Doctor Z is in reality the chairman of Daimler-Chrysler. DC commercials never exploited that little known fact, making him look a lot like "Joe Isuzu."
Daimler-Chrysler Divorce Negotiations Underway
>
> It seems the humorous but ultimately ineffective "Doctor Z" advertising
> campaign was the last effort by German management to make something of
> their acquisition of Chrysler. Negotiations are currently underway with
> at least four private equity companies for sale of the Chrysler unit. >
>
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> Recently, The Economist observed very little integration had occurred
> between Mercedes and Chrysler. This, of course, will make the divorce
> easier, but may also have contributed to the failure of the marriage. >
> Still, it should be easy to unravel the assets. The Germans mostly
> treated Chrysler as a captive parts customer, most evident in the move
> to rear drive with the current Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, which
> use rear suspensions and transmissions from previous Mercedes rear drive
> applications. But while that was good for jobs in Germany, the decision
> took Chrysler out of the mainstream market for large front drive cars.
> The main advantage of rear drive over front drive occurs when very
> powerful engines are installed. Yet most of the 300s and Chargers come
> with 2.7s and 3.5s, which although large in the Germans' experience, are,
> in the US, only premium mid sized engines.
>
> Lack of front wheel drive has probably depressed Chrysler and Dodge sales
> in states with significant snowfall. This likelyhood should have been
> evident in advance to the Germans. In places like Minnesota and New
> Hampshire, a Subaru Outback shares the garage space with the tri-star
> bejeweled motor car. The Subaru is used to arrive places. The Mercedes
> is used, in good weather, to demonstrate the owner has arrived.
>
> But it wasn't just keeping Chrysler at arms length concerning product
> development that caused this marriage to fail. While the Germans were
> right to move Chrysler and Dodge upmarket, they failed to realize that
> volume comes from lower priced cars - despite the in house example
> provided by the C Class - and that volume is necessary. And so
> discontinuing Plymouth was a huge error, tacitly acknowledged by their
> refusal to sell the Neon as a Chrysler and by eventually eliminating
> it from the Dodge line.
>
> The real answer was to badge the PT Cruiser as a Plymouth according to
> the original plan, keep the Neon, sell the four cylinder Sebring/Stratus
> as Plymouths, assign the short wheelbase vans to Plymouth, and sell
> Plymouths at both Chrysler and Dodge dealers. Yet this obvious
> solution to multiple problems was ignored.
>
> While the Germans may hope to obtain a decent price for Chrysler,
> their bargaining position appears weak, because their own good
> reputation will work against them. Both the recent "Doctor
> Z" ad campaign and the previous short lived campaign claiming WWII
> German rocket scientists were responsible for the early successes
> of the US space program (true enough, but not known or accepted by
> most Americans) displayed an attitude of nationality based management
> and engineering superiority. Those potential buyers who believe it
> will be hesitant to step in where the Germans, with their celebrated
> skills, failed. Those who believe it is a myth will use the German
> reputation for skill to overstate the difficulty and risks of the
> situation, and reduce their offers for the Chrysler unit.
>
> The auto industry's most peculiar marriage (they didn't even live
> in the same house) is nearly over. And, for that, both owner groups
> have plenty to cheer about.