I love this thread . . . I also just like the fact that people turn and look at the car to begin with. Isn't it great to even have people ask what it is? I don't know about most of you . . . but I have had several cars in my life and never had as many people (daily, by the way) take an interest in what type of car it is and how they "have never seen one of those before", followed by . . . "that's a really nice car". I don't know about you, but I do not think I will get tired of answering these questions. I feel like a proud poppa with this car!

 

I'm with you 13Dog, I like the OEM badging. I too answer them the same, just with a different twist. I tell them it's made by MB for Chrysler.

 

When people ask what it is, I tell them it's a Mercedes with a Chrysler body on it.
100% true or not, it seems to satisfy them.

 

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Mercedes bought chrysler and since then Mercedes has done better. Why? Chrysler has style. For the longest time Mercedes had the most boring body lines. Granted the engineering of the benz was second to none, but everything they came out with was a box. Chrysler comes in and now we have beautiful Mercedes to pick from. As far as chrysler not having any reputation, all I can think of is Charger, Challenger, PT Cruiser, Prowler, Viper, Super Bird, 300 of today and the past. Do I really need to go on? You may look in that list and say well the PT Cruiser and 300 is nothing to write home about, but if that was true why did GM have to make a copy of the PT? and why is it that every auto maker is trying to make big sedans now?

 

What is so wrong with the name Chrysler? I don't understand why Chrysler is looked down upon by so many people. Maybe it's because all the people that say all these things about them have enough money to afford a super-expensive car and are snobby about it.

You pick on the K-car? If the K-car was so god-awful, then why was it successful enough to bring a whole corporation back from the brink? It was a good car for its time and that time has passed, but the K-car was revolutionary.

The Chrysler Corporation used to be a symbol of innovation and engineering and still is! Want to know the reason why the incredible ME412 was never produced? The Germans were so embarrassed that 'homely' Chrysler could engineer such an incredible car in only a year and it was a running prototype. AMG must have been equally humiliated.

A great quote by Wheatking on Allpar.com:

 

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- ej

 

After all this speculation about Chrysler's fate and future and people talking down upon Chrysler while being ignorant of its heritage, reading this thread has caused me the need to vent.

I have Mopar in my blood and it has put food on my family's table for around 65 years, so yes all this talk upsets me. I am not saying Chrysler builds the best cars in the world, but I am defending them saying that what is so bad about them that everyone denigrates them?

I greatly admire Mercedes vehicles and respect them and their heritage, and I feel that while they have done some great things for Chrysler, they have also taken the soul out of them also. Through arrogance and ignorance, they have pretty much ruined a great company and left it as a hollow shell of its former self.

I am a fan of Allpar.com and I would like to quote something from them that I feel the same about:

Mercedes arrogance and ignorance of the Chrysler heritage

In spite of all of the posturing that the merger was a "merger of equals", I believe that the marginally greater percentage of Daimler than Chrysler (for whatever reason) will surely result in German dominance of the organization for no other reason than "they can".

From talking to associates who had been in the Mercedes parts and service area of dealerships for many years, they concur on the items of engineering greatness and a certain arrogance in this respect. Irregardless of what changes might need to be made, they are the ones to decide when they are made. For example, I understand that all Mercedes air conditioning systems did not get enough cooling capacity to really handle the southwestern US summer heat until the early 1990s. American vehicles were capable of this in the early 1960s!

And then there were the press reports from Germany seriously questioning why Daimler would even think about merging with such an "inferior" manufacturer such as Chrysler. And the related comments that they perceived Chrysler to be a maker of boxy and unappealing automobiles. Item 1 -- if the last Chrysler product they remember is the K-car, they are definitely behind times! And what of the cars from GM and Ford of the late 1970s and early 1980s? Item 2 -- just what do they consider Mercedes Benz automobiles to be??

If the Daimler people will put their egos in their pockets and listen to what the Chrysler people have to tell them (and also look at their impressive track record!), good things can happen from the "merger". But if they do not do this, the innumerable great things that Chrysler has accomplished will end up in the dumpster over the next few years (not to mention the loss of the people who helped put them there as the competition takes advantage of the situation).

From the early days of the Chrysler Corporation, it has been one of the engineering leaders and innovators of the American automotive industry. And when Chrysler leads, everyone else follows! While there have been some ups and downs, Ford and GM typically follow suit soon after Chrysler's up cycles (and their products design and orientation reflect this). GM, being the reactionary organization it is, is usually the first to follow Chrysler's leads in product and features--their current products are living proof of this, but with a GM flavor.

Before the Neon, all American small cars had been loss leaders. GM and Ford typically leaned on their Japanese partners to help in this matter with vehicles whose nameplates were changed. Chrysler did a totally North American vehicle that made money and sold well. They did it by engineering labor hours out of the assembly process with efficient design strategies, innovation in engineering and design processes, and the resultant shorter gestation periods.

While Chrysler is the undisputed leader in cupholder design, this is only one of many areas of "user friendliness" that Chrysler seriously upstages the competition. These are things that you do not notice until you see them. For example, the Chrysler product's fog lamp switch is typically on the same switch as the headlamps. The "exciting" Pontiac Bonneville had the fog lamp switch on the overhead console. The new Pontiac GrandAm's trip odometer reset button on the inside of the speedometer pod of the instrument panel where you have to reach through the steering wheel to use it. I could list more, but you get the idea.

As always, the current Chrysler products are typically designed and engineered to a greater level than GM desires to pay for and Ford seems capable of obtaining. Similar in concept to German vehicles and other European vehicles. In that respect, Chrysler and Daimler can be considered "equals". Both companies have long stood on excellent engineering foundations.

But I believe that if you look at all of the engineering innovations made in this century, a disproportionate number will have their roots with the Chrysler Corporation than in any other single manufacturer. Many will be for things which happened when Mr. Chrysler ran the company and many will be in more recent times, but the trend is definitely there and continues to present times.

Unless the Daimler people fully understand what great things they got with Chrysler (other than light duty trucks and profitable economy cars) and build an organization with great synergy, everybody will lose (although they will probably never admit it).

It has been reported that it would be several years before any German-influenced designs would appear from DC in the North American market due to what was already in the supply line. What happens later is fully open to discussion. Although I will not hold my breath, I hope the current greatness will continue and be worthy of the Chrysler nameplate.

While it is inevitable that the Daimler people will put their mark on the Chrysler organization, they need to have the good sense to not mess with success irregardless of if they understand or appreciate its workings.

In the meantime, we all can reflect on the Chrysler Corporation that was and the great things it accomplished in its somewhat short history. And the memorable vehicles it produced, many of which we love, cherish, and own. Many times, great memories of the past provide comfort as we travel toward an uncertain future. I hope the trip is a good one.

 

I have one more thing also from Allpar about Chrysler innovation and engineering. It is amazing all these things that Chrysler has don't to revolutionize the automotive market that everyone takes for granted.

http://www.allpar.com/corporate/technology.html

Sorry for ranting on and on, but I just need to vent. I feel a little better now.

 

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well i kind of jumped on the debadging bandwagon, i never would debadge the chrysler wings on the front or back. i did remove the big crossfire letters off the back, but i have a license plate surround that says crossfire. i'm proud of my xf, especially after i get that srt power plant and the gullwing doors by gt factory on my roadster!! but to each their own! now i go get the affalterbach out of here!!!

 

I've debadged, now if only I could figure out how to get Chrysler removed from my title and insurance.

 

Bravo No Warning Shot!

I remember at the time of the merger there were a number of comments explaining that Daimler merged with Chrysler to learn Chrysler efficiencies and merge them with traditional German quality.

BTW, you didn't mention the legendary HEMI once!

 

Here is the thing, when you get done taking the chrysler badges off of this car and replacing them with daimler logo's, people who actually know what a crossfire is will look at you and think your a ricer. Might as well go on and put R-type on the back of it. After reading all of your post you obviously care what people think of you, my question is, why does it matter? Dave says it's stupid to try and impress people you don't even like or know. Also I'd like to know what happened with the AMG E42?

 

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Geezus this is a lame thread... It's a corporate BAS TARD with incestuous DNA manufactured with leftover parts from the old SLK, some Japanese electronics, and a new skin from a subcontracted designer in California and assembled in Germany by a company that does VW's, Audi's & BMW's. It's shipped on Asian freighters and sold by a Chrysler dealer.

Kind of like everything else in your life... Source, Out Source, and sell a final product to the consumer... Who gives a SH*T who makes it ...

 

i know who makes it ... enthusiasts ... they are the only reason there was demand for it ... they designed it ... they built it ... they sold it ...

too bad there is too few of them around to keep it going for a few more years ...

enjoy the car and know it was built by people and for people that like taking corners faster than needed.

 

I like that car and that's the bottom line. Don't really care what you call it. There is no harm in telling people that its the same car as the SLK.

I have not and will not debadge mine.

 

That depends on which chrysler your talking about. I think there have been about 4 different Chryslers in it's entire history.

I do know that the engineers at Chrysler did some marvelous creations back in the late 50s-60's, that far surpassed those of GM or Mercedes for that matter. But the bean counters really took all the creativity and quality out of they're sails, i.e using the cheapest quality sheet metal on their cars. Hence they had rust issues back in the day, so everyone would buy Chevy's and Fords for that extra thick gauge steel.

 

wait. you didn't buy an clk63 because of the new c-class. thats like an 80k car and a 40k car, where is the connection?