Good News For All

[hawk20]

Check out this article in Business Week
http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/jun2006/bw20060628_925618.htm
It's an interview with the new Head honcho of Mercedes Dieter Zetsche.
In a most important article for all Merc owners, he sets out how he aims to equal or beat Lexus for quality, to restrict the range of Mercedes cars to those that really fit what Merc should be about, and improve productivity up to Toyota/Nissan levels so as to give us the very best quality at reasonable prices. He aims to make Smart profitable within two years. He seriously questioned whether the R class was where Mercedes should want to go. He felt 'sport' was being overdone by all and should best be left to others with Mercedes doing luxury and refinement and something that bit different.

Here is the main bones of the article: -
New CEO Dieter Zetsche aims to beat Lexus in quality, make the Smart division profitable, and lift Chrysler's productivity -- and all by 2008

For a man in the top job at the German automaker just six months, DaimlerChrysler chief executive Dieter Zetsche is setting some hard-to-reach targets for himself. By 2008, says Zetsche, in a wide ranging interview with BusinessWeek, Mercedes-Benz will match or beat Lexus in J.D. Power & Associates quality ranking. The beleaguered Smart car division will be profitable. And Chrysler Group's productivity will be ahead of Detroit rivals Ford (F ) and General Motors (GM ) and be all but tied with Toyota (TM ) and Nissan (NSANY ).

Zetsche, who had successfully led Chrysler, took over the Mercedes-Benz division last September after being tapped to succeed former chairman Jürgen Schrempp last January. Mercedes-Benz chief Eckhard Cordes left the company after being passed over.

Zetsche opted to run the brand himself and says he is pushing the organization to run faster when it comes to quality. "Mercedes can only be in one spot when it comes to quality, and that is number one," says Zetsche who says he plans to match or beat luxury leader Lexus in Power's influential Initial Quality Study ranking in just two years.

The Power IQS Study was just overhauled so that "things gone wrong" are measured separately from design quality, or how well a car is designed and packaged. Mercedes, which has suffered quality setbacks in recent years, where it came in tenth behind Lexus in 2004, bounced back to third place last year. But the complexity of Mercedes in-cabin electronics, under the new study formula, set the venerable brand plummeting back to 26th in the 2006 ranking released earlier this month. "We aren't making any excuses," says Zetsche. (J.D. Power is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, which also owns BusinessWeek.com.) Chrysler Group edged GM and Ford in factory productivity in this year's Harbour & Associates influential study. The firm does not publicize productivity rankings of European factories. Zetsche, who is responsible for leading Chrysler's resurgence the last five years, says he believes Chrysler can "close the gap with Toyota and Nissan to the point where the gap is meaningless" in the next two years.

STILLBORN MODELS. A big thorn Zetsche inherited from his predecessor is the Smart car business (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/27/06, "DaimlerChrysler's Smart Move"). Since being launched in 1998, the division, best known for producing the tiny two-seater fortwo minicar, which is sold in 33 countries overseas and in Canada, has lost about $5 billion.

Numbers aside, Zetsche says he has been working hard on adjusting the culture at DaimlerChrysler's Stuttgart headquarters. He has shifted executive offices from a castle-like structure to the same building where the cars are actually built and closed executive dining rooms. He made similar changes at Chrysler Group. "We are overcoming the tendency people here had of thinking you could sprint for three months to get a vehicle launched and then sigh and relax," says Zetsche. "This business isn't a sprint it's a marathon." Schrempp's style was imperial in comparison to Zetsche's team-oriented approach. "It's a culture shock," he admits.

"SPORTY AND COOL." Besides driving the organization on quality, Zetsche says he is moving to better focus Mercedes-Benz's image and product portfolio. Under Schrempp, the division expanded into entry-level cars like the A-Class in Europe, Smart, and SUVs and crossovers in the U.S. "We're going to narrow the portfolio a bit and concentrate on what we are," says Zetsche. He singled out the recently launched R-Class crossover, which looks somewhat like a large station-wagon, as a model that is far afield of where Mercedes is going.

Zetsche said Mercedes will not be trying to be "sporty and cool" to compete more evenly with BMW and Audi. Instead, through new products and marketing, Mercedes-Benz will be emphasizing, style, comfort, and engineering. He summed up the strategy with the word, "appreciation." Said Zetsche, "We want customers to know that we very much appreciate them, and we want them to appreciate Mercedes for what we are and what we can do." As for a sporty image, he says, "I will leave that to the others…Mercedes should stand for and be for people who have arrived, and we shouldn't back away from that." Zetsche, known for his sense of humor, is quick to add. "It all depends on how you define young at heart in this business. We won't take it too far. No one wants to be seen as an old fart."
:smile:

 

[hawk20]

I suppose one question is which models we all think he should drop and what if anything he could add to the range. I'd like to see the E class convertible come back.

 

[benzo]

I'd like to see the E class convertible come back.

I thought that base was covered by the CLK...

 

[Blobcat]

I thought that base was covered by the CLK...

Although the CLK looks like the 'E' it is based on the 'C'. However it is a 4 seater convertible, so is the replacement.

 

[hawk20]

Although the CLK looks like the 'E' it is based on the 'C'. However it is a 4 seater convertible, so is the replacement.

You could therefore, I suppose, argue that the C class saloon is a perfect substitute for the E class saloon. I don't think it is, having owned both saloons. And equally I think the E class convertible would offer more space and comfort than the CLK. Rumour has it, on another website, that they are planning an S class convertible. OK in the States, I suppose, but a bit big and a bit dear for UK? That's why I'd like to see the E come back but I accept that they probably see the CLK as covering enough of the market.
BTW very odd the way he publicly states the R class is not where they should be going. Horrid for recent buyers and what a downer for sales people and potential customers. Odd one.

 

[hawk20]

What is extraordinary about his interview is that he publicly states he will equal or better Lexus on quality within two years. As Mr Blair has shown , making public targets is a risky game. But obviously great if he can do it.

 

[television]

What is extraordinary about his interview is that he publicly states he will equal or better Lexus on quality within two years. As Mr Blair has shown , making public targets is a risky game. But obviously great if he can do it.

The hardest part will be dealing with the sub contractors and component makers, though the main shell, engine etc, and concept belong to MB, much
and maybe most of the rest comes from other sources, will they change the supplier of modules, it can take 6 months to tool up and produce. On the other hand, there will not be customer satisfaction until some of the multi components revert back to normal, ie, a radiator and oil cooler all in one, when it fails, it cost you £5k plus. A Class maf built into a ECU at £750, comand service at £3k, and this is just a few.

malcolm

 

[hawk20]

Heavens above. Are you really sure that a radiator can cost £5,000 as in five thousand pounds????? If so that is grotesque and would lead to cars being thrown away long before the rest has worn out as uneconomic on many to replace. Why so dear. I would expect a new engine for that! AMG at the least??

By the way what is a MAF. Keep seeing it referred to in these forums. What's the problem with them, please??

 

[television]

Hello Hawk, Hope I can just clear up two points

The radiator itself does not cost the money, it is the effect of the damage done by mixing the contents of the radiator with the auto gearbox oil, and the gearbox has to be replaced.

The MAF is only a normal service item component that measures the Air at the intake and adjust the fuel to suit. They are normally replaced or cleaned from 60-100k miles, at a cost from £35-£200 dependent on where it is bought. With the A Class it is built into the main electronic brain, the Main ECU , and this takes the replacement cost up to £750, there are many issues with the A class gear box that fails early in life, costing the owners up to £3k after 50k miles.

It is this type or way of building motor cars that is not helping on the reliability front.

Malcolm

 

[hawk20]

Hello Hawk, Hope I can just clear up two points

The radiator itself does not cost the money, it is the effect of the damage done by mixing the contents of the radiator with the auto gearbox oil, and the gearbox has to be replaced.

The MAF is only a normal service item component that measures the Air at the intake and adjust the fuel to suit. They are normally replaced or cleaned from 60-100k miles, at a cost from £35-£200 dependent on where it is bought. With the A Class it is built into the main electronic brain, the Main ECU , and this takes the replacement cost up to £750, there are many issues with the A class gear box that fails early in life, costing the owners up to £3k after 50k miles.

It is this type or way of building motor cars that is not helping on the reliability front.

Malcolm

Thanks for that Malcolm. Didn't know about the A class gearbox problems. Is that manuals or Autos? Do you happen to know if that has been put right on the new A class? I only ask because my brother has just bought a 160cdi manual 3 door and he aims to keep it. He has just sold a Ford Orion (£500) which he had till it was 23 years old and had no repair bills other than service items. No rust either. He's totally non technical; just thinks the world is mad continually changing.

 

[television]

Thanks for that Malcolm. Didn't know about the A class gearbox problems. Is that manuals or Autos? Do you happen to know if that has been put right on the new A class? I only ask because my brother has just bought a 160cdi manual 3 door and he aims to keep it. He has just sold a Ford Orion (£500) which he had till it was 23 years old and had no repair bills other than service items. No rust either. He's totally non technical; just thinks the world is mad continually changing.

Its mainly autos after 50k miles, we have had no reports yet on the new one so cant say, on the earlier ones it is the valve block that goes down. Alink breaks on the manuals so that you lose some gears, its only £3 to fix, what worries me is that some poor sole who has lost a few gears could easily get ripped off by a cheating garage..

Malcolm

 

[hawk20]

Its mainly autos after 50k miles, we have had no reports yet on the new one so cant say, on the earlier ones it is the valve block that goes down. Alink breaks on the manuals so that you lose some gears, its only £3 to fix, what worries me is that some poor sole who has lost a few gears could easily get ripped off by a cheating garage..

Malcolm

Thanks for that. He'll be glad it's not the manual A classes. Is it the CVT gearbox that gives the trouble or wasn't there another optio for autos on the old A class. On the new one I think it's CVT only. Had one on the B; seemed OK but no big miles.