Built like a Mercedes (?)

With job cuts announced on both sides of the Atlantic, its clear
Daimler-Chrysler is serious about cutting the fat. Even more,
it has announced plans for increased production at the currently
hot Chrysler unit without additional workers. That is truely
cutting the fat. But observers wonder if Daimler-Chrysler
has really identified all its fat. Its not just in the workforce.
It is in the cars and trucks.

At the Chrysler unit, the new Dodge Dakota, which, perhaps only
coincidentally, is selling poorly, picked up 600 pounds in its
re-design, all for a paltry additional 2 inches back seat room.
But it merely followed the example of the Pacifica: over
4000 pounds for a six passenger vehicle that has all the
luggage space - in both shape and volume - of a 78 Plymouth
Horizon. The Pacifica isn't even in the same league as Chrysler's
all time weight efficient 6 passenger vehicle: the (then)
downsized 79 New Yorker, Newport, and St. Regis, at under 3800
pounds.

The extra weight is generally not evident on the road, thanks to
Chrysler's potent engines. But it is at the gas station. And
it certainly takes a toll in increased wear of mechanical
parts.

It may not matter, however, if the Chrysler unit can convince
customers the extra weight means greater quality. Mercedes has
been quite successful, until recently, with this strategy.
Mercedes' economy car, the C230, makes its tires scream with
a hefty load of 3405 pounds. In contrast, a Honda Civic with
5 cubic feet greater combined capacity weighs 777 pounds less.

But there is always opportunity. With the added weight,
Lee Iacocca may be tagging Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep
commercials with "Built like a Mercedes". Of course, if
that turns out to be true, Chrysler Financial will soon
be in the business of offering car equity loans for the
repair bills.