Is Chrysler better off now than they were in 1998?

Is Chrysler better off now than they were in 1998? Tuesday November 7, 2006 When DaimlerBenz and Chrysler came together in November of 1998 it was billed as a merger, though with DaimlerChrysler AG officially incorporated in Germany, many would call it a buyout the promise was that Chrysler would benefit from Daimler's (read: Mercedes') engineering knowhow. Cynics said that DaimlerBenz was simply buying Chrysler to take advantage of the profitable Jeep brand. Many of the latest Chrysler designs, including the Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum and Dodge Charger, are indeed based on an older version of the Mercedes EClass platform. (Experienced Mercedes drivers will recognize parts such as the steering column and the transmission shifter.) But one of Chrysler's latest products, the Dodge Caliber, left me (and many other journalists) cold, as did its neartwin, the Jeep Compass. November marks the ninth anniversary of the merger/buyout. What do you think of the results? Has Chrysler benefited from German ownership, or has Daimler left Chrysler to wither on the vine? Are you any more or less likely to buy a Chrysler (or Dodge, or Jeep, or Mercedes) car now than you were back in 1998? And can Chrysler still be called an American automaker? Click the "comments" link and share your thoughts. Aaron Gold Image © DaimlerChrysler Comments (40)See All Posts PrevNext zSB(3,3) Leave a Comment Comments November 7, 2006 at 1:15 am(1) nala says: For a lengthy analyis of the state of things between Daimler and Chrysler go to this sites forum and see message # 2631.1, “Mercedes Chrysler to Divorce?” in the General Discussion folder. There is considerable market speculation in Europe as to whether this might occur. It also examines sales figures and market share. Over there it is not seen as a particularly good partnership. November 7, 2006 at 7:50 am(2) STEVE KING says: Hi; Yes I believe the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep line’s have improved markedly in the past 89 years. My 2004 Dodge Caravan is noticeably better than my 1994 Caravan. I DO believe they should bring back the Plymouth brand and hopefully, the DeSoto brand. They have so many different “Chryslers” that it’s confusing. And the less “expensive” Chrysler’s only serve to cheapen the brand name. The same goes for the “Dodge” brand. P.S. My wife wants a new Caliper. She thinks it’s “cool” and we will trade our 1995 BMW in on it. November 7, 2006 at 8:46 am(3) Greg Cenzer says: I think the caliber look like a Pontiac Vibe on steroids. Other wise I like most of the line up especially the Magnum. November 7, 2006 at 10:27 am(4) Ricard Krause says: i would not buy a chrysler product,untill they include a mercedes warranty November 7, 2006 at 10:28 am(5) Ruth Dennison says: No they are not. I bought a new Town & Country in 2000, and had to but a new transmision in at 30,000 miles and the co. would not back up the warrenty. Not 6 1/2 yrs. later it is litterly falling apart November 7, 2006 at 10:57 am(6) John Ivy says: I am planning on buying a Jeep Wrangler 4 door. I can see a marked improvement in the quality and style of the cars. November 7, 2006 at 2:46 pm(7) Susan says: We drove our 1990 Mercedes Sclass, which had 150k miles on it, until an unfortunate encounter with a deer. Neither he nor our tank emerged unscathed — although we passengers didn’t suffer a scratch. We replaced the car with a 1999 Mercedes E430 that was much peppier and fun to drive — only we missed the spaciousness of the earlier car and sold it. Now we’re driving a 2006 Dodge Charger (in the classy blue metallic shade, not Top Banana). It’s a big, comfortable, powerful, and securefeeling car that’s fun to drive. The inside is spare and Germanic, though, not much to look at. But after 3 months, we are very happy with the car and much prefer it to the E430. Long way of saying: Yes, Daimler did Chrysler a solid. November 7, 2006 at 2:53 pm(8) Dave says: In my opinion, Chrysler has benefited from the takeover. Discounting the early 2000 market crunch, the stock is steadily climbing. I do thing that the Mercedes brand was cheapened in the process. While there are several Chrysler products that have benefited from the takeover, I have seen nothing but negative in the Mercedes lineup except for the top line cars. The Sprinter Van is selling like hotcakes under both the Dodge and Freightliner brands but it is essentially a Mercedes truck with the aforementioned badging. November 7, 2006 at 5:03 pm(9) John Cosmo says: Chrysler benefited, at least in the shortterm, with the intro of the Hemi V8 engine. But rising gas prices are pretty much killing off the benefit of that powerful, but thirsty engine. The V6 powered fullsized Chrysler and Dodge products are pretty mediocre. One small bright spot is the Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel V6. The Diesel V6 is an option in the Chrysler 300 sold in Europe and it should be made available in the fullsized Chryslers and Dodges, as well as the rest of Chrysler’s larger SUVs. All things considered, the benefits to Chrysler were shortterm and insignificant in the overall scheme of things. The smaller vehicles, the horribly ugly midsized Chrysler Sebring, the unattractive compact Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass, are especially disappointing and cause for worry. Yeah, it is still an American carmaker, especially in the sense that it is outoftouch and seemingly incapable of building the kinds of cars that Americans want and can afford to buy. November 7, 2006 at 6:22 pm(10) Dennis says: The merger had to happen, the company had to merge with someone to stay competetive. Some things were good somethings have been not so good. DCX builds great products in general, there will be problems,there will always be some problems.DCX could address some problems better than they do. That is the companies when they won’t honor a warranty. For what ever reason,it will come back to haunt you. YES….. November 7, 2006 at 6:52 pm(11) hawaiian don says: yeah, i would definitly consider buying a chryco car now more than before. first, because i know if i kept it for 56 yrs, i know that they’ll still be around to provide parts and support.second,i think the merger is the best thing that has happened to every chryco employee and their retirement futures.third, there’s no corporate nationalism by behemoth multinational american corps., otherwise they would’nt be opening plants in herosillo, mex. it’s all good baby, and i’m lovin’ it! November 7, 2006 at 7:27 pm(12) Michael says: The 2000 5.9L Dodge Dakota RULES!!!! No issues and has passing gear at 100mph. November 7, 2006 at 9:20 pm(13) Brian says: I owned a 1986 Dodge Daytona, 1989 Dodge Lebaron, a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan, and now have a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan and 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab (w/o the Hemi engine). I have purchased the cars over the years for the lower (than Chevy or Ford) price and can honestly say that you really do get what you pay for. The 1986 Daytona had a cracked head at 60k miles, but that was common with the 2.5L engine. The 1989 Lebaron was fine until the interior started falling apart in the mid90s. The 1998 Grand Caravan was fine until the motormounts went out at about 100k miles (they were a real pain to replace). The 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan has the StownGo feature, which is why we chose it over other makes. However, with two small kids, we never get to put down the front two seats, although we always use the room under the floor for storage. It has been using oil since we got it and has had some issues with the transmission clunking into fourth gear when going down a hill. (I am in Florida, so the hills are small.) As for the oil, it uses about 3 quarts between oil changes (3k miles), but Chrysler won’t do anything about it because it is “within specs”. They say that it is okay for that engine to use 1 quart ever 800 miles. I don’t think so… The 2005 Ram has had problems with the rear suspension. I have had it in numerous times for new leafsprings and the front upper Aarms frequently need cleaned out so that they don’t squeak. That is just an annoyance and apparently has been corrected for 2006 and newer, but I am still not happy that I spent so much for a truck, only to find out that they have “known issues” with the suspension. Had I known in 2005 that they were going to redesign the suspension for 2006, I would have waited. As for are they better, they are slowly getting better in the “fit & finish” department, but the “mechanical” department still needs work. Next time, I will buy a Chevy truck. November 7, 2006 at 9:24 pm(14) Patrick Costello says: I have peresonally owned Chrysler Products since 1992, 92 Acclaim, 97 Breeze, and 02 Sebring. In addition, I am fleet manager for my employer and presently we have about 70 Daimler Chrysler vehicles in the fleet. I began purchasing Chrysler products in 1993 with one of the early LH car, the 2003 Concorde. The main reasons for Chrysler products is that our people like to drive them, they like the looks, and they provide good interior room. Overall, they have served us well. Despite some quality problems in the 90’s, most notably a/c evaporators, transmissions, we have only have one engine go bad out of 300+. Our local dealers have serviced us well. There has been a significant improvement in reliability and quality since the merger. Most of our fleet is Sebrings, with some 300/s Chargers, and mini vans. We had a 96 Plymouth Grand Voyager, which we sold to one of our employees and it is till going strong with over 300,000 miles. The engine has not been touched. A couple tranmissions yes. Chrysler has hit some home runs recently, the 300 and the Charger. But one of the huge disappointments has been the PT Cruiser. It is a fun car to drive, but for a car of its size it gets horrible fuel economy. We rented a PT Cruiser convertible earlier this year while on vacation. It was a Turbo, again fun to drive, but on a run from Dallas to Austin, TX, only got 21 mpg. Makes no sense when our Sebring V6 typically gets 3132 under similar driving conditions. I am of the opinion that Chrysler purposely did engineered the PT Cruiser for relatively poor fuel economy because it would cut into (then) lucrative truck and SUV sales. We are hearing from our dealer that Chrysler will be coming out with some sensational diesel turbos in the next couple of years. They have to work out the new polution requirements. We are eagerly waiting. We have three 2007 Sebrings on order for our fleet. We are anxiously awaiting them. Preliminarly indications are that they may have hit a home run with this one, maybe not a bases loaded, but a home run. Finally, while GM and Ford had increased sales, they are really bleeding red ink. They all have only themselves to blame, but that is another story. November 7, 2006 at 11:12 pm(15) Richard Evans says: My wife (now ex) had an 89 Dodge Dynasty and that was a piece of junk. I about had a nervous breakdown just trying to change the oil and brake pads. It seemed to be so poorly designed, I decided I would never buy a Mopar product. In 2005, I was a salesman at a family owned Pontiac, Buick, GMC dealership and was transferred to a Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep dealership they also owned. To be honest, I like a lot of the vehicles that have come out since the merger: the 300, Magnum, SRTs, etc. I am still not sure about their mechanical reliability, though. While I like the Caliber from an overall design view, I think the Jeep Compass is downright ugly. I like the new 4 door Wrangler, though. I do wish that there were more All Wheel Drive cars available on the lots, though, and admit the larger ones should NEVER come with a V6. November 8, 2006 at 3:36 am(16) Peter Nails says: I have bought Jeeps (Grand) Cherokees every two years and since the take over of Chrysler by Mercedes (what merger??? The Germans decide nobody else) I must say that build quility has improved quite dramatically. The Germans definitely know how to do that. It is still not Toyota Qualtiy but they are getting there. At least they have better quality than GM and Ford. If I look at the no of breakdowns of my sons Ford Explorer Chrysler definitely is better. Pity that the succes is not recognized by more. I will keep on driving DC products maybe even consider the Merc M. But untilthen my 2006 Grand Cherokee is still great to drive November 8, 2006 at 7:44 am(17) Cory says: With a few exceptions, comment 16 seems to summarize the whole DC ownership experience: if you buy a new one every two years, no problem, but if you keep them longer than five or six, watch out. Seems like the perfect car to lease. Especially since resale values on Chryslers are excruciatingly low. November 8, 2006 at 7:47 am(18) 300CFAN says: I owned a 1991 Jeep Cherokee limited and suffered so many probelms with it that I decided to never buy a chrysler product ever; that was changed when I saw the 300C, I bought one 18 months ago and still love to drive it, however, I drove better quality cars than both chrysler and MB. To answer the question; I believe chrysler did benefit from MB, however, both still lack in quality. Will I buy another chrysler? Don’t think so although I am still enjoying the 300C. November 8, 2006 at 10:54 am(19) Michael J says: I think Chrysler was saved from going under by the MB takeover but overall, I don’t know that they have improved other than body fit. Mercedes obviously has NO idea of the history of Chrysler cars (aka Charger 4 door?). I think more attention to that detail would probably give Americans more of what they will buy. I still drive two 1960s Chryslers but wouldn’t buy anything from them after 1974 whether MB or not. Too many mechanical problems. November 8, 2006 at 10:55 am(20) Jeff Burton says: I’ve had 2 dodge stratus’ (or would they be “Strati”?) and the ‘96 had some mechanical problems that didn’t show up until just after the warranty expired (along with several visits on other issues under warranty). The ‘02 is (now my ex’s), like the ‘96, has excessive road noise, and subpar gas mileage. Though, i do like the styling. I drive an ‘01 dodge ram 5.2, and it is comfortable and I enjoy driving it. However it suffers from severly poor gas mileage (best is 14.25 mpg) and has no guts at all, especially in a head wind. Additionally, though i bought it used at 31k miles, it has squeaks and rattles that no vehicle should have at 70k miles. All vehicles suffered from VERY cheap interior parts, lots of hard, cheap plastic, and poor fittings, that eventually came apart, broke or will in the near future. NO it is not an American car maker. If it is then so should Toyota and Honda, who make vastly superior vehicles. Please note that since the purchase of Chrysler, Mercedes’ quality has dropped lower that it ever has been, so, maybe there was a take away for Mercedes’ collaboration after all. I bought all these vehicles because of price (had limited funds at the time) but my next vehicle will definitely be a Toyota. Lastly, CHARGER, A 4 DOOR???? Somewhere, the car gods are crying. November 8, 2006 at 12:31 pm(21) d. sartin says: Chrysler, Ford or GM, makes no difference as to which one, all have one thing in common compared to Japanese Auto makers, and that is they continue to make cheap junky autos. November 8, 2006 at 3:24 pm(22) Mark says: I have a 2005 300 Limited and a 1994 LHS completely different cars but love them both. The LHS seems to have a softer touch but the 300 is MUCH quieter. Clearly a Daimler influence with the 300 in many ways. Like my father, I’m definitely a Chrysler man (my brother all Mercedes). November 8, 2006 at 6:04 pm(23) j kent says: daimler will sell off chrysler or seperate unit selling only trucks and jeeps sell what makes you money i wouldnt buy a chrysler product for half the price of a toyota except used November 8, 2006 at 6:21 pm(24) Scott Ballard says: I have worked for Chrysler since 1995 and think that the merger was the best thing that happened.The quality has improved in almost every area of the products they put out.Hardly any transmission problems with the exception of the evaporator drains dumping water into the transmission fill tube seals.The electrical systems have gotten easier to diagnose with the can c and can b system.The only Problems I see that are annoying is front end rattles Other then that the quality has gotten a lot better and the power is a major improvement as well as the styling November 8, 2006 at 9:53 pm(25) jechavarri says: Rented a dodge caliber for the first time the other day and I can tell you it is all about looks. The interior has bad ergonomics, and they used hard, cheap plastics throughout. I kept bumping my elbow against the center console (set too high and not padded), and armrest onthe door(toohard to put your elbow on!) The glove box handle snapped off when I tried to open the glove box. Step down on the gas pedal and you get nothing at first, and then sudden acceleration with weird transmissions shift, and real no feel of the road, especially at freeway speeds. Interior is quiet though. November 9, 2006 at 5:15 am(26) Rod says: I drive a 2000 Sebring JXi Convertible with 58,000 miles on it. It is the first Chrysler I’ve owned after owning Fords, Chevys, and Pontiacs. I bought it used a year ago because it was in excellent shape and had low miles for the price. It has been fun to drive. I have replaced normal wear items (brakes, tires, struts, oil, plugs, filters) and an engine sensor that made the engine shut down intermittantly even at freeway speeds. (rather scary!) It is a fun car to drive when it is running well. It twists and flexes a lot less than a lot of other ragtops I’ve driven and has a roomy rear seat area and trunk for a convertible. It accelerates well and handles nicely for a car of its’ size. It gets about twenty miles per gallon as displayed by the onboard computer. It is nowhere near the level of fit and finish you might expect for a car made by the same company that makes Mercedes, but it doesn’t cost anywhere near the same either. You get what you pay for in most cases, and in this case you get about what you spend either new or used. It is about as good as anything you can get in its’ class domestically. It doesn’t reflect any of its’ parent company’s heritage in any noticable quantity. It is as domestic as any other car with an American name built in a foreign country. I will continue to enjoy this car as long as it is affordable and holds up over time. I don’t know if I’d buy another one, though. November 9, 2006 at 3:03 pm(27) joe scanlon says: as a former mechanic i can tell you that the rear wheel drive chrys products of the 60’s 70’s @ 80’s were the best cars on the rd.Just ask the taxi @ police fleets about the Dodge Diplomats @ plymouth Gran Furys.I have had a 64 dodge police car,67 dodge dart,69 dodge coronet hd,top @ 87 dodge diplomat which im still driving today.Not a single engine or transmission trouble with any of them.I have not bought another chrys product until the police go back to chrys.Japanese cars?The police don`t want them,they don`t hold up. November 9, 2006 at 8:01 pm(28) Me says: I would never consider a chrysler product. How long do you think it will be until Daimler kills it off? They just wanted Jeep and Freightliner. All Freightliners except for the big rigs are MB trucks, with a Freightliner badge, and they suck. But them most americans are idiots when they pay $50K for a taxi! November 9, 2006 at 10:25 pm(29) Ross says: I have owned Chrysler products since the end of 1962, starting with a Sweptline pickup that was as good as any vehicle ever gets. There were some runs in the paint on the overhead, but they were not as bad as the runs on our brand new Suburban a few years ago. Part of the exterior of that new Suburban had to be repainted. That 1963 Sweptline was bought near the end of 1962. I drove it 20 years, and gave it to my dad who drove it 10 years, then sold it for almost exactly what I paid for it brand new. The brakes in my brand new Buick almost got us killed, and the dealers knew those Buicks had bad brakes. They never got better until we went to an independent brake shop and replaced all the Buick parts. The transmission “crystallized” at 80,000. No problems with my Mopar transmissions since 1962. My Ford Explorer was an accident waiting to happen; it was all over the road at highway speeds unless you kept both hands on the wheel. It got terrible gas mileage and rode bad. If Dodge had put out an engine as bad as the Ford Powerstroke the whole world would know about it. Why is it that there is such a coverup for Ford? I had a Dodge Colt that was as near to a perfect car as anything gets. As old as it would be I would probably still have it if my son hadn’t rolled it. I now have a 2005 Cummins Turbo Diesel four door pickup. In 20,000 miles,so far, I could not be more pleased. There is NO suspension problem. My best mpg was 24.1 driving through Las Vegas. It consistently averages 20 even after climing the grades from Riverside to Victorville in the Mojave, this is in a 4WD 3/4 heavy duty Ram. The interior setup is far superior to the GMC I tried out. In fact, a friend of mine who is a dyedinthewool GMC fan test drove the GMC with me and has driven my Ram. His exact words were “I have to admit if I were buying a new truck today it would have to be a Dodge.” That’s from a man who has had a GMC truck since 1972. Someone commented on the PT Cruiser. The streets are full of them, they can’t be too bad. Chrysler must have sold millions of them. Already I see a lot of Jeep Commanders on the road, and they are relativly recent arrivals. Dodge Magnums are abundant, also. I don’t even need to mention how many 300s they must have sold. Driving across the desert to Las Vegas you see almost a steady stream of 300s. Mopar was the only “American” auto manufacturer of the Big Three to do well until recently. That’s because people want something new, which is why the 300 and PT Cruiser sold so well. One sales manager told me his sales people were getting “rich” off the sale of Magnums. The American public alwasy wants something new and “trick”. I think the Magnum, Charger, PT Cruiser and other Mopars are some of the best looking cars on the road, American or foreign. My daughter has a brand new Ford Explorer that has very few miles on it. It has been in the shop for at least the last two days because they can’t figure out why the brakes are so bad. My Chevy Tahoe had to have an injector replaced at less than 50,000 miles. Some critics talk about the ugliness of the Jeep Compass and Dodge Caliber; why don’t you try to compare it to the new Toyota? I can’t remember the name of it, but it’s something like “Land Cruiser”. That has to be one of the ugliest 4WD SUVs ever produced. Why aren’t we hearing that from the Toyotabised press. My Nissan pickup had paint so thin you could almost see through it. It faded rapidly. The floor boards rusted out, and it had a rattle in the rear end that no one could figure out. I know a guy who has a Toyota Tacoma. It rode so bad he tried replacing the shocks, but that was no help. It is so uncomfortable that I get a back ache if I ride more than just a few miles in it. I am 6′ 1″ and he is about 5′7″ and yet we are both uncomfortable in that truck. There is also NOwhere to put anything. It has the worst cab layout I have ever seen, and he agrees with that. My point is that all manufacturers have good and bad. There isn’t a car maker out there that hasn’t produced a “lemon”. But, for the most part the only car maker that the press consistently finds fault with is Chrysler, and yet the better car magazines give many Mopars high marks, and the Dodge Ram has been wellliked by 4WD magazines for years now, but you people never tell us that, just as you don’t tell us what a piece of junk the Ford PowerStroke was. Let’s here what you DON’T like about the rest of the manufacturers and lay off Chrysler for a while. November 10, 2006 at 6:53 am(30) Lee says: I have to agree with Ross. Since 1960 I’ve owned 2 Chevys, 2 Fords and 20 Chrysler products. I spent more money on the 4 vehicles than all 20 Mopars to keep them on the road. Mopar has always had by far the best seats, motors and transmissions. I lived in Iowa and never had a rust problem except for the GM units. My Chevy pickup had more new than original parts when I sold it. I’m driving a rental Altima today and although it drives nice I can’t stand the whine of the engine/xmission, seats or the center arm rest that is behind me. Chrysler has always been a very foward looking company and most nicities on your vehicles have today were introduced by Chrysler. I hope MB keeps them coming. November 13, 2006 at 12:23 am(31) Richard Evans says: For reference, the Dodge Colt was made by Toyota, thats the reason there was Japanese writing on underhood parts. Yes, the Toyota FJ Cruiser IS BUTT UGLY! The previous generation of Dodge trucks (942002) had VERY bad gas mileage, and I hear its not much better, but do ya ever notice most Dodge trucks people drive have a pair of glasspack mufflers? I happen to like the new 4 door chargers, as that is more in keeping with modern needs in the average car. We’ve got the new challenger coming, since nobody buys 2 doors these days. I personally would like to have an AWD Charget RT, and fix it up like the General Lee… November 14, 2006 at 9:48 am(32) Hemidakota says: I had laugh at your article, lacks any real depth of research and seems to be filled with bias…you must be driving a Camry? LOL Sharing of platforms is the only way to curb platform cost. Next evolution, the E Class with riding on a Chrysler platform with the latest LY GEN 2 vehicles. So much for your research…huh? The Caliber and the Compass do fill their respected classes. Though, it could be worst and drive test a Honda CRV or a Toyota Rav4. LOL However, you are not going to get a 300HP version road mannered in either one. November 14, 2006 at 10:31 am(33) Sebring05 says: Well, all I can say is that I have bought new Ford pickups; new Mazda pickups; used 19871990 Mercury Tracer(s) (Mazda 323’s) and beginning in 2001 I traded my 98 Mazda Pickup off for a 2001 Chrysler Voyager brand new loved the truck but liked the van even more. In 2003 drunk driver broadsided my van and I ended up with T&C LXi van for replacement/settlement from the other guy’s insurance company. I have since won a brand new 2005 Chrysler Sebring and thru inheritance a 1991 Dodge Dakota CC 4X4 w/v8 plus I have a 1993 Mazda MX6 too. November 14, 2006 at 10:50 am(34) Sebring05 says: To finish though I have seen huge improvment in appearance and mechanicals of Chrysler products. Where I have seen problems though is that Chrysler just like Ford and GM needs to come to grips with reality as far as building fuel efficency into all their vehichles and stop wasting so much time worrying about 060 and top end speed times. The majority of the speed limits in the US are 55 and 65 with the cops allowing people to get away with going perhaps 10MPH over those limits at best. My Sebring and MX6 (15 years old and 177,000+miles) easily get into the low to mid 30s for gas mileage and handle/ride just wonderful down the road when I hit the highway if it takes 1012 seconds instead of 6 to get to 60 and/or 70Mph before I turn on the cruise do not care. If Mercedes does decide to spinoff Chrysler would love to see Chrysler and Mazda as the next combination. I know Ford owns a majority in Mazda but Ford and the rest cannot seem to come to grips with the fact that the era of big highprofit gassucking SUVs and pickups is coming to an end. Chrysler and Ford both need to “reach back” and bring back cars like the Concorde/LHS/Intrepid and/or Mercury Capri/Tracer/Ford EXP back. A 1981 Mercury Capri was rated in the high 20’s/low 30’s for mileage and friend of mine has a 2001 Concorde with the 2.7V6 that consistenly gets 3234MPG so the technology and knowhow is there just got to easy to fat on big profits from pickups and SUVs. Germans also need to understand that not all Americans are millionaires and have unlimited disposable income to make payments for 72 months and pay at the pump forever!!!! Sebring05 November 14, 2006 at 8:09 pm(35) T&C Bay Area Buyer says: Chrysler really got the long end of the merger stick, the quality has greatly improved no wonder the Mercedes side of D&C suffered when all the moolah and design resources went to Detroit and the Mercedes side saw the BMW & Audi taillights in quality and design. They are actually letting off workers in Stuttgart because of this. So no question who profited. I totally agree with the statement that the media and public haven’t caught up with the fact yet that Chryslers have vastly improved in quality actually we benefited from just that fact: Chrysler threw buckets of money at us to buy the best U.S. designed minivan. Hard to believe that they have to do that for this good quality and nice design, irrespective of the large 2006′ stock they need to get rid of. Pearls for the pigs We just bought the base model 2006 Town & Country for the bottom price of $13,988 cash (Bay Area, N. California) this includes the $3,500 manufacturer rebate (since then boosted to $4,000), an additional $1,000 extra off (for whatever reason, before April ‘06 invoiced or not, we didn’t care) and the dealer took a loss of over three grand on the invoice he paid. Great car after X generations and 8 years of Mercedes quality assurance guys having a chance to kink out any problems which belated the Voyager in the early 90’s. The only problem is that we can’t get over 20 mpg out of it in the mix (EPA 19 / 26, you can’t trust these guys…). But then again, we don’t pay >$3 per gallon any more. Anyone who doesn’t believe the quality improvement since the takeover shall just look at the Town&Country fit and then cross the street to the Ford and GMC dealer lots that stuff sucks in comparison. Especially the “silent steel” suspension and frame design are great, I haven’t driven a Mercedes yet to compare to the source, though. As someone who had driven a Dodge Intrepid four years ago and never wanted to put a foot in such a lame duck again, that’s quite a change, I agree. But then came the quality. January 21, 2007 at 10:17 am(36) Sandra T says: Not sure whether Chrysler is now a German car? All doubt is removed in the recent series of German Guy commercials. Let’s not sneer at American engineering, please, when selling to Americans. My 94 Dodge Ram Van has 210000 on it. I won’t buy a replacement from a company that now openly scorns the US. March 13, 2007 at 1:52 am(37) Tony V says: Just wanted to comment on the “I won’t buy a Chrysler till they give a Benz warranty.” The reason the Benz warranty is so much better is because you paid for it you dummy. A Benz costs way more than a Chrysler ever will. This is why I laugh when people say you should buy a Benz or BMW (or any overpriced car for that matter) because you get free oil changes and maintenance etc. It’s not free you dummy, you paid for it when you bought the overpriced car. Some people just don’t see the big picture. October 21, 2007 at 3:50 pm(38) linda says: ford n dodge suck May 8, 2008 at 5:30 pm(39) malcolm says: As we know shysler has been through hard times. therfore chrysler has made some of the best american engineering compared to quaility of materials and ride quality. lots of german engeering also ther cheaper cars have lots of german egineering like for instance the pt crusier and calibor the engine was desighned by the germans and americans the suspention has the same unique features that u would expect to be on a car thats expensive like the 300 and charger even ther trucks and jeeps hae german eginnering as we know mercedes benz makes some of the worlds best suspentions and steering systems there cars ride and handel better then cadillac with ther much cheaper plastic that are made by chevy. for instance the chevy hhr and the pt crusier the pt has better styling mor interior classy styling and the base i cheaper then the base hhr which has horrable quality problems the concord and intrepid were good smooth large sedans one small defect in the engine sludge but they were polular because of styling ride quaity compared to s class mercedes they have always made reliable cars they need to stop using the wrong transmission fluids and use the correct one because the transmissions are so sensitive they need ATF3 which will save them 10’s of hundreds of thousands each year which will help put them back on track and stop makin ght junk motor 2.7 liter v6 and make a 3.0 or redesign the whole engine to many complaining consumers about sludgeissues and yes i was on of those consumers about my 02 intrepid ae with total sport package ui pad 27 ,000 dollers for which engine went out at 65,000 miles August 3, 2008 at 9:45 am(40) Rod says: I got a 2006 jeep new from a local dealer. I always wanted a nice jeep. Got a rubicon limited loaded out. I was excited. Then I realized the next day the windshield washer didn’t work. The dealer told me there was a recall, but they didn’t have the part. I dropped it off a week after that because the heater didn’t cut off (even with the AC on). It only got worse. To make a long store short the only thing jeep ever repaired was the windshield washer. I will never own a jeep, dodge, chrysler, or benz agian. My jeep was falling apart before it was a year old and not even cerberus gave a beep. Leave a Comment Leave a Comment Name Email (never displayed) URL Your Comment Line and paragraph breaks are automatic. Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title="">, <b>, <i>, <strike> Say It! gEI("commentform").style.display="none"; var l=getElementsByClassName("leavecomment",gEI("comments")); for(i=0;i