Nevada Jack

http://forums.germancarfans.com/zerothread?id=14699

For those who said no AMG for the R Class may like to look at the above site. Wonder how many "looks like a Pacifica" remarks will be forthcoming now :p

S-Clusiv

It looks like a regular one with quad-pipes thats all..

TiMerc

Mate, look a bit harder!

Looks sensational I reckon, though I'm not entirely convinced there is much of a market for these cars.... I sure hope M-B have done their homework this time.

Nevada Jack

I think the market can do nothing more than improve over the next couple of years. This car will stir the juices and the BMW and other version on the drawing board will only serve to reinforce the concept. Once they put the diesel engine in this I think that will also spike the sales.

scorchie

There may not be much of a market, but that was true of a lot of the AMG cars. There weren't many W208 CLK55s, but the market grew and there are a lot of W209 CLK55s.

Regardless if there is a market or not, this is the vehicle I have been waiting for. I need to carry me and me mates to the slopes with all our snowboarding gear, and get there at high speed and with safety. And on runs all over California with equipment to install, it will be ideal. Yes, it fits my needs quite well. An E55 4Matic Estate would also fit the bill (with one less passenger and still the gear on the roof), but since it's not offered at this point...

-s-

david_101

the moment i saw the first spy pics of the R, i thought of the pacifica.

first jurgen shrimpp magic trick: MB transforms into chrysler (i.e. SLK > crossfire). used same features, such as ESP, without even changing names. how about that engine, huh?

second shrimpp magic trick: change chrysler into MB (i.e. pacifica > R).

presto-chango! here we have it folks, dilution of MB brand equity.

perhaps it's the marlboro chain-smoking that clouded his vision...

Nevada Jack

I agree somewhat with your thinking. But the Pacifica and the GST Concept came upon the scene about the same time...early 2002. Certainly the Pacifica made it to market first, but the comparison is strictly outline and concept. The cars are totally different in quality and performance and features.

However, that said...we are going to see more MoPar parts in some MB and we are going to see some MB in Chryslers. The competition requires it. I don't want to see the MB line diluted with a Chrysler either, but I don't have any control over it if I want to continue driving MB. You have Jaguar looking like Tauraus and Porcshe looking like VW...it will continue as the "world economy" works its thing.

As long as MB makes the cars that I like and use the materials and put in the quality I demand, then all this comparison stuff becomes moot to me. I like the R Class for what IT is, not for what it looks like in comparison to some other car. Wait till the BMW R Class hits the streets...it will copy something and probably the R Class concepts.

I agree..jerkin schrimp should have stayed out of Chrysler and made the MB name more powerful. His errors are catching up with him and the stockholder are not happy!

david_101

i believe that "world economy" is a red herring used to justify otherwise unfounded mergers.

it boils down to consolidation of power...with commensurate ego-equity fueled by compensation.

sharing parts did not require sharing styling cues and feature names. and it definitely did not require an all out merger.

i can say with near certainty that jerkin (as you aptly put it), along with other global CEOs, is thinking that the MB symbol is and will remain more important than the product.

accordingly, buyers will continue to pay for the halo shed by possessing an MB regardless of the parts that make the product, and how much other people know about where those parts come from and where else they're used.

signing off...

Wolfgang

His name is Jürgen Schrempp. Here is his email if you want to let him know of your comments as he's probably not reading this group.

Head of Board of Management
Prof. Jürgen E. Schrempp
juergen.schrempp@daimlerchrysler.com

Nevada Jack

Yeah Wolfgang...we know his real name...the jerkin schrimp fits him better though...:-)

Wolfgang

Nevada Jack, I prefer Jürgen Schrempp. Otherwise the email bounces.

david_101

frankly, it means little to me whether he reads my posts, or learns of my comments.

the fellow knows precisely the charge he's leading, the purposes and the rhetoric to support it.

what he and everyone in corporate will listen to is anything that will translate into higher or lower sales and profitability.

but thanks for the EM all the same.

david