[mbeclass]

here is an except...

The strength of the company, Mr. Schrempp said, is its ability "to compensate at the group level for differing cycles in the divisions."

But some analysts offered a more critical interpretation, saying that the arduous turnaround of Chrysler might have distracted DaimlerChrysler's senior managers so much that they neglected Mercedes.
"If you send around your top managers to the U.S. or Japan, you are in danger of losing your grip on your core asset," said Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Frankfurt. "Mercedes has had to pay for the strategic fantasies of the top management."

But analysts warned that the rehabilitation of Mercedes is likely to be lengthy and grueling.


read this
http://nytimes.com/2005/02/11/business/worldbusiness/11auto.html?pagewanted=all

 

[MTI]

If you want to get to the heart of Daimler-Chrysler's ills, it's easy to blame the merger, since mergers rarely result in immediate economic gains. However, the Mercedes operation was already losing marketshare before the merger; Daimler's failed investment with Mitsubishi; quality issues with the M-Class and passenger cars. Perhaps Daimler should be counting their lucky stars that the Chrysler sales helped float the company in 2004.

 

[mbeclass]

yes, With Chrylser they ARE producing profits now ( this once mediocre no-name company)

but I ask at what costs

Tarnishing a prized German Marque's Quality reputation ???

How about

Diluting the core of Mercedes with U.S/Japan influences just because their management had to work with chrylser.

I want a pure german made mercedes like in the old days !

 

[JamesDean]

Mercedes should bring back the w126 line...cars like the 300SD...just put some newer tech in it. Today's mercedes' lack the look of yesterdays. Yesterday's MB's had a style, a look to them that like commanded respect and shouted out I AM A MERCEDES-BENZ, German Engineering at its best!

Well, that my 2 cents

Kris

 

[philipk]

JamesDean - 2/17/2005 8:58 PM

Mercedes should bring back the w126 line...cars like the 300SD...just put some newer tech in it. Today's mercedes' lack the look of yesterdays. Yesterday's MB's had a style, a look to them that like commanded respect and shouted out I AM A MERCEDES-BENZ, German Engineering at its best!

Kris

Yes and we also need to bring back the 1957 Chevy, 1959 Cadillac Convertable, and the 1968 Mustang. Wait a minute they did bring back the Mustang. So maybe you are right.

All kidding aside, I like your taste in models but no company can build a future by restoring the past.

Philip

 

[JamesDean]

very true. MB needs to find somthing it can truely call its own. Somthing that only It will have Chrysler cant have it either nor GM or Ford. I duno what it is.

 

[Seamus42]

I don't think selling stock is the answer. If Mercedes is to return to its pre-eminent postion, it must return to the philosophy of first designing and building cars to a standard and then let the accountants determine the price. Designing and building to a price point has been its failure. It has resulted in picking the "low bid" vendor of parts, etc. And the marriage with Motorola, adopting a central control of the electronics has been a major problem in all Classes. I seen an S-Class dash replaced because the lights won't go on and the failure in the fiber-optic network was untraceable.
I remeber my first German car, a new 1985 325E BMW, It had the same seats as the 635CSi, the same radio, etc. It was just a small BMW, not a cheap one. The next one, at $50k in 1988 was a 535is...same deal. My '92 400SE was also like that...no compromise, simply the best engineered car that one could buy....and the "Greens" hated it...wretched overkill. But that chassis is used today for the Maybach! And that car costs more, $93k, than a new S500 today.
Set the standard and build to it. Those who can afford the car (or can find a way to afford it) will buy them in droves. I think the new CLS is a move in that direction when you examine some of the bits, like chrome end caps on the interior door panel cormers, etc. And the new C-class is beginning to exhibit some real quality in it appearence, too. Just MHO![8D]

 

[dcfan40]

All Mercedes lovers have strong feelings about what is happening to 'our' cars of today. I think most of you were pointing out that they need to get back to basics. And I don't mean taking out the technolgy in these cars. What made them great in the 70's and 80's? Great quality work that I bet took a look time to produce. I am sure they are turning over concepts to production models much faster and more cost efficient than they ever have. But are they doing it right? The answer here must be no. Some of these problems must also have to do with the amount of cars they are mass producing in a short amount of time. I don't blame the assembly line here. I blame the all management and engineers trying to push a sub-par product in the shortest amount of time.
If they could just slow things down a bit and get more quality parts in these cars. We all know many people who have had problems with there new Mercedes. And I know of at least 2-3 people who have had seat problems and I am sure everyone here has as well..This shouldn't happen.

What is rock bottom here? Seeing on the front page of the Wall Street Journal last week that quality is an issue for Mercedes... to me this is rock bottom.

 

[jdc1244]

Seamus42 - 2/17/2005 9:40 PM

If Mercedes is to return to its pre-eminent postion, it must return to the philosophy of first designing and building cars to a standard and then let the accountants determine the price.

That’s correct. The problem is that today an ‘entry level’ MB would cost $65,000. But perhaps that’s what it’s going to take…

 

[mbeclass]

2003 w211 is still an autobahn cruiser just like the two models before it

 

[mcbear]

mbeclass - 2/22/2006 3:33 PM

2003 w211 is still an autobahn cruiser just like the two models before it

It is but look at the number of quality issues that have cropped up. I have driven both the 124, 210 and 211 from new til either now or sold and the difference in quality was amazing. The 210 dropped off in quality on nearly every level. Plastic got cheaper, electronics failed. I visited my dealer on a very regular basic for random reasons. Usually again and again for the same recurring problem. It would be fixed, and fail again. Best story was the window lift that kept failing and everytime I took it in the dealer would tell me it was programmed for a coupe. My sedan was not a coupe. They would reprogram. Two months later, same problem.

The 211, while very nice, pretty and comfortable, has the same quality issues HOWEVER I have noticed that things are improving. Quality has not, however improved over my 124, which, while not as plush, still works each and every time exactly as the engineers designed it.

After the 124 and 126 cars, Mercedes seems to me to have been controlled by accountants instead of engineers.

 

[FireFox31]

Diluting the core of Mercedes with U.S/Japan influences just because their management had to work with chrylser.

Luckily, the opposite is true. US car makers seem to have gained much from their German co-workers. Chrysler 200c and Dodge Magnum, for example, have that "extra something" which makes them a notch about their American competition.

 

[Andrzejek]

For whats its worth, here is my two cents on this issue:

At 120 mph, my two year old and six year old Benzes are ROCK steady. And so is my 22 year old Porsche -- no lack of build quality here. My Honda has kittens at anything over 90 mph.

Would I trust a 22 year old Chrysler at 120 mph -- nooo way Hose.

There certainly are quality issues at Benz, but they usually are related to small electronic gremlins. I don't see Benzes broken down on the side of the road.

MB should focus more on what their Engineers are saying, rather than letting the bean counters & marketing people run the show.

MB should leave Chrysler ASAP. How many gas guzzling hemis will Chrysler sell when gas is $5 per gallon, and we are only one terrorist attack away from that price.

 

[Marsden]

Andrzejek - 2/28/2006 9:17 AM

At 120 mph, my two year old and six year old Benzes are ROCK steady.

Where are these roads you people keep finding? []

 

[jdc1244]

The roads find us.

 

[Andrzejek]

SoCal deserts, my friends.

 

[jdc1244]

DCX/DCAG may be able to build good cars again (they will never be as good looking, regardless). They may actually be reliable and glitch-free, but they will never again realize the quality of the 123s, 124s, 107s, 126s, and 201s. Those days are long gone for reasons already noted in this old, long thread. The best that can happen is MBs become reliable but common, like Toyota or Honda. They will never be something special again.

 

[mbeclass]

"DaimlerChrysler said as much on Wednesday, when it disclosed that it was considering all options for its struggling Chrysler Group, including a spinoff. It has hired JPMorgan as a strategic adviser, people with knowledge of the move said."


Detroit’s Slump Could Break Up Chrysler Group - New York Times

jpmorgan is a spin off specialist


GOING TO happen >>>!!!! HURRAY