrysler. It's just a good way to spread costs. And it's not like Chrysler parts will end up in a Benz. Chrysler cars are gaining all the benefit.

I think the biggest gains Chrysler gets from Benz is rear drive experience. The new large RWD Chryslers, along with the Pacifica, share suspension design, but not any actual parts with the new E-Class.

When platform sharing is visible to consumers, that's a problem (and the reason why Jaguar completely redesigned the S-Type interior in 2003). But with the Crossfire, actually seeing Benz parts is nothing to complain about.