Re: Just Read the SLK 300 Marketing Materials
The idea in starting the thread was to explore the value in these cars, not so much to debate whether the cars are Mercedes or Chryslers.
Badge Engineering takes on many forms. We benefit from the fact that the Crossfire, while badged a Chrysler, is in fact, substantially a Mercedes-Benz product, built in a Karmann plant, where some of the worlds best cars are made. From a product value standpoint, it doesn't get much better than that. The manufacturer made no secret of this. In fact if you took away all parts not used on Mercedes cars, I suspect the car would still be driveable.
Another form of Badge Engineering that takes the concept in the other direction puts a venerable name (like "Jaguar") onto a product that in no way shares the lineage claimed. Take for example the Jaguar X-Type of recent years. Here is a car that has little to do with Jaguar, other than "benefitting" from the imitative interior styling and wannabee exterior styling cues that seek to nudge it in the direction of its pedigreed namesakes. This is a case of the manufacturer (Ford Europe) seeking to put the car (a Ford Mondeo) into a new market (North America) and sell it as something it's not.
Park a Jaguar X-Type next to an XK-8 and there is no mistaking the lack of relationship between the two. The last laugh was on all the people who bought their "Jaguar" X-Type and wander around thinking they're part of an exclusive few. I had a ride in an X-Type and saw it for what it was - a poseur vehicle. Having owned two "real" Jaguars (E-Type and XJ-6), there was no mistaking the lack of connection.
Again, we don't have that problem in the Crossfire - rather we're in "stealth mode". Interestingly, Daimler Chrysler may have shot themselves in the foot by taking the approach they did - badging it a Chrysler and hiding the Mercedes pedigree. Good for us, bad for them...
Last edited by ppro; Sep 19, 2008 at 09:15 AM.