...and when the merger went through, they said Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz would not share any components...god...check it out this article ...

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1995 black pearl/black Mercedes-Benz E420 :

B*ll*****.
What is your first impression when you see it? SL500.
What the heck, it's full of Mercedes Parts, why not just merge all car companies into one and make the mono car.
This is distressing, I fear MB's quality will suffer because of things like this and their reputation. If someone buys it and it suffers from engineering on the Chrysler side of the house(hyundai parts), then they will get a tainted view of Mercedes.
Oh well, I guess there's nothing we can do about it. Just sit back and watch. At least I'm sticking with my 100% Mercedes old ones.
I hope they know what they're doing.

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63 220S W111
76 300D W115
2013 VW JSW TDI M6

previously-
73 280 SEL 4.5
86 300E 5 speed
2010 VW Jetta TDI M6

This car is being sold as strictly an all American car . In all the talk I have heard of this car they never mention the SL. There seems to be a controlled effort to try and keep them as far apart as possible in the public perception. But personally I can't.

Hey! Welcome back LeBenz!
Squeekes and Rattles are about the only problem we haven't had with our Chrysler('96 Cirrus). 109K miles, and it's still tight.
Might as well get used to the cross-platform thing. It's been getting more used all the time. We owned our Cirrus almost a year before I found out all it is a Mitsubishi Diamante with a different body on it. (Wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not at the time. It's not.)

"Lastly, can you have 39% of the repairs done at a Mercedes dealer?"
That 39% may be the only decent service you get

__________________
past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

I honestly do not see any resemblance of the SL. The Crossfire is way too stubby.
Look at the bright side. If DC shares parts with MB and not the other way around, the built quality of DC cars may just improve enough that they can turn their reputation around. DC does has some very aggressive body design, and I think DC buyers will not cross over to MB. Mercedes still helds the slob appeal that is not to everyone's taste.
It appears to me the Crossfire is to compete with the Lexus SL wannabe, I cannot remember what you call that turtle looking of a car now.

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95 R129
04 Infiniti G35.5 BS
10 X204

CHRYSLERCEDES!!!

With this car its like driving both, so screwed. I like Chrysler vehicles and their designs but not mixed with MB.

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99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240

Well said!
Has anyone ever figured out who REALLY bought who in the Benz/Chrysler merger? I keep hearing different stories.( Kind of like when Boeing and Douglas merged. The last running joke was Boeing bought Douglas with Douglas' money)

__________________
past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

No I meant that they are marketing it as if it was a 100% all American car from top to bottom with no platform or part sharing. The Mercedes influence is always down played. Chryslers are sold all over Europe so this thing will definately make it there.

I saw a crossfire about three weeks ago in Carlsbad with Michigan plates that read " manufacturer". There were two CEO looking guys driving it, I guess I missed my chance to run them into on-coming traffic.

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Brandon



2008 S550
1957 Dodge D100
1967 VW Microbus 21 Window
2001 Suburban
2004 Beach cruiser bicycle
-----------------GO DUKE!-----------------

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here." Patrick Henry 1776

WOW, the strange thing is I posted the above reply before I read the article that Duck Much linked. And I saw the car on El Camino Real.......Small world.

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Brandon



2008 S550
1957 Dodge D100
1967 VW Microbus 21 Window
2001 Suburban
2004 Beach cruiser bicycle
-----------------GO DUKE!-----------------

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here." Patrick Henry 1776

The first thing I tought of was the new SL and in person I think the same thing. It just seems to be a little less sleek if you ask me.

Well, my Dodge truck has 96K on it and is still completely rattle free. It's been 1000% the truck of the Chuvit truck that I had previously, which saw only a fraction of the use that the Dodge now gets.

Rickg, Daimler Benz bought out Chrysler in what turned out to be a hostile takeover. Product quality for Chrysler vehicles in general has been improving exponentially. As I've liked their vehicles, I'm a happy camper with the "merger."

Glad to hear that! I used to like Chryslers, until we bought that Cirrus POS. And I could even deal with the problems it's had IF the dealer would stand behind their product. We never had one thing fixed under warrenty. They just kept weaseling out of everything. Too long of a story to go into here.
Does your truck have an auto trannie? If so, has it held up? I've known several people with the diesel/auto trannie combo that have had nothing but problems with them.
But as far as "domestic" car styling, I have to say that Chrysler leads the pack in my book. I haven't seen much out of either Ford or GM that I really like. A few Fords are nice, and even fewer GM's I like. IMHO.

__________________
past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

Who originally said there would be no parts sharing? Chryslers use MBZ engines (the Liberty and Crossfire) The MBZ seat switch design, and the S class style instrument cluster can be found in the Pacifica. I know its not exactly the same, but come on...

I am sure there is more to come. Your best best bet is to buy an MBZ that was made in West Germany.

Mike

My truck is dirt simple. Manual tranny, manual windows, plastic doors, rubber floor, etc. It's a work truck that is used like one and gets dirty. My only extras was the A/C, cruse, tilt wheel, cloth seats, club cab (last year for 'em), camper package, and their "front spoiler," which was basically a piece of black plastic trim along the bottom of the bumper.

It's too bad about your stealership. My local dealership was always right on with any warranty issues, fixing problems quickly and correctly.

What few warranty issues it had were minor. Stuff like a buzznig speaker, and a psychotic cruse control. I broke the seat belt anchor on the passenger side sliding a TV into the front seat during a move, and they even fixed that no questions asked. I was even willing and expecting to pay for that repair.

I've had one out of warranty failure, and that was the A/C clutch. It did damage the compressor when it failed. Total cost was about $765 for parts and labour.

I'm even still on the OEM tires, brakes, and clutch. My chevy truck was dropping parts of its body on the road at 69K.