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Car Forum / Mercedes-Benz Cars / March 2005how the f*ck does shrimp still have his job?
Long-timers will recollect that I (incorrectly) predicted his downfall almost 4 years ago to roughly this date. He might possibly be the WORST CEO in history. http://www.automobilemag.com/toc/0504_toc/ Autotmobile magazine does not put the article on the web, but the teaser is there. Basically, somehow, Mercedes is the most respected brand in Germany despite being just about the least reliable. (Losing the Luster). And then there is Consumer Reports. What a complete and total embarrassment. HUMMER makes better quality vehicles. The best rating (besides "new") is the C class which rates as "worse than average". Every single other vehicle rates as "Much worse than average". A greedy, ignorant, selfish oaf ruining one of the greatest brands (not just automotive) in the entire world. I wish I could sit next to him on a plane just to completely plastered and throw up all over him. I wouldn't shower or use deoderant of cologne before sitting next to him either. A nice workout at the gym first, yes, so I would be very sweaty and thirsty..... This morning's UK Financial Times carries the an article with the CR results. Bread-and-butter E-Class is bottom. Even if one may debate the merits of how the conclusion is reached, it still needs an effort to make such a bad impression.... Fortunately my own 2001 W208 CLK Cab has, so far, given me relatively trouble-free motoring. There have been some niggles, nothing more. Even today I had mine in to see why the rear headrests (also acting as a rollover bar) were stuck in the up position. Fortunately they required only a reset. Technician time was over an hour, though I was charged only 0.9 h. On top of that I received a 20% discount on the standard labour rate. (The conclusion was that I may have jolted the head rests when going over a speed bump.) DAS For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- > Long-timers will recollect that I (incorrectly) predicted his downfall > almost 4 years ago to roughly this date. [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > A nice workout at the gym first, yes, so I would be very sweaty and > thirsty..... > This morning's UK Financial Times carries the an article with the CR > results. Bread-and-butter E-Class is bottom. Even if one may debate the > merits of how the conclusion is reached, it still needs an effort to make > such a bad impression.... > > Fortunately my own 2001 W208 CLK Cab has, so far, given me relatively > trouble-free motoring. There have been some niggles, nothing more. Even > today I had mine in to see why the rear headrests (also acting as a rollover [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > (The conclusion was that I may have jolted the head rests when going over a > speed bump.) Does the Consumer Reports data rate defects by seriousness? DamilerChrysler claims that quality has been addressed in the last year. Does this report cover that time period? . > Does the Consumer Reports data rate defects by seriousness? > > DamilerChrysler claims that quality has been addressed in the > last year. Does this report cover that time period? CR data comes from the feedback of its own subscribers/members. Being one of them, I have filled out many of their surveys. For each car you own, they ask you a series of questions regarding about a dozen or so different "problem areas". The answer is either a yes or a no as to whether you have experienced a "serious problem" in that area. The problem is that what one member might consider a serious problem, another may consider just a minor annoyance. Not only that, owners of $30K Toyotas might be less inclined to consider minor problems such as a rattle in the dash as "serious", but to the owner of a $60K MBZ, the expectation might be that no such noise should ever exist and therefore it is very serious.  Signature- RODNEY > Not only that, owners of $30K Toyotas might be less inclined to > consider minor problems such as a rattle in the dash as "serious", but > to the owner of a $60K MBZ, the expectation might be that no such noise > should ever exist and therefore it is very serious. This seems wrong. Although you might think you have better taste then a toyota owner, this is not proof of you being "pickier" about quality. Excuses or explanations won't fix anything, the proof is in the pudding as they say. Toyota builds the highest quality vehicles in the world. This has been proven year after year, model after model. They aren't perfect, but they are always pursuing perfection. Mercedes could learn a lot from Toyota, as all car manufacturers could. This is not to say that Toyota cars are "better" in every respect. Hardly. Marty >> Not only that, owners of $30K Toyotas might be less inclined to consider >> minor problems such as a rattle in the dash as "serious", but to the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > This seems wrong. Although you might think you have better taste then a > toyota owner, this is not proof of you being "pickier" about quality. Having been both a Toyota and MBZ owner, I can say that I was less picky about minor "issues" with my Toyotas than with my MBZ's. I expected a little more wind and road noise from my Toyotas, but if I had what I believed to be "excessive" noise from the MB, it went in the shop for diagnosis. Of course to put this back into context of the original statement I was addressing specifically the Consumer Reports ratings, *I* would not consider noises to be a "serious problem" warranting a "ding" on my CR surveys, but I know may people that would. The same is true for other issues. If I but a Toyota with a transmission that shifts a little "abruptly", I might just believe that's part of the cars characteristics. If I buy an MB and I can tell it;s shifting at all, it goes in the shop because I would not expect that from such a well-engineered expensive vehicle. > Excuses or explanations won't fix anything, the proof is in the pudding > as they say. And the "proof" is that MBZ has never made vehicles with high "initial quality ratings". They have always made vehicles that use cutting-edge technology and a high level of sophistication that often requires adjustments early in its life. They do, however, make some vehicles that are incredibly durable with a history of long-term reliability. > Toyota builds the highest quality vehicles in the world. This has been > proven year after year, model after model. They aren't perfect, but they > are always pursuing perfection. Trust me, I have nothing against Toyota and agree that they make excellent cars. I have owned numerous models over the years and have rarely been disappointed. However, they are not making vehicles that are designed to last a long time. They build them strictly to win initial quality awards and if they are still on the road after 100K miles or 10 or 15 years, they are likely being used as "basic transportation". MBZ, on the other hand, makes vehicles that can last 100K and longer, yet still provide the same level of comfort, safety, and integrity as they did when new. > Mercedes could learn a lot from Toyota, as all car manufacturers could. > This is not to say that Toyota cars are "better" in every respect. Hardly. One reason why Toyota is so successful is that they never use the latest technology. They wait until other manufacturers have knocked the bugs out before they incorporate it into their models. Luckily for them, technology is moving very quickly so the technology in their later models is only a few years old. Signature- RODNEY > e reason why Toyota is so successful is that they never use the latest > technology. They wait until other manufacturers have knocked the bugs > out before they incorporate it into their models. Luckily for them, > technology is moving very quickly so the technology in their later > models is only a few years old. Yeah, they are really waiting for mercedes to perfect that hybrid thing... >> e reason why Toyota is so successful is that they never use the latest >> technology. They wait until other manufacturers have knocked the bugs [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Yeah, they are really waiting for mercedes to perfect that hybrid thing... Toyota did not invent nor perfect hybrid technology. All they did is figure out how to make it cheap enough to bring to the masses. I'm not saying its a bad thing, but its a totally different strategy than MBZ. Signature- RODNEY I might be regarded as a "target group member" for Mercedes. I bought my first MB in 1984 (a 77 240D, 120+K miles) and promptly joined MBCA of which I've been a member ever since. I've owned seven Mercedes since then including a 80 300SD, 84 300SD, 87 300TD, 98 SL500, and (currently) a 95 E320 wagon, 2001 E320 wagon and 2002 SL500. Since the 95 E320 I've seen a perceptable decline in overall quality with their cars, much to my dismay. I got my 2001 E320 wagon from a local dealer last April with remaining factory warranty plus Starmark warranty. I literally drove the car off the lot with a major defect. It had a clunk in the rear suspension which I thought might be a loose jack or spare tire. I took it into another MB dealer 5 days later and they diagnosed a defective hydro-pneumatic suspension system. They kept the car for 5 days and had to have the parts flown in from Germany. It cost over $1500 in parts + labor to repair, fortunately under warranty. This allegedly a "Starmark certified" car!. I wrote a personal letter to the General Manager of the dealership where I bought the car as I consider delivery of a Starmark car with a major defect to be unacceptable. He had a junior salesman call me and leave a message on my answering machine with no further contact. So much for "customer satisfaction". The metal body panels on my 210-series car are not as rigid as my two previous 124-series cars (noticeable flex in the roof with minimal pressure), the headliner in the car is cheap moleskin-type material, etc. Daimler Chrysler has obviously taken a new tack in their philosophy. They're designing the cars to last longer than the warranty period, rather than to last a generation or more like the old 123 and 126-series cars. Sadly, unless their fit/finish, quality control and long term reliability improve drastically, I think my next vehicle will likely be a Lexus LS430. When they loose dedicated fans like myself, they've got a problem........ > Long-timers will recollect that I (incorrectly) predicted his downfall > almost 4 years ago to roughly this date. > > He might possibly be the WORST CEO in history. > > http://www.automobilemag.com/toc/0504_toc/ That's where I fall. I have an 85 500SEL (grey import) and a 95 E320 wagon. I really lust after the new GST/R-class whatever (the 6-seater upmarket M-class). There is no way in hell I would buy it. I keep cars : 1985 Merc 500SEL (with 70,000 miles!) 1990 Accord (156,000 miles) 1995 E320 (99,950 miles) 1997 Camry (103,000 miles) I give the 500SEL the benefit of the doubt, but the E320 has cost more than the Accord and Camry combined! I mean, that basically means that the service on the 156,000 mile Accord has been for free. And the quality is declining? I have a fantastic dealer. The service department is efficient, timely, honest, and reliable. But the cars SUCK. There is no doubt the E320 is the best driving car. Yes, I am a little more nit-picking. But no where near enough to justify what it has cost. >I might be regarded as a "target group member" for Mercedes. I bought my >first MB [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] >> >> http://www.automobilemag.com/toc/0504_toc/ |
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