Well that's painting with a mighty broad brush John, and on a less civil
List would likely generate a flame war. And if this were 1980 I might even
agree with you. Most of the problem with your statement is that you are
comparing apples and oranges. If I may be more specific, it is meaningless
to say that a 6 cylinder E-class MB is "better" than say a Chevy Malibu or a
Ford Fusion. The former is pushing 40k in this country and the latter two
can be purchased for less than 25k. The MB certainly has more bells &
whistles and likely handles a bit better but I doubt it is more reliable. In
fact Consumers Union statistics would say it is less reliable. Also brands
have fluctuated a lot over the decades. I too have owned or driven VW's
since the late 60's and most recently a '98 Passat. I loved the design and
handling but it had reliability issues that would shame an 80's GM car. I
understand your sentiments but I don't think it is supported by facts.
Charlie
On Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 11:23 AM, John Hudson <OM4T@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> It's not at all difficult to realize why MB has a much more upmarket image
> in North America than in Europe. The spread in quality between MB and
> anything out of Detroit is as wide as the Atlantic. The spread between
> European auto quality is much less. Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer are just
> three scrap heap brands. MB isn't anywhere near the scrap heap. Me, I've
> been a VW man for 30+ years and that brand is way better than anything out
> of Detroit.
>
> jh
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Sue Pearce" <bs.pearce@xxxxxxx>
> To: "Olympus Camera Discussion" <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 11:18 AM
> Subject: Re: [OM] Purchase of new mobile camera case & New photo
> opportunities this year
>
>
> >
> >
> > Why in heaven's name would Mercedes Benz want to market one of their
> > products under the Dodge brand name ?
> >
> > Never having seen one of these RVs I am bit surprised that a premier
> brand
> > would want to go down market to a less than a premier band for marketing
> > purposes.
> >
> > Daimler-Benz once owned the Chrysler Corp, which includes Dodge. The MB
> > image in the UWA is of a much more upmarket company then in Europe, which
> > allows them to charge much higher prices here. For example, they have
> > historically resisted selling cars to fleet operators as taxis, to
> > maintain
> > that image. The apparently are less concerned about that, as selected
> > dealers are allowed to sell the former Sprinter, providing they buy all
> > the
> > hundreds of thousands of dollars of special tools and train mechanics.
> > Likewise, certain Dodge dealers are allowed to continue to sell the van
> > under the new name. Also, MB dealers now can set up smart car dealerships
> > alongside ther other operations.
> >
> > It's all about the money.
> >
> > Bill Pearce
> >
> > --
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