I believe the author's thinking is as flawed as all those auto reviewers that kept harping on the recirc ball steering on the Crossfire. It seems that one dolt made that comment and many others adopted it as their own.

First there is nothing wrong with the "old" platform. In MB SLK form it was time for a change but not worn out. While much of the Crossfire platform does come from MB much of it was refreshed by Chrysler. The suspension and brakes were upgraded especially on the SRT. It has its own character.

Why don't we hear the same thing about they 300/Magnum/Charger? Didn't the use of previous generation E class parts make them better vehicles? We have had more than one former SLK owners who were pleasantly surprised by the "new more modern" Crossfire.

The problems with marketing the Crossfire are numerous (most have been mentioned on this forum). When launched, the dealers abused the potential customers by jacking up the prices, permanently alienating many and treating those who did purchase one indifferently. Even that did not deter people from buying them. DCX saw this as an endorsement of these actions and then immediately overproduced them.

When BMW brought back the Mini, they purposely kept production low in the beginning then slowly added incremental production numbers. Keeping demand high and ensuring high resale values.

When the '05s came out the single model blossomed to SIX. Base coupe and roadster, Limited coupe and roadster, and of course the SRT6 coupe and roadster. This increase in production of a specialty 2 seater came about at the same time the economy was starting to change. Peoples buying patterns changed. Where people could afford a "toy" AND a SUV And a family sedan, gas prices and other economic challenges had the majority looking for fuel efficient four door sedans.

There is still a group that cherish their little two seaters (like those on this forum) but look at all the choices now. Miata, Z4, TT, Boxster, SLK Corvette, Solstice, Sky etc. A limited shrinking market with more entries than ever.

While the price of the Crossfire has always been a bargain (compared to its MB stepbrothers and other Germanic cousins) it was THE MOST EXPENSIVE CHRYSLER. The SRT6 models actually were more expensive than the 300 SRT8.

Chrysler is NASCAR. Big iron with a Hemi beats the finesse of the Crossfire. Green eyed MB bigwigs wanted to make sure it stayed that way. They could not have been happy to read some of the more honest reviews that had the Crossfire beating Porsche, BMW and yes MBZ while costing as much as $10=15K less for a sophisticated work of art that actually came much better equipped with a build quality equal if not better.

It wasn't the DCX "biplanes" that killed the little beast, 'twas the incompetent, jealous morons at DCX that killed the beauty!

In my humble opinion...