The difference is when most people ask a Crossfire owner who makes that car. Most respond by saying, "Chrysler, but really it's really a Mercedes", or my personal favorite that I've heard "It a Chrysler, but its the exact same thing as an SLK"

What's wrong with just saying... "Chrysler" there is no need for a "but"

 

Because to most Americans, they think of this sexy beast when they hear Chrysler:

 

 

Oh those great Nail Head BUICK V-8's

 

Whats wrong with ...."to each his own". Who really cares what we all tell others? You seem so hung up on what Crossfire owners say or explain about their cars heritage.

 

Just in case you didn't know

 

 

LOL...


Okay, so I only mentioned one of your hang ups. It appears that there are more.

 

I've got plenty more. Sadly I can't stay with you to explain them all. Gots to go make more money so I can afford my real mercedes

I'll leave you with a parting gift though.... Very Long LOL CAT GO!!!!!

 

 

Here's one of my "hang ups" : the green snake is wayyyy out of line !!!!

 

Being a nerd, I was offended by the trigonometry halfway through.

 

What made the Chrysler Crossfire a good car IMO was the quality that Mercedes brought to the table,,,It should only be reconsidered if that can be done again in a two seater. I have always liked Chrysler and Dodge vehicles over the last twenty years or so however all it takes is closing the rear hatch on a Crossfire compared to anything else in the Crysler line up. Not to mention the fact that everything I have owned from Chrysler/Dodge has always left me in the service department for something all the time. Not the Crossfire. Only if the build quality and unique looks can be replicated should the attempt be made....

 

If we are all going to get nitpicky about who built the Crossfire, 13Dog, here is a quote from "Allpar's" website about the Crossfire.


"The Crossfire was developed in 24 months. In early 2003, Karmann began building Crossfire in Germany; Karmann has worked with Chrysler before but, more to the point, built the Mercedes SLK."

So the SLK was penned by Mercedes, but BUILT BY KARMANN, using Mercedes parts. The Crossfire was penned, retuned better, by Chrysler, and built by Karmann.

Here is another interesting quote,

"The Crossfire was marketed as bringing the best of both DaimlerChrysler worlds, but its ad campaign may have turned off both domestic and foreign buyers; it promoted the superiority of German craftsmanship (ignoring Mercedes’*sinking quality ratings, Chrysler’s quality gains, the fact that it was the only Chrysler made in Germany, and other details) and American styling. To many at Chrysler, the Crossfire represents the worst times of the “merger,”*as Mercedes insisted on having it made in Germany, with a Mercedes engine; and magazines generally said it was merely a restyled previous-generation Mercedes SLK.

In reality, it was not that bad —*Chrysler engineers did a substantial amount of retuning, so that even some German magazines consider the “American”*version to be superior to the original. Given the changes that were made, it is not a previous-generation design. Still, sales seem to be lagging, as foreign-car buyers are turned off by the Chrysler label and domestic buyers are turned off by the German chassis. The car itself hardly seems to get a chance, and particularly in the case of the SRT-6, that's a shame."

And here is a quote from Road & Track Magazine. That pitted the SRT-6 against the 350Z S-Tune and a Porsche Boxer S. and the SRT-6 was the only one with an automatic transmission! Thank you Mercedes-Benz! I'm so embarrassed of the Crossfires Mercedes background! And just think, if the SRT-6 had the New Penastar V6, the results would have been the same!!!

"But the most remarkable thing came to light when the stopwatch stopped watching the cars lap: The Crossfire with its 1-minute 35.09-sec. time was a remarkable 3.79 sec. per lap faster around the Streets of Willow Springs than the Boxster (1:38.88), and 1.45 sec. ahead of the 350Z (1:36.54)!"

Thank you Chrysler, in Ma Mopar we trust. Only Mopar can retune a Mercedes and make it better.

13Dog, if your so Jazzed about Owning a Mercedes, why did you by the Crossfire if your embarrassed that it's got a Chrysler Badge on it?

 

I would love to know how the Chrysler was retuned better than the Mercedes version. Chrysler did such a good job at retuning the SRT motor that they managed to find 330hp, but Mercedes had 350hp. That's some great American tuning...

 

Maybe you should re-read paragraph 5?

 

Another quote from a car magazine.

"In fact, the Crossfire has two structural legs up on the SLK. First, it has a fixed roof rather than a retractable hardtop, and the resulting increase in rigidity both improves the car's handling and reduces its vibration. Second, the larger, lower-profile tires give the Crossfire more traction than the SLK. (High-performance Z-rated Michelin Pilot Sport tires are standard, 18 inches in front and 19 inches in the rear.) Indeed, Car and Driver magazine said the Crossfire clung to the asphalt on a skid pad better than the hot Nissan 350Z."

 

I've had my Crossfire for 4-1/2 years and 18,000 miles and the only thing that's gone wrong with it is....... well, I suppose having the gas tank filled up from time to time isn't really a fault, is it?

But my other Chrysler products, having nothing at all to do with Mercedes Benz, really, have been equally reliable.

My daily driver is a 2004 PT Cruiser Turbo that I've owned since new, and it has 70,000 miles on it. It has the same problem with the gas tank, and that's it. It has never been back to the dealer and it's never had the slightest hint of a problem. And I've even got the Mopar Stage 1 upgrade to the turbo, plus a bunch suspension mods, etc.

Before that car I had a 2000 Dodge Stratus that I traded for the PT after putting 50,000 miles on the Dodge. Now that car had problems....... besides having to put gas in it regularly it actually had a fog light bulb burn out. That car might not have had the best driving dynamics in the world, but with leather seats, power everything, and Autostick gearbox, 6 disc CD, V6 and almost 30mpg it was comfortable and very reliable (burned out fog light bulb not withstanding).

So at this point I'm pretty impressed with what I've seen reliability wise from Chrysler products, whether they were assembled in Sterling Heights, MI (the Stratus), Toluca, Mexico (the PT) or Osnabruck, Germany (the Crossfire).

I've never been embarrassed for a moment that the Crossfire has Chrysler badging on it, and when someone asks me what it is, I tell them it's a Chrysler Crossfire. If they then ask "isn't that sort of like a Mercedes SLK?" I'll get into that conversation, but that's it. A few times I've even had someone remark "Wait... what? That's a Chrysler???" and I'll just leave that at "yep, it's a Chrysler" and leave them scratching their heads.

 

Agreed completely. I've done this several times myself.