Wait, you're blaming Chrysler for MB's current styling decisions...?DaimlerChrysler ceased to exist a long, long time ago. Chrysler was sold in 2008. And Daimler bought Chrysler, it wasn't a merger, Chrysler had ZERO input on anything as they were bought to prop up a flagging share price and negative investor sentiment. They sucked all the cash out, ruined Chrysler and damaged themselves as they had zero idea about what they (MB) were doing.
Also, there aren't any MB's built in Mexico for the Eurpean/Asian/NA market besides commercial trucks. The S-Class, of which Mike is speaking of, is built in Stuggart.
My mistake re Mexico I got mixed up with BMW.
Whilst the merger ceased years ago, I believe the Daimler-Chrysler merger had a a long lasting effect on Mercedes. Daimler Benz purchased Chrysler and formed Daimler-Chrysler, I would consider that a merger. One of the chief execs publicly stated that mercedes over-engineer their cars and can be more profiable by addressing this. Yes the merger didnt benefit Chrysler either, but from that point onwards there was a shift in terms of focus from the European market towards the American market. When mergers take place they have effect on all parties and those effects typically last years after the merger happens whether it is unsuccessful or not. When they separated it didnt mean eveything was back to normal the next day. Chrsyler and Mercedes shared parts, and after that mercedes reliability went down. Of course it takes two to tango, and bad decisions were made by mercedes too.
I think most Mercedes fans who are old enough will remember the cars, years prior to the mid 90's, being on another level in terms of build quality both inside and out. That view was held not only by the public but also there was plenty of coverage of it in the media.
