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Second Mercedes smashed in Wuhan

03/12/2002

(12 March 2002) Citizens in the central city of Wuhan were treated to
another round of sound and fury in the ongoing fracas between the Wuhan
Safari, a wildlife park, and Mercedes-Benz, the carmaker, as a second
Mercedes car was smashed March 8.


"We don’t’ want money; we want dignity. Now smash it!" Duan, general
manager of the Wuhan Safari, ordered his underlings at 1:10 pm local
time. Six young men wielded iron hammers and attacked a white Mercedes
S320, according to a same-day Xinhuashe (Xinhua News Agency).




"At some onlookers scream, the windshield of the car was smashed first,
then the Mercedes-Benz logo at the front of the car, but the car’s
interior and engine were not seriously damaged," said the account.


And this time, the smashing was motivated by moral support, quaint as
the form in which the support was rendered.


The owner of the S320, a Beijing businessman and a friend of Duan’s,
had his car driven from Beijing to Wuhan, allowing it to be hammered in
public if the German carmaker didn’t give the Wuhan Safari a
satisfactory reply to the latter’s complaints about quality problems
with its Mercedes SLK320, which was smashed on Dec. 26.


In a highly publicized dispute, the Wuhan Safari accuses Mercedes-Benz
of being arrogant and irresponsible after the car was sent back for
repair five times within one year of its purchase and Mercedes-Benz
refused to give the Wuhan Safari a refund. The carmaker says the owner
is responsible for the car’s woes by using substandard fuel.


A failure to reach an agreement with a team of Mercedes-Benz
representatives on March 7 led to this second round of Mercedes
bashing, according to the Xinhuashe account.


Some spectators questioned the morality of the show of friendly
support, saying that the owner will benefit society far better by
donating the car to the Hope project, a nationwide project to help
children get adequate education in poor rural areas.


But others said the bashing helped maintain the dignity of the Chinese
people, Xinhuashe reported.


At a news conference afterward, Liu Yueling, deputy general manager of
the Wuhan Safari, said that an owner of a Mercedes S500 in Guangzhou
had contacted her about having his car bashed in public "in an effort
to protect consumers’ interests."


Representatives from Mercedes-Benz demanded that the problem be solved
in a "secret" manner—without media participation—and asked the Wuhan
Safari to admit, before further testing was done, that smashing the car
was an overreaction. The Wuhan Safari refused both requests, Liu was
quoted as saying. "We want everything to be done under the sunshine."


According to Liu, the Benz representatives did some tests on the SLK230
and found four error codes indicating engine problems. However, they
refused to say what these problems were and insisted that poor-quality
fuel had caused the problems.


She dismissed the conclusion, saying that Mercedes owners would never
cut back on fuel expense after spending all that money on a top-notch
automobile.


Owners of problem Mercedes cars have formed an association of 20
members, who are from Guangxi, Hebei and Guangdong provinces, according
to Liu. Five have sued the carmaker, with the earliest lawsuit filed
four years ago and the latest a year ago.


The association will submit a letter of complaint to the China Consumer
Association in Beijing on March 12, and the Wuhan Safari refuses to
hold any more talks with Mercedes-Benz, said Liu.


For more information on China's auto industry, see the automotive
section of ChinaOnline's eBookstore.

Copyright 2002. All Rights Reserved.

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Received by NewsEDGE/LAN: 3/13/2002 4:57 AM