Why Mercedes, Why?
CL Community Team
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: Canada
Originally posted by mmarshall
No.....quality does not HAVE to be expensive. . . . . . Mercedes' problems stem from several sources.....partly arrogant leadership, partly high-priced labor, partly the policies of the German government, partly from pressure from Japanese competition . . .
No.....quality does not HAVE to be expensive. . . . . . Mercedes' problems stem from several sources.....partly arrogant leadership, partly high-priced labor, partly the policies of the German government, partly from pressure from Japanese competition . . .
Last edited by Gojirra99; Apr 27, 2004 at 07:54 AM.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,430
Likes: 249
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Originally posted by SexySC
That's why it's expensive FOR THEM, they cannot afford to keep prices competitive & increase material quality at the same time. Having to pay unionized labour wages is not something that can easily be changed.
That's why it's expensive FOR THEM, they cannot afford to keep prices competitive & increase material quality at the same time. Having to pay unionized labour wages is not something that can easily be changed.
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Re: Mercedes quality drop
Originally posted by mmarshall
Mercedes in fact was the quality standard of the industry for decades....up until about 10 years ago. All through the 1980's, in spite of Toyota and Honda's growing reputation, Mercedes built what were considered the most durable cars available. Even then, though, like now, they still needed a lot of expensive maintenence, if not repairs. But in the early -to-mid 1990's a gradual quality drop started to develop that started to accelerate after 1996. The ML-class accelerated the drop even more, as did today's C-Class and SLK. A number of reasons have been given for this quality drop over the years...too many to go into in detail in just one post here. Perhaps this could be the subject for a new general discussion thread.
Mercedes in fact was the quality standard of the industry for decades....up until about 10 years ago. All through the 1980's, in spite of Toyota and Honda's growing reputation, Mercedes built what were considered the most durable cars available. Even then, though, like now, they still needed a lot of expensive maintenence, if not repairs. But in the early -to-mid 1990's a gradual quality drop started to develop that started to accelerate after 1996. The ML-class accelerated the drop even more, as did today's C-Class and SLK. A number of reasons have been given for this quality drop over the years...too many to go into in detail in just one post here. Perhaps this could be the subject for a new general discussion thread.
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Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,430
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Re: Re: Mercedes quality drop
Originally posted by 1SICKLEX
Okay, before my driving days .
Okay, before my driving days
.
But on the other hand, in those days you could get in your car and go somewhere....and enjoy it. Today you get in your car and sit still.
quality?
Originally posted by mmarshall
No.....quality does not HAVE to be expensive. Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Mazda, Nissan, and others all make good, durable cars for less than 20K...and even 10-15 K in some instances. And consider Hyundai....the all-time maker of junk and the butt of jokes for so many years. They have improved enormously in the past 5-7 years. Today's Hyundai products, while still not quite the equal of Toyota or Honda in durability, have high-quality materials and good fit-and-finish......and have not jacked their prices up much either.
Mercedes' problems stem from several sources.....partly arrogant leadership, partly high-priced labor, partly the policies of the German government, partly from pressure from Japanese competition, but mainly just from trying to cheapen the hardware in their cars and using too many untested and unreliable electronic safety nannies.
No.....quality does not HAVE to be expensive. Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Mazda, Nissan, and others all make good, durable cars for less than 20K...and even 10-15 K in some instances. And consider Hyundai....the all-time maker of junk and the butt of jokes for so many years. They have improved enormously in the past 5-7 years. Today's Hyundai products, while still not quite the equal of Toyota or Honda in durability, have high-quality materials and good fit-and-finish......and have not jacked their prices up much either.
Mercedes' problems stem from several sources.....partly arrogant leadership, partly high-priced labor, partly the policies of the German government, partly from pressure from Japanese competition, but mainly just from trying to cheapen the hardware in their cars and using too many untested and unreliable electronic safety nannies.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 2,854
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From: IL
Originally posted by mmarshall
No.....quality does not HAVE to be expensive. Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Mazda, Nissan, and others all make good, durable cars for less than 20K...and even 10-15 K in some instances. And consider Hyundai....the all-time maker of junk and the butt of jokes for so many years. They have improved enormously in the past 5-7 years. Today's Hyundai products, while still not quite the equal of Toyota or Honda in durability, have high-quality materials and good fit-and-finish......and have not jacked their prices up much either.
Mercedes' problems stem from several sources.....partly arrogant leadership, partly high-priced labor, partly the policies of the German government, partly from pressure from Japanese competition, but mainly just from trying to cheapen the hardware in their cars and using too many untested and unreliable electronic safety nannies.
No.....quality does not HAVE to be expensive. Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Mazda, Nissan, and others all make good, durable cars for less than 20K...and even 10-15 K in some instances. And consider Hyundai....the all-time maker of junk and the butt of jokes for so many years. They have improved enormously in the past 5-7 years. Today's Hyundai products, while still not quite the equal of Toyota or Honda in durability, have high-quality materials and good fit-and-finish......and have not jacked their prices up much either.
Mercedes' problems stem from several sources.....partly arrogant leadership, partly high-priced labor, partly the policies of the German government, partly from pressure from Japanese competition, but mainly just from trying to cheapen the hardware in their cars and using too many untested and unreliable electronic safety nannies.
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