Daimler-Chrysler Will Build Hybrids "In Near Future" - Auto Week

[hatrack]

"The Chrysler group and Mercedes-Benz will produce hybrid cars in the coming years, despite doubts about their high costs and long-term potential, said Chrysler group CEO Dieter Zetsche.

The Chrysler group will sell an unspecified hybrid car within three years, and Mercedes will import a hybrid S class -- the brand's biggest and most luxurious car, Zetsche said.

EDIT

Parent company DaimlerChrysler AG has been a major advocate of fuel-cell technology and viewed hybrid vehicles skeptically.

"Hybrid technology is not the one and only silver bullet for fuel efficiency," Zetsche said in the convention's keynote speech during the opening general session. But he acknowledged the public relations success that Japanese companies - particularly Toyota with the Prius - have garnered by selling hybrids."

EDIT

http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique&newsid=4989

Gee, they'll have one available a full ten years after Toyota's first Prius debuted - visionaries!

[4morewars]

1. GM and Ford...

are even further behind! Kinda like when they got whupped in the oil embargo of the 70s. We have 88 SUVs to choose from though, and up until recently those were exempt from fuel efficiency standards! Way to go Detroit!

[stoystown]

2. The smart people at the American car companies

are all in finance, not manufacturing. They can structure one of the most complex loans in the history of the world for a $17,000 car, but they can't get the car's windshield wipers to work.

It's a joke.

[hatrack]

3. Why I told Saturn to take a hike

I was car shopping a couple of years ago. I went to the local Saturn dealership, thinking, "Well, OK, let's see what GM's got." Besides, the L-Series had head-curtain airbags, a safety feature I'd like to have.

As we were waiting for the salesman to drive up with the tester, I walked along a long line of Saturns. On every car - every single one - the trunk was out of alignment. It was at that point I decided that I wasn't going to buy a car from a company that, going on thirty years after the Japanese first cleaned its clock, still couldn't do decent fit and finish.

Then, just a few months back, I saw a new Saturn in traffic. From two car lengths back, I could see that his trunk was also out of alignment.

Some things (apparently) never change.

[Kolesar]

5. I noticed misalignment when I perused the L200s in 2000

The L-series was a new product that year. I stopped by the dealership when they were closed to take a peek at their products and the impression that stuck in my mind was that the door seams and the hood seams were out of alignment.

I don't base my purchasing decisions on such attributes. I consider there to be a definite distinction between build quality defects that are appearance-only and real reliability problems. However, the misalignment still left a negative impression.

I think the prices drove me to buy another product ultimately.

[ajacobson]

4. We're number last -- woo hoo!

DC is going to be number dead if they can't get ahead of the innovation curve. Sheesh.