In attempt to move some posts from an off topic thread into this new thread the posts were lost in the transfer.
Fortunately I was able to capture them in screen shots to put here in the correct order sequence

 

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It may have been a love child but they sure threw it under the bus when daddy decided to take the jewels and run off.

MB won't touch the car and Chrysler would rather not.

With some exceptions the Chrysler team has had to look away from German sausage and learn to like Olive oil.

I'm just glad i got the chance to snag a few of them for myself. These are great cars.

 

I was going to stay out of this whole conversation (even though my car is probably the biggest offender when it comes to having an automotive identy crisis thanks to me). But I thought I'd ad my $.02 anyway.
Of course you're right Dave, there's no denying it. If Chrysler sold it, then it's a Chrysler. Plain and simple. But things are never really that simple, are they?
I mean to the average Joe on the street who doesn't have a clue as to what kind of car he's driving, where it came from, who built it, who designed it, and has no interest what so ever in finding out, yeah, it's a Chrysler.
But to the average "Crossfire Owner" (if there is such an animal) or for any "Car Guy/Girl", there's usually more to it than what Dealer Show Room you had to go to, just to sign on the bottom line.
Being a long time MoPAR guy, I've probably spent nearly $100k on "Chrysler" products in the last 46 years, so I have no poblem admitting to Chrysler ownership.
But personally, I don't feel the Crossfire is anymore a Chrysler than say a:

Chrysler Simca
Chrysler Sunbeam Tiger
Chrysler Roots Motors
Dodge Colt
Plymouth Sapporo
79 Dodge Challenger
Plymouth Arrow
Chrysler Coquest
Dodge Sprinter Van
Chrysler Fiat
Chrysler 4.0 litre Jeep
Chrysler Eagle Talon
Or a Dodge Stealth, just to name a few.

Speaking of the "Dodge" Stealth, the 1991 INDY PACE CAR dibolical is a very good example of how much weight a cars "true" origin has in the automotive enthusiasts collective memory.

eBay Find of the Day: 1991 Dodge Stealth is the Indy 500 Pace Car that never was - Autoblog

The SRT-6 could have easily paced the 2005 Indy Car race with no mods what so ever. But just like the Dodge Stealth, Having a car built by a country that was once an Axis Power, being front and center on a Memorial Day Holiday Race probably would have been frowed upon. But one thing for sure, (if it had happened) EVERYBODY would have considered the Crossfire a Mercedes.[/QUOTE]

 

We bought my wife's car from a Ford dealer... Yep that's where we signed the dotted line.. so does this mean....

Last Ford I had (77 mercury cougar) I sold.. and a month later it caught on fire and burned in the street..

 

Fords have a tendancy of doing that. I've been saying that for over 40 years but nobody ever listens to me.

 

[/QUOTE]

Very good points Dave.

Before the Crossfire,,,,my favorite underrated Chrysler badged ricer was the Dodge Conquest.

K cars and most of the original minivans were powered by Mitsubishi. So, essentially one could suggest, that the cars which 'saved" Chrysler motors were more important than the American Dollars our government guaranteed to the Banks.

 

Perseption is reality.

Lee Iacocca said that he did not understand why the owners of Mistsubishi 3000s were more pleased with their cars than owners of Dodge Stealths because the cars were the same.

I always figured it was because Dodge service sucked.

 

Not entirely the case. The 3000 came with a 24 valve engine.
But yes, the dealership reputation was a big part of the problem. By the middle of the 90's that had been completely reversed. When Daimler took over, it again improved. There was a real excitement at the dealerships both is sales and in the shop.

Since 1965 I had always loved Mopar. We did have a few GM products in the 70's mostly the result of bad dealer service at Dodge/Chrysler. But then I read Iacocca's first book and literally went out the next day and bought a Lebaron Mark Cross Convertible. We were hooked ever since.

I also bought Benzes, so when these two companies joined I was ecstatic.

Just as I was about to pop for a 2002 SLK 320, the Crossfire Concept came into view. To me, it was a perfect child of that marriage. Still is.

 

perfect and beautiful too.

 

Franc, the Stealth and the 3000 Mitsubishi shared all the same engines. (I had both versions)

 

Good to know.

thanks

 

Yes Im just liking the car for what it is, a great fun car to drive !!! I dont care what the badges say or if you change them ! Most people I meet havent a clue what the car is and thats fine with me !!!

 

My sense is that 7 years from now these cars will come into their own. Everyone I show this 2005 SRT to is CERTAIN that it's a new car and want to know who makes such a cool beast. To me, this means that unlike even many euro supercars, its appearance won't go out of style - it's already timeless. I'm working to get my roadster into "as new" condition under the hood and exterior. This site has been hugely helpful in targeting what to do first, how and why - irreplaceable resource. Thanks so much to everyone who has built up this mountain of knowledge!!!

 

The video of the SRT guys who talk about making the car is hilarious to me. They don't know what to say really and you can see it. They had 7 Chrysler guys go to Germany to help with development...7 ..... Did they do anything to the car? Did they design any part of it? They say they tweaked suspension but from what I understand it rides just like the SLK's. They may have sat there and said which parts from the bin were in the best shape to go on the car or help decide what chassis to run with, but really all I can find is that they encrypted the traction software so that you can only read the damn module with their machine. What's funnier is that if they developed the module, it would probably be like the rest of their stuff with a full OFF on TC... but we have a merc sticker on it, and it behaves just like every other merc so it's safe to assume the software is still mercedes.

 

We can discuss parenting and badging ad nauseum but I have to admit saying it is MB carries more weight with "car people" than saying it is Chrysler. Perception is not often influenced by true knowledge but by here say, rumor and bull...t. Only to the knowledgeable few who own Crossfires will the "truth" be known. I am guilty of rebadging my car to just Crossfire powered by MB, not out of embarrassment but to spark conversation. I can talk all day about my SRT6 and often do, but in the end it doesn't matter what the badge says or what we say, it is what it is. History will determine it's fate, whether it becomes a classic, to be revered or to die a lonely painful death. I suspect that if it becomes the classic we hope for, both parents would be proud to claim it as their own.