[kpcoupe]

This may be the wrong forum to put this in seeingas this is for BMW, but I think its a fiar question. What happened to Mercedes? I have a 1999 MB C230, which I believe is was the last year that Mercedes was a 100% Mercedes. For example having one wiper was simply Benz, I thought it was very cool, but the newer models don't have it. It's like BMW's kidney grill, w/o it its not BMW. When I was looking at the new C Class I was kind of disappointed, but will probably buy it anyway. Still, does anyone agree?

[stefman]

Not crazy about MB, that's why I buy BMW

[LEDZEP]

It's a Chrysler.

[KL2DC]

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

It's a Chrysler.

+1 Gone are the days of the bulletproof W124s and W140s and the like....

[SCA]

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

It's a Chrysler.

Well, it was. Sure...the current productline still is.

[kpcoupe]

Weren't they selling Chrysler to Kirk Kerkorian or something?

[HyperM3]

Originally Posted by kpcoupe

Weren't they selling Chrysler to Kirk Kerkorian or something?

It was sold to Cerberus couple weeks ago.

[DasBlitz]

What happened to car makers in general? Change, it happens to everyone and sadly it has been a decline for all car makers. Even BMW I assure you has seen a decline.

[Kev]

Ever heard about the complains of the one arm wiper design on the German Autobahn during rain? That's the reason why they removed the one arm wiper mechanism in favor of a two arm design.

[kpcoupe]

Originally Posted by Kev

Ever heard about the complains of the one arm wiper design on the German Autobahn during rain? That's the reason why they removed the one arm wiper mechanism in favor of a two arm design.

do explain pls.

[Zeroday]

Originally Posted by DasBlitz

What happened to car makers in general? Change, it happens to everyone and sadly it has been a decline for all car makers. Even BMW I assure you has seen a decline.

Here's something telling; Porsche hasn't been affected. In fact they were number one on JD Power's initial quality report. What's different about Porsche? Profit margins. They make much more money per car than BMW/Mercedes largely IMO because they don't have much real competition at their price points for what they offer. When you don't make much money on each car like BMW/Mercedes, you have to sell more cars to be profitable. To sell more cars, you have to be very competitive, which is when cost cutting comes in to play. Cost cutting almost always leads, at least at first, to quality issues.

IMHO of course...

[Zeroday]

Originally Posted by Kev

Ever heard about the complains of the one arm wiper design on the German Autobahn during rain? That's the reason why they removed the one arm wiper mechanism in favor of a two arm design.

[DasBlitz]

Originally Posted by Zeroday

Here's something telling; Porsche hasn't been affected. In fact they were number one on JD Power's initial quality report. What's different about Porsche? Profit margins. They make much more money per car than BMW/Mercedes largely IMO because they don't have much real competition at their price points for what they offer. When you don't make much money on each car like BMW/Mercedes, you have to sell more cars to be profitable. To sell more cars, you have to be very competitive, which is when cost cutting comes in to play. Cost cutting almost always leads, at least at first, to quality issues.

IMHO of course...

I was speaking of more general public car makers. Although Porsche is known it does not sell as much as BMW and Mercedes. Granted it does not need to. But I see your point and is a sad truth.

[KL2DC]

Porsche makes a ton of money from the options books. But they did lose a little bit of their legendary teuton going from the 993 to the 996. They also cheapened out by cross-sharing so much between the 986 and 996. But they have rebounded with the 997 and 987s. They did what they had to and quickly upped their game.

[KL2DC]

Originally Posted by DasBlitz

What happened to car makers in general? Change, it happens to everyone and sadly it has been a decline for all car makers. Even BMW I assure you has seen a decline.

In a rush to embrace all manners of technology while keeping price competitive, there has been noticeable cost cutting in most premium offerings. What's improving in leaps and bounds is the small car offerings though, never has the segment been filled with quality and competent cars. Even the Korean cars are practically world-class. You'd be hard pressed to buy a really bad car today.

[Lassaxi]

Originally Posted by Kev

Ever heard about the complains of the one arm wiper design on the German Autobahn during rain? That's the reason why they removed the one arm wiper mechanism in favor of a two arm design.

I was never particularly impressed with the one-arm design. It looked nifty, and covered a lot of the windshield, but it didn't keep up with heavy rain very well.

[e90fanatic]

MB = Chrysler in lingerie

[oneshare325]

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

It's a Chrysler.

Nice....

[Markinsd]

I have a C32 and was looking for a new Benz. MB did not have a car I wanted so I went with the 335i. I wanted to wait for the C63 AMG, but couldn't see waiting another year for a new car. The regular line of C Class is less than spectacular and since I have an AMG, I can't go back to the boooring non-amg.

I wouldn't go buy a C Class right now unless you are ordering a new w204 class coming out in the fall. I think the new body style looks pretty dope.

I went from an e46 330i to the C32, now the 335i and when my lease is up plan on getting a C63 if the car is 450+hp and looks as good as the pics I've seen. I may consider the new M sedan too..

[Bram335]

Originally Posted by e90fanatic

MB = Chrysler in lingerie

+1

[dmboone25]

Originally Posted by Zeroday

Here's something telling; Porsche hasn't been affected. In fact they were number one on JD Power's initial quality report. What's different about Porsche? Profit margins. They make much more money per car than BMW/Mercedes largely IMO because they don't have much real competition at their price points for what they offer. When you don't make much money on each car like BMW/Mercedes, you have to sell more cars to be profitable. To sell more cars, you have to be very competitive, which is when cost cutting comes in to play. Cost cutting almost always leads, at least at first, to quality issues.

IMHO of course...

I agree--you see way more BMW/MB/Lexus type cars on the roads these days when compared to a few years ago. When my dad first got his '00 E46, you saw some BMW's in my area, but not many. Now, it seems like I see a lot of them--I just hope the higher quantity of sales doesn't sacrifice quality of the brand.

[aspiring335]

Originally Posted by Zeroday

Here's something telling; Porsche hasn't been affected. In fact they were number one on JD Power's initial quality report. What's different about Porsche? Profit margins. They make much more money per car than BMW/Mercedes largely IMO because they don't have much real competition at their price points for what they offer. When you don't make much money on each car like BMW/Mercedes, you have to sell more cars to be profitable. To sell more cars, you have to be very competitive, which is when cost cutting comes in to play. Cost cutting almost always leads, at least at first, to quality issues.

IMHO of course...

I was under the impression that, after Porsche, BMW was the most profitable car maker. The margin per car may not be very large on the 3 series, but even there the options really pad the profit per vehicle. A lot of Porsche's profit in recent years has come from the Cayenne, much more so than the Boxster.

Unlike Mercedes, BMW have not diluted their brand with dozens of ridiculous niche models like the B Class, R Class, etc., and they also haven't had the distraction of trying to integrate the nightmare that is Chrysler. The most profitable companies are usually the ones with focus and discipline.