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Mercedes Adopts BMW's "Independent Manufacturer Philosophy"
Burned by its failed merger with Chrysler, parent Daimler has decided to forgo all acquisitions for its luxury brand Mercedes-Benz, emulating the go-it-alone strategy of rival BMW after it sold off Rover.

"There are no acquisition targets I can recognise that could strengthen Mercedes," Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

The Daimler chief, who just days ago sealed a deal to sell its loss-making U.S. unit Chrysler to private equity firm Cerberus, sees little to gain from trying to diversify risks by balancing its brand portfolio with another leading marque.

"We are at the top of the industry with the Mercedes car brand - any integration of another brand would tend to drag us down ... There is nothing to win from it either for the

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Mercedes Adopts BMW's



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EnnNorakEnnNorak - 5/22/2007 10:37:24 AM
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However, Lexus could be spun off as a separate division. I wonder if Toyota's corporate development guys have looked at the merits of this possibility. I'm thinking about issuing some new purely Lexus shares to the public with Toyota keeping about half of the Lexus shares.

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jeffy210jeffy210 - 5/22/2007 11:38:07 AM
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But how much of the manufacturing process is intertwined between Lexus and Toyota, there are a fairly large amount of shared parts. What from Mercedes or BMW is outsourced from other companies? I remember when Land Rover was under BMW seeing quite a few BMW manufactured components in it.

I guess what I'm getting at is in order for Lexus to truly be an "Independent Manufacturer" they would have to start engineering and producing most of their components, which in turn would probably drive prices up.

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SupraNeverBackSupraNeverBack - 5/22/2007 12:39:21 PM
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Why should Lexus be independent from Toyota? Toyota products are leading the world. Toyota makes Lexus be great, and Lexus makes Toyota be greater.

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richard112360richard112360 - 5/22/2007 2:27:53 PM
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I’ll take a Lexus, Toyota, Honda, Acura, Infiniti over any German car period . I look for good value for my money, reliability and good resale value. It appears the Germans have completely forgotten how to build a good quality product


Here are some Mercedes Benz owner complaints


Ann writes:
We purchased a 2003 S55 mercedes less than three months ago. We are now being told that the new car must be started and run for 30 minutes every 24-48 hours or the battery will not hold a charge to start the car. This has been an absolute surprise to us as it was never mentioned during the purchase that the car would not start if left unmoved for a time. In the short time we have owned our new car we have had to jump-start the battery 5 times. Two of those times were after periods of 2 weeks and then 3 weeks of non-use. The other three times the car would not start after being left unmoved for 2 days-3days. A dealer in Tyler, Texas replaced the battery when we took our car to see about the problem. This replacement did no good. I did not drive the car today and will be gone tomorrow so will not be using the car. I will have to have it jump-started again the next day, I suppose. I would certainly appreciate some feedback from anyone concerning this new mercedes. Is this something to expect from a new $117,000. car?

Peter writes:
I purchased a 2003 S500 last April. In the six months I have owned the car it has been back to the dealer 7 times for repairs to power seats and support cylinder replacement on deck lid. The car was delivered with a small scratch in command center screen. It is visible only with radio off and bright sun over your shoulder. The dealer & factory rep told me that they would not cover replacement under warranty. You need to have your lawyer and very sharp eyes when you take delivery! Lumbar feature on extra cost multicontour seats deflates constantly. Dealer cannot find source of problem. Memory functions erratic, passenger head rest cycles up & down every time car is started with no passenger!! I believe that this car is too complicated with computer functions that are impossible to fix by dealers.

Jonathan writes:
I purchased a new 2002 S430 in March 2002. I have had the air suspension replaced twice and it has gone out for the third time as of today. I have had to have the entire electronic dash replaced and the battery replaced twice. This car is optioned out and sold for 100k. This is by far the worst car I have ever owned.

Ryan writes:
2001 S600. "Top of the food chain" says my dealer...yeah right. When the car works, it's the best driving experience anyone could ever ask for. The problem is that the car rarely works.

My first clue should have been that the car was a "manufacturer buyback". Apparently someone else had numerous problems with this car and MB bought the car back, supposedly fixed it, and re-sold it as used. So far it's been in the shop 6 weeks in 9 months for the following:
3 visits for fau

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themantheman - 5/22/2007 6:06:09 PM
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The new generation of Mercedes cars are expetional, I might be young but I always hear about the reliability and high craftsmanship Mercedes 'used' to have...And believe me, the new 2006 S class is of a quality that is higher than anything else..


Will_Will_ - 5/22/2007 6:43:59 PM
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So it begs the question: why did they "merge" in the first place?

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M35MTM35MT - 5/22/2007 9:36:48 PMView My AgentSpace
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I want more than anything for Ford to sell Land Rover and Toyota to pick it up....hopefully immensely improving their quality control. Imagine having a Range Rover that's as reliable as a Land Cruiser...or a Defender that's as reliable as a Tacoma....I'd fork over the big bucks for one.

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S4cabriofoxoneS4cabriofoxone - 5/24/2007 12:08:47 AMView My AgentSpace
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I've heard that the next-gen Range Rover will be all-aluminum, which should shed about 500lbs on that porker. I just fear that were it sold to Toyota, its elegance would be frayed- Toyota would have to keep the current designers with the bundle. Because the only thing that makes the BMW-engineered RR such a fabulous truck is the beauty it has and the sense of occassion you feel when being driven in it.


S4cabriofoxoneS4cabriofoxone - 5/24/2007 12:09:39 AMView My AgentSpace
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Oh, believe me, Mercedes is doing just fine...

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ctsangctsang - 5/23/2007 8:22:40 PM
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MB is going to make hybrids. Can you imagine how unreliable they will be? MB is making a fool out of themselves again after the Chysler fiasco.

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