Will MB sales and quality continue to slide or improve with Dieter Zetsche?

[RockSolid]

In September, Dieter Zetsche (who turned around the Chrysler Group for DCX) was installed as CEO of DiamlerChrysler and head of the Mercedes Divison.
It is no secret that this year Mercedes lost 1.1 Billion dollars and continues to suffer with quality problems, loosing market share to BMW and Lexus.
There are signs that Mercedes is going to make a run at rehabilitating their name, but will they succeed?

[iNeon]

i am so over mercedes people talking about chrysler as if they were about to go belly up(again) before mercedes came to their rescue.

chrysler had a stable of very nice cars in 1997. the neon was selling very well, the intrepid was much nicer than either the lumina or the taurus, the stratus...well... 2 outta 3 aint bad. dodge trucks have always sold themselves as well.

it cant be the case that mercedes, already in the rut they are now, were such philanderers that they just had to rescue poor little chrysler. they merged to help both parties and chrysler has in no way had a bad effect on mercedes.

blame the people that designed the bad electronics. blame the people that thought saving a quarter on each trim panel would help them stay afloat....

just dont blame chrysler. they were coming up, their early 90s redesigned models had all had the kinks worked out and the 96-98 models are among the most reliable domestic products available. mercedes didnt work any magic with chrysler.

i am not voting in this poll, but i cant help but fume whenever mercedes people act like chrysler was a drowning child and mercedes, in their infinite knowledge of all things good and right, could not help but rescue them.

[B@zuun]

I can't agree with you.
Why didn't anybody want to buy the "wonderful" models you're talking about? How many cars did they sold in good old Europe?
Just look at the Crysler Crossfire. The car is a Mercedes SLk and the people love it.

Also your topic "Will MB sales and quality continue to slide (...) " is completly rubish.
Mercedes sales improved this year.

p.s. Companies usually don't buy other companies to help them. The only reason for that is making more and more and more money

[;)]

[RockSolid]

I agree that sales went up but financially DiamlerChrysler took a hit. To be sure part of it was severence pay to employees getting the axe @ Sindelfingen. DCX also got out of their stake in Mitsubishi, taking a loss.
I think the future is bright for DCX. Wish they would bring the A-Class and the Smart car to the States.

[RockSolid]

If you read the news stories on the merger, it seems that whilc Chrysler had some of the best sales in the mid-ninties, their CEO was very pesimistic about the future. I remember him calling it the 'perfect storm" that was going to hit Chrysler. That's not me saying it but the CEO at the time.
BTW, although no MB parts are in the Chrysler 300 ( Car and Driver Magazine's 'Car of the Year' and a big seller) the platform design and transmission are all Mercedes design.

[jdc1244]

Chrysler products always struck me as tedious and pedestrian. The 300 SL Gullwing mates with the soccer mom minivan. What on earth did Chrysler bring to the table? Jeeps? Hell, everyone would rather have a Gwagen.I know about ‘cudas and hemis and all that but that was over 35 years ago – what have you done lately, Chrysler?

Chrysler had nothing to do with DB/DCX’s demise, that was happening well before the merger. What’s strange is the mix of two radically different cultures that did not make either stronger. It was certainly a PR failure.

As I’ve noted before in other similar threads, Zetsche will succeed if he cuts back on the confusing, redundant model lines, stops accepting shoddy products from suppliers, and gets out of the cheap car business.

[B@zuun]

RockSolid - 11/12/2005 5:00 PM

I agree that sales went up but financially DiamlerChrysler took a hit. To be sure part of it was severence pay to employees getting the axe @ Sindelfingen. DCX also got out of their stake in Mitsubishi, taking a loss.
I think the future is bright for DCX. Wish they would bring the A-Class and the Smart car to the States.

Zetsche did that to increase Mercedes' efficiency.
Selling their stake of Mits. was also necessary. The deal with Mitsubishi was a fault, similar to the disaster of BMW with Rover.

[NordStern]

Those who know, knows that certain people in Stuttgart have problems focusing these days. We are talking indictments and even criminal charges.

Schrempp fought hard to channel cash into Mitsubishi, heavens know why. I think moral issues arised by Fuso front wheel hub failures and active cover up way into top levels of Mitsubishi made the situation untenable.

I think Chrysler is going to be cut loose within a year or so. The Germans will need the guests to leave the house, so that father can grab the kids by the ear and set things straight. A good German does not yell at the kids in front of guests.

The reason for letting Chrysler float by itself is quality related. They want to distance away somewhat from Daimler related quality issues, and feel they have a great response in their prime markets. The overall DC feeling is that Chrysler has enought displacement to float great on "their own".

Some say the Daimler Benz chain has broken. Well, it's been broken before too. Just concider the state of the company in may 1945 as an example.

And they better find some way to get Benz back into the name. Really.


Regards

Geir

[AMSOIL300CDT]

RockSolid - 11/12/2005 4:00 PM

I agree that sales went up but financially DiamlerChrysler took a hit. To be sure part of it was severence pay to employees getting the axe @ Sindelfingen. DCX also got out of their stake in Mitsubishi, taking a loss.
I think the future is bright for DCX. Wish they would bring the A-Class and the Smart car to the States.

yep thats what housewives need to be driving to get the kids, and groceries in, just like the houswives in Germany.....A Klasse 140 CDI's...running cheaper than diesel good smelling biodiesel.......not HUGE powerstroke monstrocities, and excursion/explorer/trucks like in the USA.........

[jdc1244]

In 1926 Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschat, the maker of trucks, engines, and a line of cars call “Mercedes,� merged with luxury car maker Benz & Cie. Rheinische Gasmotorenfabirk. It was a marriage of equals – indeed it was Benz which brought luxury to the new company’s - Daimler-Benz AG, - automobile division. The deal was to last to the year 2000.

In 1998 Daimler dumped Benz and married Chrysler. As MB owners are essentially snobs, it was as if the son of royalty married a commoner.

As noted above, companies do what they need to do to earn money – DCX will do what it needs to survive.

(I hope…)