drpixel/cats - that wasn't my cat story, but rather Bigmike's. I know, we're hard to tell apart. If you haven't name the cats yet you should have some fun with it. I always thought "zaino" would be a good name for an energetic (read: slightly nuts) male cat. heh.
Hats - Thanks drpixel again for the great club logo. For the hats all I did was have them remove the circular lettering from the shirt logo to meet size restrictions. They turned out pretty nice after several tries. Also, I think we're limited in terms of what we can produce because of product licensing and our agreement with DC.
Scotian/Air box template - You make this yourself? You going to show us what it looks like when put together correctly? I bet it doesn't look like the mouse piano that I got. lol
Here's the latest...... Still did it during last weekend. Went back to the dealer(4th time!) I said they have to prove to me it's fixed before I'll take it back. That seemed to work, I dropped it off Monday, didn't hear a thing until saturday morning. They said they got the engineering people involved, & guess what they found.... A bad body seem! Just what I suggested to the monkeys the very first time. It was the left front fender, which they say was causing water to come down the firewall onto the drivers side floor under the carpet. The dealer gave me some line about it being an up & coming TSB. I asked for the number, they said it wasn't out yet so they had no number. I asked if it's not out yet, how do they know about it. Again gave some line about Chrysler knowing about it, but haven't put the TSB out yet???? Yeah right! After I showed up, I went with the service manager, & 2 monkeys, & watched them spray my M with a high presure water hose for 2 hours! No wet carpet, so I hope it's fixed for real this time. While I was waiting I filled out a customer complaint form, for this, & suggested they listen more to the owners of these cars, since alot of them are VERY knowlagable about cars, & more specifly thier 300M. I also asked about my $380 they took the first time. I asked what happend to that since they chraged me for a fix, that wasn't what the problem was. They basically said I can't get it back since it was for a water leak, & most of that money was for labor in taking out the whole dash to get to the firewall. Since I had the car back there 4 times for the same problem, they keep "fixing" it so I would have had to pay anyway when they found the body seem because that's not covered under the extended warranty either. Might have been cheaper the that $380 though. I would need to fight DC to get it back. I just don't have the time, or sanity for that! So hopefully all will be good.
Up and coming TSB, huh? Well, I wonder if they are talking about TSB #23-29-98, dated Aug. 7, 1998, for repairing the symptoms you have described (wet under carpet in floorboard), as well as the problem area. It is really troubling how lazy the techs / advisors are and how quick they are to dismiss any "knowledge" an owner might have. Oh, well.
You've got me on this one. I never removed the lettering from my Rolex, but then again, the lettering on my Rolex wasn't made out of pseudo-chrome plastic and, unlike the "CHRYSLER" logo on my trunk, was applied straight.
Are you sure it was a special ? We have only built two pre-production cars ,and I'm pretty sure they are in Detroit. Sometime in Nov ,we are going to be building customers cars.
fuzzy - doesn't that just cheese you off? The service people always give us the "yeah right, like you'd know" look when we suggest where the problem might be. There are knowledgeable and ignorant customers, just like there are knowledgeable and ignorant mechanics.
ruski - Funny you should mention that. I took the swoosh off my tennis shoes, all of the Schwinn stickers off my mountain bike, and even the "Verizon" face plate off my cell phone. Just kidding of course. However, to answer your question, I took the chrysler lettering off because I think my car looks better without them and because one was crooked. There are enough logos on that car still...3 badges and a big grill wing. Besides, taking the lettering off didn't affect its value. Taking the ROLEX off a watch might cost ya several large bills.
scott - I haven't been able to see the pictures yet. Photopoint is as slow as a 3 legged cat. Uh..I mean....
That 142 pic documentary is awesome dude. Wow I did not think building an air box would be so complicated. I think a partition of some sort would be easier to build. This is what comes on some of the K&N FIPK kits for some cars.
I know someone will ask, so I'll do it, since I'm curious. Would you make one for a club member? If so, how much?
I did the hard part -- digging around in my engine compartment, measuring up and creating a weird 3-D box, etc. Everyone else can do the not-as-hard part of cutting and gluing Lexan together. Besides, even though I live alone in my one bedroom apartment, my girlfriend will kill me if I keep up this mess any longer!
phases78: They'll make one for me? Isn't the Intrepid mechanically/engine-wise identical to the M? They mention the LHS/Concorde too in the listing of cars. I may be showing my automotive ignorance here (..missing that particular DNA sequence..) so no flaming the poor Doc. The numbers on their website SEEM to substantiate the claim. I don't think they'd deliberately FAKE dyno data-or can that be done? I'm just looking at a way to improve my gas mileage a bit, thats all. Was wondering if anyone had tried this thing, or knew anything about it!
Scotian: Don't blame you for wanting to incur the wrath of the fairer sex, but have to thought about a partnership with someone who might have access to injection molding toys/autocad, etc?....ava.....???? I give you a lot of credit to even try something like that....I like the lexan idea, though. Maybe some blacklight neon tubing inside?..... You guys never cease to amaze me! The news here just had an item about a toddler who was brought into Channel 7 (local in NYC..) by parent--now has anthrax and is NOT doing well at all....what a sick world....
Just like people would like to remove "Timex", from their watch face to keep people guessing, some members here like to shave the Chrysler name off their vehicles to give it a mysterious look and make people wonder what brand car they drive. If you owned a nice Rolex or Movado, would you want to remove the lettering? Similarly, how many would shave off the Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, or Audi nameplates if they were fortunate enough to own one. Bet most would leave those logos on their cars.
New Yorkers will have something to celebrate tonight if they win. Guess New York deserves some positive publicity to offset the pain and suffering of the last month.
DrPixel: congrats on your new family member--I mean members. How many of those little kitties are you going to keep. I think you should keep the Mommy and the pick of the litter---so what are you naming your new addition to the family?
PS: maybe someone like Av or 300Michael would be willing to mass produce that airbox-hose setup to sell at a profit to our less mechanically inclined members. I know I would consider buying a fully assembled airbox-hose combo. Maybe Av could give his employess something to do on slow days ;-)
Hey I guessed it first. Doesn't that mean I get one for guessing right. Just kidding. Very impresed with the amount of work and the quality that your final airbox had. I agree with others that you should get something for this. If you look on the 300M club site board you'll see I put the name of a guy that does custom intakes for Dodge Darangos and other Dodge trucks. (I am glad to see you copyrighted the drawings). Why don't you e-mail him your final asymbely picture and see if he would be interested in mass producing. I had sent him an e-mail pointing out that the LHS, Concorde, Intrepid, and 300M were almost all alike. He should compensate you for your work.
Well the work you did is fantastic. I am anxious to hear your comments on what this sounds like. (I don't care about the sound but my wife might). See if the baffles in the plumne box was really worth the deadening of the sound. I've always liked the sound of the rush as you put your foot down.
I like your idea, on the center pod area I just would have liked a larger screen. I wanted a pop up type like the Infinity 45 and 35's have but there was not enough room under the dash. Those air vent ducts take up a lot of room. I may slater make the alpine unit I have go into the rear of the center console (where the top rear vents are) and make some kind of pop up monitor for the front (just need to get around the space and the glare problem.
Glad they FINALLY solved the leak problem! Aren't they something else though? They're all the same. They don't even know about TSB's that have been out for months/years, now they know about ones that aren't even printed yet!! Don't they realize what asses they look like? I think they're the ones living in caves! Haven't they heard about the Internet? Do they REALLY think we're ALL that dumb? I just don't understand how they get away with it.
That is what was wrong with Christine when the back floor, under the mat, was all wet after returning from FL one year when I drove. The body seam gave way under the rear wheel well. In my case, the "5-STAR" DODGE dealer found it right away. I know the other two "5-STAR" Chrysler dealers would have had me going back again and again like you!
Glad it's finally resolved. Glad it wasn't me! ;-))
I shaved "Chrysler" off my M not to keep people guessing, nor in the least because I'm embarrassed by the car's make or hope to pass it off as something it's not. I just think that this is perhaps the best looking sedan on the market, and, damn, it looks great without the lettering. I'm happy with it being made by Chrysler, and the whole world can (and should!) know who makes this hot car. This car stands on its own in my opinion, in performance, as a piece of design art, and for the value it offers.
Folks with Madison Avenue prestige on their minds will pay big bucks extra for the BMW or Mercedes logo (not to say those may not be "better" cars, but they certainly aren't better values, IMHO) and no doubt they wouldn't dream of shaving off the lettering (because how many thousands of dollars did they pay for that prestige name?). I've been looking at some of those cars lately and thinking that they would look better without some of the badging and lettering they sport, but those letters cost their owners too much to shave off. I'm quite pleased that I paid my money for a great car, not for a bunch of letters or a prestige name, and I can feel free to show the car to its best advantage, not as a rolling advertisement or a prop for my ego.
A married couple is driving their brand new 300M(55m/h) down the interstate. The wife looks over at him and says, "Honey, I know we've been married for 15 years, but, I want a divorce."
The husband says nothing but slowly increases to 60m/h. She says, "I want the house."
Again the husband speeds up to 70 m/h. She says, "I want the kids too."
The husband just keeps driving faster and faster, speeding to 80 m/h. She says, "I want our new car, the checking account, and all the credit cards too."
The husband slowly starts to veer towards a bridge, as she says, "Is there anything you want?"
The husband says, "No, I've got everything I need."
She asks, "Really? What's that?" The husband replies just before they hit the wall at 90 m/h, "I've got the airbag. (knowing that he had disabled the passenger side bag)
I chose plastic over metal because in a car, everything that can be plastic is, and I have never worked much at all with metal (I recall making a wall lamp in shop class in high school), but I have with plastic.
I chose Lexan polycarbonate over, say, Plexiglass because of the temperatures it can withstand. Lexan with Weld-On #3 is wonderful stuff; I had never used either before.
If someone wants to manufacture a bunch of these from my design, I certainly won't stop them. If they do so for profit, then I'll want a say in things. I imagine that the only company making a profit with stuff like this is K&N, and they just do the simple (but effective) partition-style systems.
When I was researching the web for cone filter installations, I realized that most would
(1) Reserve -- A larger air reserve volume is better, especially when accelerating, particularly from a stop. (2) Flow -- The more air that can flow into the engine, the better. (3) Temperature -- Cooler air is denser, and has more oxygen per unit volume, which is a good thing. This seems to be particularly important, as having an exposed cone filter sitting next to the engine will often result in no improvement, even though (1) and (2) are pretty much maximized (ignoring superchargers, etc.). (4) Protection -- Some installations have the filter sitting beneath the front end inches from the ground, and may get soaked in wet weather. In these setups, the filter sometimes even falls off.
With my design, (1) is much improved over stock (larger volume); (2) is improved over stock (four routes for cool outside air to get in and a virtually unrestricted 3” path to the throttle body); and (3) is improved over stock (heat shielding, and the virtually unrestricted 3” path to the throttle body; slower, restricted air heats up). Given the clutter in the engine compartment, about the only improvement here would be a hole in the hood. (4) is unchanged from stock; if anything, with rain some moisture might slip under the hood, but it wouldn’t clog up the filter. Aside from (3), since I drive through standing water often enough, I like having a sealed airbox to keep water spray off the filter.
The parts sharing between Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler is becoming more defined. Future Chryslers will share the Benz vehicle-stability systems, said Richard Schaum, the Chrysler Group's executive vice president of vehicle development. Chrysler has already said its next large LX sedans will share Benz transmissions, axles, steering columns and seat frames.
Though Schaum didn't specify which vehicles would use the stability system, logical candidates would include top Jeep Grand Cherokees and Chrysler's import-oriented 300M sedan. Analysts say DaimlerChrysler is being forced to share more Mercedes parts since the situation at Chrysler is direr than the company ever predicted when it merged in 1998.
Well I guess that good news, as well as bad. Good in that Chrysler's after 2004 will be more reliable, & of better quality. Bad in that MB parts cost more, so prices of Chrysler's will have to go up. It's typical big bussiness. Buy a company that does/makes the same thing as yours. Tell everyone it's still going to run the same, & have no impact on the company. Live this lie for a few years, then BAM! Fire the staff, move in your own people, & take full control of the company, & what it makes, & how it does bussiness. Got to love capitalizm!
Bigmike5 asked yesterday about a 300M baseball cap other than the 300M Enthusiasts Club version we will soon have for sale to Club members. Here is one that is available from some DC dealers (that's where I got mine). As I recall, the price was somewhere around $18.
The LS platform prototypes that I saw, presumably the 2004 or maybe the 2005 models of the car, looked like they were likely built on a different platform than the current M. I know these aren't conclusive, but the exhaust was on the other side, the shifter setup looked very different, and the car appeared to have a smaller wheelbase than the current M. At least two of the three other pre-production prototype models used our FWD auto-stick platform. Now having said that, the "base" model of the 300 (the one that is supposed to come stock with the 2.7 litre engine and cloth seats for $24k) had a trunk badge that only said "300"...no letter. The 5.7 litre, slightly different version of the car had 300N badging on it. This MAY lead us to a conclusion that at least by the time we get to the 300N we'll have the MB parts. My guess is that all of the new RWD 300s will have a MB backbone.
They would have to. The Chrysler part is mostly bankrupt. The Daimler part has to take up the slack. Chrysler is also know for unreliablty. I'm sure MB see this & doesn't want this to be a problem in furture cars. This combined with the profitablity of Chrysler not showing up till at least 2004 would make them very picky about suppliers. They would use ones they already have that make better parts & drop Chrysler's. Hence the useage of MB parts. Be very intrested to see where they are in 2004/2005. Guess we all have to wait.
is fast becoming Daimler, make no mistake about it.
Yes, Daimler "merged with" Chrysler and it was said to be business as usual. Chrysler's thrust has always been innovative, cutting edge design -- creating cars with a "soul". Reliability was not high, but then again, neither was price (relative to MB). This did not agree with Daimler's quality philosophy, so now we are going to have a hybrid vehicle, to bring Chrysler closer to Daimler's quality philosophy.
Daimler killed the innovative soul of Chrysler and now we can expect less inspiring, more expensive Chryslers in the future.
Personally, I would rather drive a 300M than a Lexus, and not just because of the price. The 300M is an exciting car at a great price. Chrysler has had a market niche that is about to be abandoned...
Sorry to hear about your office being closed. I'm in the same boat, but am trying to negotiate an independent sales agent contract with my former employer. Good luck, and best wishes.
Good luck. I was successful in negotiating an employement contract with my "new" company when they bought my "old" company. If they lay me off before the end of the year it will cost them big. My guess is that they're tolerating my 3 day per week commute until 12/31, then all bets are off.
I'm not ready to throw the towel in yet. We could end up with something that is the best of two worlds...not the worst of both combined (low innovation, high price). From what I saw from the prototypes there is still a big Chrysler focus on design innovation. Even though there were certainly some warts on the 300 designs that I saw...especially with the interior... they were definately different and will have a lot of appeal to those looking for innovative design. These cars were NOT to be confused with a MB line where you can go for years between not seeing any material changes in the sheet metal. Heck, when my old boss got a 190 I told him how I liked his new car. He told me it was 5 years old. I couldn't tell! lol
Now, where we might really profit from this relationship is if DC uses Chrysler as it's line for more innovative and risky designs. They've already had huge success with the PT, and signs are that some of winning design elements (retro styling) are moving forward with other models. We could end up with leading edge designs like we're used to, plus improvements in the guts of the car, like the overall platform, tranny, and component quality. Keep in mind it's a lot cheaper to build something right the first time than to keep fixing it. The projected pricing of the '04 LS platform cars were very much in line with what we're currently paying. If these cars will come with innovative design plus some real MB guts I think we'll have the best of both worlds. What I've seen indicates that's where DC is going with this.
Don't get me wrong, I honestly have no loyality to Chrysler as a company. I love my M, and I hate my wife's Grand Caravan with a passion, but I'm not a "mopar or no car" guy. I'm just providing another point of view. We might actually come out ahead as consumers. Actually, the biggest benefit of the MBing of Chrysler would be if I could take my Chrysler to a MB 10* (twice as good as a 5*) dealer for service.
lol - cept of course, even with an airbag, 90 against a wall hurts!
I don't know if this has been asked before, but if you look in the center armrest. On the top piece there is a plastic piece, looks almost like a pocket, and a clip. What on earth is it for??? It's too small for a map (not wide enough, unless you double fold it and then it'll only hold one What do you all use it for?
Comments
http://www.tornadoair.com/
I searched for 300m, but found only Dodge Intrepid
Doc
I hope it works for you. For me it's too much trouble for such a little gain.
Hats - Thanks drpixel again for the great club logo. For the hats all I did was have them remove the circular lettering from the shirt logo to meet size restrictions. They turned out pretty nice after several tries. Also, I think we're limited in terms of what we can produce because of product licensing and our agreement with DC.
Scotian/Air box template - You make this yourself? You going to show us what it looks like when put together correctly? I bet it doesn't look like the mouse piano that I got. lol
Still did it during last weekend. Went back to the dealer(4th time!) I said they have to prove to me it's fixed before I'll take it back. That seemed to work, I dropped it off Monday, didn't hear a thing until saturday morning. They said they got the engineering people involved, & guess what they found.... A bad body seem! Just what I suggested to the monkeys the very first time. It was the left front fender, which they say was causing water to come down the firewall onto the drivers side floor under the carpet. The dealer gave me some line about it being an up & coming TSB. I asked for the number, they said it wasn't out yet so they had no number. I asked if it's not out yet, how do they know about it. Again gave some line about Chrysler knowing about it, but haven't put the TSB out yet???? Yeah right! After I showed up, I went with the service manager, & 2 monkeys, & watched them spray my M with a high presure water hose for 2 hours! No wet carpet, so I hope it's fixed for real this time. While I was waiting I filled out a customer complaint form, for this, & suggested they listen more to the owners of these cars, since alot of them are VERY knowlagable about cars, & more specifly thier 300M. I also asked about my $380 they took the first time. I asked what happend to that since they chraged me for a fix, that wasn't what the problem was. They basically said I can't get it back since it was for a water leak, & most of that money was for labor in taking out the whole dash to get to the firewall. Since I had the car back there 4 times for the same problem, they keep "fixing" it so I would have had to pay anyway when they found the body seem because that's not covered under the extended warranty either. Might have been cheaper the that $380 though. I would need to fight DC to get it back. I just don't have the time, or sanity for that! So hopefully all will be good.
I am half joking.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=596790968
ruski - Funny you should mention that. I took the swoosh off my tennis shoes, all of the Schwinn stickers off my mountain bike, and even the "Verizon" face plate off my cell phone. Just kidding of course.
scott - I haven't been able to see the pictures yet. Photopoint is as slow as a 3 legged cat. Uh..I mean....
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1280646&a=13301458&f=0
phases <---- *sheds a tear*
That 142 pic documentary is awesome dude. Wow I did not think building an air box would be so complicated. I think a partition of some sort would be easier to build. This is what comes on some of the K&N FIPK kits for some cars.
I know someone will ask, so I'll do it, since I'm curious. Would you make one for a club member? If so, how much?
i meantioned it on here, noone seemed interested, so i lost faith... sniff sniff....
http://phases78.homestead.com/300m.html
phases78
I have not seen the car. I was told it is being driven by a Chrysler employee. If I hear anymore, I will let you know.
Ed
Scotian: Don't blame you for wanting to incur the wrath of the fairer sex, but have to thought about a partnership with someone who might have access to injection molding toys/autocad, etc?....ava.....????
I give you a lot of credit to even try something like that....I like the lexan idea, though. Maybe some blacklight neon tubing inside?.....
You guys never cease to amaze me!
The news here just had an item about a toddler who was brought into Channel 7 (local in NYC..) by parent--now has anthrax and is NOT doing well at all....what a sick world....
Doc
DrPixel: congrats on your new family member--I mean members. How many of those little kitties are you going to keep. I think you should keep the Mommy and the pick of the litter---so what are you naming your new addition to the family?
PS: maybe someone like Av or 300Michael would be willing to mass produce that airbox-hose setup to sell at a profit to our less mechanically inclined members. I know I would consider buying a fully assembled airbox-hose combo. Maybe Av could give his employess something to do on slow days ;-)
Well the work you did is fantastic. I am anxious to hear your comments on what this sounds like. (I don't care about the sound but my wife might). See if the baffles in the plumne box was really worth the deadening of the sound. I've always liked the sound of the rush as you put your foot down.
Glad they FINALLY solved the leak problem! Aren't they something else though? They're all the same. They don't even know about TSB's that have been out for months/years, now they know about ones that aren't even printed yet!! Don't they realize what asses they look like? I think they're the ones living in caves! Haven't they heard about the Internet? Do they REALLY think we're ALL that dumb? I just don't understand how they get away with it.
That is what was wrong with Christine when the back floor, under the mat, was all wet after returning from FL one year when I drove. The body seam gave way under the rear wheel well. In my case, the "5-STAR" DODGE dealer found it right away. I know the other two "5-STAR" Chrysler dealers would have had me going back again and again like you!
Glad it's finally resolved. Glad it wasn't me! ;-))
fastdriver
Folks with Madison Avenue prestige on their minds will pay big bucks extra for the BMW or Mercedes logo (not to say those may not be "better" cars, but they certainly aren't better values, IMHO) and no doubt they wouldn't dream of shaving off the lettering (because how many thousands of dollars did they pay for that prestige name?). I've been looking at some of those cars lately and thinking that they would look better without some of the badging and lettering they sport, but those letters cost their owners too much to shave off. I'm quite pleased that I paid my money for a great car, not for a bunch of letters or a prestige name, and I can feel free to show the car to its best advantage, not as a rolling advertisement or a prop for my ego.
My gorgeous shaved CHRYSLER 300M!
Oh...I have one word for you and your gorgeous M..."DUALS".
The husband says nothing but slowly increases to 60m/h. She says, "I want the house."
Again the husband speeds up to 70 m/h. She says, "I want the kids too."
The husband just keeps driving faster and faster, speeding to 80 m/h. She says, "I want our new car, the checking account, and all the credit cards too."
The husband slowly starts to veer towards a bridge, as she says, "Is there anything you want?"
The husband says, "No, I've got everything I need."
She asks, "Really? What's that?" The husband replies just before they hit the wall at 90 m/h, "I've got the airbag. (knowing that he had disabled the passenger side bag)
:-)
I chose plastic over metal because in a car, everything that can be plastic is, and I have never worked much at all with metal (I recall making a wall lamp in shop class in high school), but I have with plastic.
I chose Lexan polycarbonate over, say, Plexiglass because of the temperatures it can withstand. Lexan with Weld-On #3 is wonderful stuff; I had never used either before.
If someone wants to manufacture a bunch of these from my design, I certainly won't stop them. If they do so for profit, then I'll want a say in things. I imagine that the only company making a profit with stuff like this is K&N, and they just do the simple (but effective) partition-style systems.
When I was researching the web for cone filter installations, I realized that most would
(1) Reserve -- A larger air reserve volume is better, especially when accelerating, particularly from a stop.
(2) Flow -- The more air that can flow into the engine, the better.
(3) Temperature -- Cooler air is denser, and has more oxygen per unit volume, which is a good thing. This seems to be particularly important, as having an exposed cone filter sitting next to the engine will often result in no improvement, even though (1) and (2) are pretty much maximized (ignoring superchargers, etc.).
(4) Protection -- Some installations have the filter sitting beneath the front end inches from the ground, and may get soaked in wet weather. In these setups, the filter sometimes even falls off.
With my design, (1) is much improved over stock (larger volume); (2) is improved over stock (four routes for cool outside air to get in and a virtually unrestricted 3” path to the throttle body); and (3) is improved over stock (heat shielding, and the virtually unrestricted 3” path to the throttle body; slower, restricted air heats up). Given the clutter in the engine compartment, about the only improvement here would be a hole in the hood. (4) is unchanged from stock; if anything, with rain some moisture might slip under the hood, but it wouldn’t clog up the filter. Aside from (3), since I drive through standing water often enough, I like having a sealed airbox to keep water spray off the filter.
The parts sharing between Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler is becoming more defined. Future Chryslers will share the Benz vehicle-stability systems, said Richard Schaum, the Chrysler Group's executive vice president of vehicle development. Chrysler has already said its next large LX sedans will share Benz transmissions, axles, steering columns and seat frames.
Though Schaum didn't specify which vehicles would use the stability system, logical candidates would include top Jeep Grand Cherokees and Chrysler's import-oriented 300M sedan. Analysts say DaimlerChrysler is being forced to share more Mercedes parts since the situation at Chrysler is direr than the company ever predicted when it merged in 1998.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=4209
It's typical big bussiness. Buy a company that does/makes the same thing as yours. Tell everyone it's still going to run the same, & have no impact on the company. Live this lie for a few years, then BAM! Fire the staff, move in your own people, & take full control of the company, & what it makes, & how it does bussiness. Got to love capitalizm!
Does this mean that the article writers don't know 100% what they are talking about? Or do they know something that we don't?
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=934019&a=7113867&p=55289185
Yes, Daimler "merged with" Chrysler and it was said to be business as usual. Chrysler's thrust has always been innovative, cutting edge design -- creating cars with a "soul". Reliability was not high, but then again, neither was price (relative to MB). This did not agree with Daimler's quality philosophy, so now we are going to have a hybrid vehicle, to bring Chrysler closer to Daimler's quality philosophy.
Daimler killed the innovative soul of Chrysler and now we can expect less inspiring, more expensive Chryslers in the future.
Personally, I would rather drive a 300M than a Lexus, and not just because of the price. The 300M is an exciting car at a great price. Chrysler has had a market niche that is about to be abandoned...
Silver
Now, where we might really profit from this relationship is if DC uses Chrysler as it's line for more innovative and risky designs. They've already had huge success with the PT, and signs are that some of winning design elements (retro styling) are moving forward with other models. We could end up with leading edge designs like we're used to, plus improvements in the guts of the car, like the overall platform, tranny, and component quality. Keep in mind it's a lot cheaper to build something right the first time than to keep fixing it. The projected pricing of the '04 LS platform cars were very much in line with what we're currently paying. If these cars will come with innovative design plus some real MB guts I think we'll have the best of both worlds. What I've seen indicates that's where DC is going with this.
Don't get me wrong, I honestly have no loyality to Chrysler as a company. I love my M, and I hate my wife's Grand Caravan with a passion, but I'm not a "mopar or no car" guy. I'm just providing another point of view. We might actually come out ahead as consumers. Actually, the biggest benefit of the MBing of Chrysler would be if I could take my Chrysler to a MB 10* (twice as good as a 5*) dealer for service.
My 2 pennies.
I don't know if this has been asked before, but if you look in the center armrest. On the top piece there is a plastic piece, looks almost like a pocket, and a clip. What on earth is it for??? It's too small for a map (not wide enough, unless you double fold it and then it'll only hold one