Indeed, Chrysler is holding up (financially) the DC car business, but I
still think that Merc is suffering the consequences of its 'adventures'.  I
bet you did not know they were into electrical household goods for a time.
One disastrous diversion after another.  Hard to remember that BMW was once
so far down in the dumps in the early fifties that Merc almost bought it.

I agree that this is unlikely to continue, especially now that Schrempp is
gone (notably without a seat on the advisory board or big payoff).  Mercedes
still owns the top end of the car market with the S-Class enjoying far
higher standing globally than the 7.  Statistically invalid anecdote: quite
a few of the drivers of my local London 'minicab' company (not the famous
black cabs) have Mercs and when I ask them why they tend to buy Mercs (never
BMWs) they answer  that the clients who specify specific models always ask
for Mercedes.

It is only my guess, but I think that the three-pointed star is a far more
recognised logo than the roundel globally.  Some years ago I read that in
fact the star was number three or thereabouts in the world recognition and
respect stakes, up there with Coke et al, but since then many things have
changed, not least the rise of Microsoft/Windows.

In the UK Merc have taken radical steps to deal with customer service; so
far all the dealerships in London, Birmingham and Manchester -- the three
biggest cities -- that were not already in Merc's hands have been bought up.
So now one is, for example, a customer of Mercedes-Benz London and one can
go to any of the outlets in the city, with service records being held on a
central computer.  In some cases service points have been separated from
sales, and some used car sites have been separated from new sales.

We'll see how effective this is.

As regards the issue of quality, there is varying experience but the top
management has publicly acknowledged that it's an issue.  There is an urban
story (myth?) that in the 'old' days (approx pre-early nineties, say) a car
was designed and built to certain technical standards and then priced.  Then
they started building to price points.  No doubt there were signs, such as
the damping (lack of) of ash tray lids.  Perhaps it was only a reaction to
the increasing competition, but there were consequences for the marque
itself.

Mercedes has been at the forefront of automotive development literally from
the beginning and it would be a great shame if it all goes to the dogs.
Nothing that a bit of management humility and attention to quality can't
fix.

DAS

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