GM Using The Mercedes Playbook

You explained why, in your view, people should buy them in large numbers while ignoring the fact they don't.

Normally yes, however, Mercedes replaced the Intrepid sedan with the Magnum wagon. If you want to evaluate the quality of that decision, compare Intrepid and Magnum sales.

You aren't paying attention. Over the last 20 years or so, the manufacturers have jacked up the trucks. Current mid sized trucks are taller than full size trucks were 20 years ago. Current full size half tons are at least as tall as 1 tons were 20 years ago.

They did it because that's the look customers want. They didn't provide any significant load capacity increases by jacking up the trucks. Because so many of the truck buyers don't need that. After all, its pretty tough to strain the capacity of a pickup even with the be completely full groceries.

Well, if Mercedes really believed that, not only would they have done the coil suspension they've done, they'd lower the Ram. They didn't. So they didn't get anywhere near full benefit of the design.

Having part of a large market may be better than having 100% of a smaller one. Often you don't need something drastically different. You just need something different in detail.

Dodge jumped into competitiveness with the orignal Freightliner styled Ram pickup. Mechanical features were similar to Ford and Chevy. What made it sell was the tough truck image, which was there functionally but the styling really gave the tough truck impression. And that's what customers wanted.

You can logic out "better" all you want but that doesn't mean its what people think. VW's Rabbit based pickup, and the Dodge and Plymouth Horizon/Omni coupe based pickups. Don't you think they were better in just about every way than the Japanese sourced small pickups Chevy, Ford, and Dodge were selling? Yes, they were. Did they sell? No.

And what happened to Ford when they made their full sized truck just slightly smaller for a few years? Chevy almost caught them.

Often companies shouldn't build something completely different. Often just different in details works. Following your view, the original Escort/Lynx and the Omni/Horizon should not have been built since they followed the Rabbit format.

And costs more. And has less power. And really contradicts your ride/handling pitch on the pickups.

Me too gets you lots of places lots of the time. It can give you a share of a large market which might be better than all of a small one. The reason CVS and Walgreens build their stores right across the street from each other. The reason many towns have streets referred to as "auto dealers row". The reason why companies other than Bayer make aspirin. The reason why most companies choose to make standard potato chips rather than going after Ruffles or Pringles.

Yet that is what they tried to do. They treated Chrysler as a captive customer for over priced parts.

You know, I don't know if what you say is due to lack of knowledge or denial. But I usually only have discussions of this character with people who still believe Saddam had Weapons Of Mass Destruction.

I rented a first year Magnum for two weeks. It had excellent interior space, but it's poor handling and vision left me very happy to return to my '95 Concorde. The only good thing here was many got a real cheap Magnum when they were cleared out. Of course the rest of the 300 line has sold fairly well, being a unique car in todays market.

Don't answer me then, you are still thinking inside the box on this one.