Need info on plants to be sold by DC

Um, DS said that Damlier now _can't_ transplant this faster to market ability to Merc because all the talent jumped ship. So why would there be evidence that the concept-to-market knowhow is being used by Merc? They don't have it anymore and lost it after the merger.

Also don't forget the US economy went into a depression shortly after the takeover, and a great many things started to change. The process was hastened by 9-11 and GM's subsequent kickoff of a price war on 0% interest. Neither of these things were known in advance (although many people were expecting the stock market to crash, just not that quickly)

While I, like Daniel, believe that Damlier wanted more than a simple market share increase by buying Chrysler it seems quite obvious today that Damlier has abandonded all hope of getting anything more out of Chrysler OTHER THAN market share. Clearly they have written off Chrysler's engineering and design team and expect them to only integrate Merc parts into the Chrysler model line. In another 10 years if Damlier doesen't let Chrysler go, the typical Chrysler/Dodge vehicle will be indistinguishable from the Mercedes vehicle under the hood, the only external difference will be styling changes. Merc will be positioned to the high-end market, Dodge will be everybody else, and Chrysler will be sandwiched in the middle somewhere. This is the model that GM is using with the Buick/Chevrolet/Olds lines.

Ted

If Daimler *really* had planned on taking advantage of Chrysler's concept-to-market ability and applying it to the Merc line, then they would have either anticipated (1) performing a substantial amount of Merc vehicle concept work in Detroit or (2) transplanting the Chrysler "dream team" to Stuttgart. Who really believes that either of those options were viable (now, or back in 1998) ?

I think there is way more evidence that Daimler, since day 1 of the "merger", wanted Chrysler's design team to scrap all current concepts and begin immediately to redesign Chrysler vehicles to integrate Merc parts. You might say that this is how Merc "took advantage" of Chrysler's concept-to-market ability, but not in a satisfying way for Chrysler's designers.

300C...closest thing to it.. The Magnum Hemi isnt bad either..

Still looking for the article that I found not long ago that talked about it....the design team that is..

In name only. It's a rolling abomination. I don't care what it has under the hood. If it looks like a boxy Bentley (and weighs as much, and if it's got an SUV as a brother) then it ain't no sports-luxury sedan. The interior design is plain crap. It has a front and side profile that only a feeble senior citizen would love.

A waste of a power plant. The 300C is an SUV that's trying real hard to be a sedan. If I wanted something like that, I'd buy a Ram with the hemi.

3 stories about Lutz moving to GM. None of which hint at all about any discontent at Chrysler over design issues, internal politics, staff leaving, etc. Again, who is bold enough at Chrysler to give an interview about design-team morale, about the politics between Chrysler and Daimer, about where chrysler's designs are heading and who's doing the driving.

Well, ehm, you've read how the Germans judge the build quality of the M-Klasse?

Johan