Originally Posted by
kingtj
They basically dislike the Crossfire anyway as a mistake they wish they never agreed to partner with Mercedes and build.
This is an interesting viewpoint & probably not far from the truth within Chrysler (a.k.a., FCA). The Crossfire actually filled a void left by the end of the Plymouth Prowler, which was also a limited production run sports car (can't believe I said that!). But the Prowler was truly an example of a modern-day, "Detroit iron" hot rod but with an underpowered drivetrain. And the Prowler is just now becoming somewhat a collectors marque, especially if it's a low mileage version.
The Crossfire enabled Chrysler to bring to market quickly a truly performance-oriented sports car to challenge the likes of the BMW and Porsche versions. And remember, the SRT-6, while only sold here for essentially 1 year, could compete head-to-head with the best from either BMW or Porsche back then. But the Crossfire had nearly 80% of its components shared with the Mercedes-Benz R170 platform. And when your Chrysler Service Departments are used to working on "Detroit iron", having to "tool-up" for essentially a metric designed vehicle was unthinkable. And when your mechanics provide their own tools, most didn't have a full compliment of metric tools within their boxes. These cars were a PITA to work on!
It is also interesting to me that M-B Service Departments look down on a Crossfire as a cheap version of the SLK320. And yet, it is well known that during this same time span, M-B's quality (outside of their powertrain) was also considered extremely poor. M-B was losing market share to the BMWs & Audis of the world and even transferred the head of Daimler-Chrysler back to Germany to head M-B to get things straightened out & restore their market image. So the M-B's of the world back then weren't any better overall, just more expensive!
It's going to be interesting to watch the FCA handling of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep brands within USA. There are more models coming out that have origins from Fiat-sourced designs and the same "perceptions" could happen again (history does tend to repeat itself). Just look at the Jeep Renegade which has close kinship to the Fiat 500 underpinnings. It's also the first Jeep-branded vehicle assembled outside CONUS. And I don't see many running around the streets in Upstate SC. Jeep owners are akin to Harley owners when it comes to branding. Oh, I've got a Jeep - better look in a mirror! Hah!
It's truly a real man's 4x4! Twenty years old & keeps on running. Like driving a Timex! There - I've dated myself!
My $0.02.