Good grief, I've read less squabbling on "boy racer" forums. As a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, so too is it with the crossfire. Let's just enjoy the car and end the petty b.s-ing.

 

you are right we should end this thread, sometimes we just have different opinions and it should not turn into anything else, but that...

 

OK...first off, I am not talking about world racing-wooopie grand prix...that is NOT grass roots, but shows what you can do with HUGE financial backing, factory support, etc etc...not the kind of thing you go out and drive at the local track, with a tool box for a pit crew etc....grand prix racing is pretty fantastic, but it may as well be space shuttle racing for the rest of us...
And as for the sales of the Crossfire, I believe the core of the American buying public were worried about the 'Mercedes' side of Chrysler when it came to this car. It was obvious that the MB parts bins were gone through for the mechanicals, and along with that would be the Mercedes price tag on service etc., for a car that could be embarrassed by the navigation/stereo and other luxury items found in the 'lowly' 300...
Actually, the lack of those things are what drew me to the X-fire (no dash-board technical wizardry) and I have no complaints about the simple interior-the things that do bug the $#!+ out of me are those Mercedes things (vague throttle (drive by wire), not having the ability to shut off the Traction Control entirely, relying too much on computer controlled brake assist, ESP, Clutch on supercharger, lame location of cruise control, etc)...hell, Mercedes probably over-engineered the cupholder, too. These are all carry over features from other fine Mercedes vehicles, and all may be features that impress you...however things like the vague throttle and 'cruise control on a stick' have been Mercedes staples for DECADES!!! I thoroughly enjoy my SRT-6, and when I can resolve these issues, I will like it even more...I just wish that Chrysler could have been allowed to take these bits of Mercedes out in the initial design of the car. ...

 

never said mercedes was flawless and their are quiet a few things I do not like about it myself some of them you mentioned... like the inability to fully turn off traction control..., but somehow I don't think mercedes has much to do with the silly cup holder.. because the slk counterpart has a basically the same interior, but no such cup holder... well anyways who ever did invent that cup holder... did not do a good job... because the only thing that fits well into it is a hand granade...

 

Ok then. . .How do you explain the cupholder!

 

Why is it being critical, or hypocritical to rightly point out that Daimler used last generation technology for this car.? Talk about hand me down and unwanted step child...they find a way to use up their parts bins of engines/trans/ and a bunch of suspension parts. Heck the console in the interior is the same mold as the last generation SLK.

Let's face it, really. Who puts a recirculating ball steering in a sports car? Since, oh, 1958 Daimler is about the only company to not use rack and pinion in anything considered to be a sports car. Yes, the Crossfire sticks to the road like glue, but the lack of steering response and feedback really makes the drive a bit disappointing. Why did Daimler (oops Chrysler) slip on this?

And I'm sorry, you can call this anything you want, and put any lipstick on it you want...it comes with a Chrysler badge, sold by Chrysler dealers, and is sorta serviced by Chrysler dealers. Like it or not, it's either a Chrysler or an outdated Mercedes.

 

Yea...what he said! Even a Neon has rack & pinion steering!! No, really - I've said it before...I think the Crossfire is an American designed car that utilized the Mercedes parts bin...kind of like the ultimate 'kit car' using Mercedes donor parts onto an American designed body/frame. I believe that if there had been more flexibility, things like the steering and other Mercedes items could have been replaced with proven Viper parts or other items that were in the supply lines, but the Mercedes side of Daimler-Chrysler wanted to utilize those items...and even if they are outdated, they still work, and work very well; however it is those items that give the Crossfire the Mercedes 'feel', good or bad.

 

I find the discussion on steering interesting. I am used to MG's, Sunbeams, Mini's etc. all with rack and pinion. I do not find the steering in the Crossfire unresponsive, I find it quite good. What I do find is that the Recirculating ball system is more expensive to make and lasts longer than rack and pinion...Perhaps cost control is the issue in the market?

Gary

 

My 2c worth. I have owned Chrysler products for 40 years now and my Crossfire is by far the worst piece of sh*t to ever wear a Chrysler badge. The best thing this car has going for it is the only thing it got from Chrysler and that is the body design. If this is the German engineering and build quality that Mercedes brought to this marriage, Chrysler got the short end of the stick, and the sooner they get divorced the better for Chrysler.

 

Can you be more specific or say K-cars?

My car had the transmission and rear end replaced. I've also had just about every other problem associated with the
Crossfire. I too have not been overly impressed with MB quality, or Chrysler service, but I would hardly say the Crossfire is
the worst car ever to carry the Chrysler name. My car is still a keeper.

 

They hold their value the way they do because they are not in demand, no body wants them. I saw as much advertisement for the XF as I did the solstice and sky. Not much. But the solstice and sky sell. Reason why? They do everything the base crossfire does for 10k less. My non srt crossfire stickered for 35k. The XF is on an outdated platform, dating back a decade ago. The regular crossfire is mediocre at everything and accelerates at nothing. For 35k people soon realized they can get a better bang per buck elsewhere. then they started sitting on the lots. Then went down their value. With the best version the SRT-6 to follow.

The SRT-6 is a stellar ride for sure. But again at what cost? Stickers at 47k, people chose to rather buy the new C6, a base M3 is there, and later any SRT-8. Due to this the price started plummeting for both. I predicted when the SRT-6 first came out you would be able to get one 18 months from now for under 30k OTD. It dropped even further than I appreciated.

I am just ecstatic, I leased my XF instead of purchased. My crossfire right now with 16k on it is worth less than my Neon. And all the unsold 05's are going to hit the auction now, further hurting the value.

A good product needs little advertisement. As car and driver said, "the crossfire is 50 hp short of stardom."

With that said, for sticker the XF is a joke. But for these used prices it is a great car. Mine has never seen the dealer for service albeit for oil changes.

Remember maintenance is pricy for this car. Near $100 dollar oil changes. If you want to change plugs 2 per cylinder, and brakes are very expensive. And you like to mod, remember virtually no aftermarket, besides the kits.

Then you have the knowledge-less Chrysler techs (IME, they know very little on these cars). And if you go to Mercedes for help they kind of laugh at you. I know because it has happen to me.

But it can all be good once you debadge it and throw some fake badging on it. I heard its a cure all.

 

yeah, everything bullseye said is true, except about the car not excelling at anything, it is still one of the best handling and braking cars in its class, if not the best. but aside from that, he is right. i think the crossfire actually had more advertisement than the solstice/sky, maybe not as much media coverage, because it was not as much of a bargain. if the crossfire originally came out at 24k it would have sold much better.

then again, if the crossfire had 275-300 hp, it would have sold like crazy at 34k. anyways, i'm glad for my time with the crossfire but im also glad my lease is coming up. to bad we never found a reasonable way to squeeze 50 extra horses out of it.

 

Does any of this really matter? It seems to me some are more concerned with image. Think what you want, because it is what it is.

 

What do you consider it's class? I am curious.

 

Don't know about others, but to me its in the same class as Z4, Porsche cayman, maybe saturn sky red line, pontiac solstice gxp, Audi TT, to name a few that I can think of... considering the N/A crossfire, but the SRT is in a slightly higher class...

 

it would seem the Crossfire would fit in with the entry level N/A 6 cylinder sport cars-and the SRT-6 would fit into the Turbo/Supercharged 6 cylinder area --- in between the 4 cylinder (Miata/Solstice/Sky etc.) and the V-8 sports cars...but that is all a gray area seeing that some models with 4 cylinders will outperform 6 or 8 cylinder sports cars-and cost is always factored into the 'bang for the buck' theory.

 

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I stand by what I said, and yes I can say K-cars. As a matter of fact I am the proud owner from new of a 1984 Dodge 600 Turbo Convertible, one of those dreaded K-cars everyone speaks so poorly of. This particular car has over 125,000 miles on it and is original except for tires, battery, hoses, belts, and a new top 8 years ago. Even the exhaust system is original. My Crossfire has been in the shop more times in three years than my K-car has in 24 years. Sad to say but I expected better quality. My other car is a pre-Daimler/Chrysler 300M which has 80,000 miles on it and has been flawless since day one! The problems that I have with the Crossfire are due to poor design and engineering. The traction control system in this car is dangerous, nothing quit like the feeling of pulling out into traffic only to have the traction control drop the engine to an idle! I live in the north and when the temperature drops into the teens my transmission shifts like there's no clutch, I literally have to yank it with grinding gears into second gear until it warms up then it shifts fine. The seat heater has been replaced 4 times, it only works, like the transmission, in warm weather. Headlights replaced twice, Spoiler repaired twice, radio once, computer once, window leaks/glass catching on weather stripping 4 times. This last item is really a pain, it seems the door glass can either be adjusted to not leak or to not catch on the weather stripping, but not both at the same time.
For all it faults I do like the Crossfire, but it would be a cold day in hell when I would choose to have it re-badged as a Mercedes!

 

Yeah, I'm still stuck on the E42 AMG, I'm kind of a Mercedes fan, but I can't even find a picture on the web of the Mysterious E42 AMG. What year was it? Because If I remember right if it was a early 90's vehicle wouldn't have been called a 42E AMG? If you've got a photo, I'd love to see it just so I know what one looks like.

Thanks,
13

 

Looks like I will have the only chrysler badged car on the road! Rare too!