You also have to remember there are Americans like myself who do not like the driving characteristics of a Mercedes-the vague throttle response, seating arrangement and general 'ambience' of most Mercedes cars do not impress me...I'm OK if I hear the exhaust and intake, or if it doesn't idle perfectly smooth or have the very latest computerized whatever. With that said, I believe the engineers at Chrysler improved on the "outdated' platform, and took enough of the Mercedes out of it to be American (even if it was not built here etc. etc.)...I was very apprehensive about my SRT6 feeling/driving like a Mercedes product, and other than the vague gas pedal (which I look forward to correcting) the car feels to me like the Mercedes has been 're-engineered' out of it. The Crossfire is not a re-bodied SLK (like the Solstice/Sky twins sharing the same platform & structure) but engineered utilizing MB parts in addition to new components to make a car that is unique to all others. It actually saddens me that even those of us on this website have to fall back on telling those not in the know that it has Mercedes drivetrain to impress or convey reliability etc. This car was built using a variety of components to get the best end result, get it to the dealer from concept in a limited time, and to be a 'halo' car for Chrysler.
If there was any possible mistake made by Chrysler it would be that the 'Base/Limited' cars didn't have better performance-if they all performed like the SRT models, and the price conveyed a bit more of value vs. exclusivity, then it would have been more of a 'halo' car, but here in America where most people who were at an age to afford one of these were raised on V-8 power, automatically assumed the cars were underpowered. Why do you think the 300C is so popular with the Hemi? And to compare that car with a Mercedes is like comparing an apple to an orange-those who drive a 300c are usually of a different mindset than those driving a large 4 dr Mercedes.
With all that said, I love my X-Fire for how it was built, looks, and drives...and I am proud that Chrysler made it what it is! Hopefully they stick around, I'd hate to see them go the way of Plymouth, Oldsmobile & Edsel!