I was prepared to write about how DaimlerChrysler had mismanaged the Chrysler side of that conflated organization, but I’m not going to do that because of other news. I was going to say that Daimler had wasted the goodwill value of the Chrysler brand by making it subservient to Mercedes-Benz. Rather than co-equal American and German brands, Chryslers were for those who couldn’t afford - or didn’t appreciate - a Mercedes.



The most clear cut example of this Red Haired Child Syndrome is the Chrysler Crossfire. The Crossfire is a styling knockout, neat in its own way as the legend-in-its-own-time Dodge Viper. It’s a concept car come to life, an American sports car, and it looks like something I doodled in high school study hall - only by someone who actually could draw.

Yet the Crossfire has been a misfire. Why? Let’s ask the Red Haired Child, who notes the Chrysler Crossfire shared chassis with the Mercedes-Benz SLK. But the Crossfire got the SLK’s hand-me-downs. This generation Crossfire got the SLK stuff only after Mercedes was done with it.

Perhaps it made design and production sense. It was a way to get the Crossfire to market quickly and efficiently. But the American sports car buyer is savvy and doesn’t want to dine on Daimler leftovers and doesn’t want to be seen eating in the kitchen. Therefore the disappointing sales.



The better approach actually comes from General Motors, where the Kappa platform was used for the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky and Opel GT, share and share alike. Admittedly, the latter two are the same car sold in different markets, but the Solstice has its own body, if the same drivetrain. There’s even more room for differentiation within the price range of Crossfire and SLK. There’s no reason the cars could not have sold in the same demographic group because they would appeal to somewhat differing psychographic groups.

While DaimlerChrysler may have believed that cooperative design between Chrysler and Mercedes models may have diluted the “brand equity” of the latter, using leftover parts for the Chrysler model all but sealed Crossfire’s fate. Relegating the Chrysler brand to second class that now has DaimlerChrysler allegedly shopping its American half around to the highest bidder.

What do you think of this analysis?

 

I think whatever Chrysler got...hand me downs or not...is better than if the partnership had never happened. Plus, I think Chrysler will always be in a different bracket than Mercedes...lets face it, an E Class will always be nicer than a 300. I think the idea of getting a last gen Mercedes for half price is pretty cool...I think the new Sebring would have been better if it had last gen C class roots. Last generation Mercedes parts are better than a lot of new Chrysler parts.

 

First, there's no such word as 'psychographic'. This guy should work on Madison Avenue, because his prose is 'craptastic'.

Second, who has ever said '... Well , I WAS gonna buy a Crossfire, but not if its driveline is from a prior iteration of the SLK.'?

Big dope. I could give him five reasons the xfi wasn't a home run. None of them made his insightful analysis.

 

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...

 

SRT SIX just nailed it. Perfectly. Sometimes it seems that ignorance and brand snobbery reigns out there, but when properly analyzed, these cars are a superb mix of excellent features. The SLK 170 platform and drivetrain are not "old" -- they are well tested in the real world and the major bugs were worked out years ago. I'm not sure why that isn't better understood outside of this forum, but we know better, IMHO.

 

After reading his response, I think SRT SIX should write articles - seriously.

 

It didn't work out too well for Chrysler (and DC eventually), but for consumers like me it worked out fine. I got a new SRT6 pretty cheap. It is wayyyy better than the Solstice/Sky and cheaper too these days. It may be an old gen SLK AMG but its a rocket and looks better than the SLK IMO. It not doing so well actually helped out with the pricing and made it a bargain.

 

and um. your 2 pics say, 2007 Crossfire, and 2007 SLK, but there is no '07 Xfire.

 

Agreed. There is no way I would have paid sticker price or even invoice price for my srt6 roadster. MSRP was ~$51,500 w/Nav. Bought it with 3,450 miles on it for more than 20k less - basically the same price range as a Sky Red Line or Solstice GXP.

 

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!

 

Call it Psychographic if you must, but I'd rather have the "left over SLK hand me downs" than the stamped out tin and plastic Pontiac Solstice or Saturn Sky (yukkk) ANY DAY!

From a distance the Solstices looks nice, but up close It really sucks. Truth is the $19,900 price tag and body style and "roadster Tag" has attracted the real Psychographic to the Solstice and Sky.

I've driven them all and chose the Crossfire for many reasons. It's truly the most Sports car for the money.
I think Chrysler should have done more with the marketing and suggest they use a new slogan.

"GET YOUR GRIN ON" Because when you own a Crossfire the perpetual smile comes standard. I haven't stopped smiling yet!

IT'S A WINNER!!!

 

I sure would like to see the crossfire stay apart of the Chrysler family. It's the only good-looking car they make, sorry 300 owners just my opinion. I just hope they refab the interior for more comfort if there is a future for it. And put a Chrysler engine in there, I could do without the Mercedes motor.

 

I think this guys opinion sucks!!! Not only does he over rate what most people know about there cars. He thinks if he uses big words it makes him sound smart. Example my mother in law just bought a c6 vette brand new. Not only could she not tell you what kind, size, ect. the engine is let alone trans tire size. We here are abnormal not the average car buyer. I don't care what any one says when you put a $50,000 dollar price tag on a 2 seat car, people that can afford a car like that spend a little extra a and get the Vette, MB, Porsche, what ever. Not because of what it does because of what it says about them.

PS - The vette has never been over 90. I had my srt going 120 on the way home from the dealer.

 

THIS is the problem for Chrysler. I love my car, but I'm not getting it if I have to pay sticker. It's a great car if it's priced to compare with the Sky or Solstice...at sticker the Limited is more expensive than many cars that out-perform it (S2000, Z). If you upgrade to the SRT, you're playing with the Boxster, Z4, and SLK. Having a Chrysler wing on a car in that group is like bringing a knife to a gun fight. Having it known that your car is actually a previous-generation SLK accomplishes the same thing. For $25k? Awesome! For $50k? Not so much. That's the point of the original analysis, and while not the whole truth or complete reason for the Crossfire's abysmal showing, I think it's valid.

 

Yea, but I must be pretty good with my knife because I have taken out quite a few 'guns' with it - I guess that makes it more impressive! And yes, the original price put the Crossfire into a class that didn't suit it -