Is the SRT6.1 engine the same as the mercedes 6.2 amg engine

 

Excellent question. Your thought commands respect. I just last night had the same thought, because I am about to buy a new Mercedes maybe next week, and actually stopped by the Dodge/Chrysler dealer today after work to make extra sure that I will not be buying some type of Chrysler hybrid with a Mercedes emblem on it. Because if that happened to me, trust me, there would be trouble on a political/media scale.

I have already examined all the Mercedes consumer cars this year three times. Today, I examined the Chrysler/Dodge line-up, and was assisted by an extremely helpful young man, who allowed me to look under the hood and under the car etc, and even offered to let me take one on a trip to Virginia, while the sales manager choked on his coffee.
Trust me, If I had seen so much as one bolt the same, I would blow-off my purchase next week untilfurther research.

I looked at the entire product line and could not find any crossover parts. For example, my fear was that the Sebring or Avenger shared parts/build/chasis with the C300. But I found this impossible because the Dodge/Chrysler cars are actually transverse mounted, front wheel drive cars, while the Mercedes are the classic rear wheel drive with a longitudinal engine. There are simply no similarities at all. I could see a Mercedes "influence" in the interior, which was actually very nice. I could see a Mercedes "influence" on the brake calipers. But other than that they are NOT at all the same cars. The drive train is entirely a different incompatable configuration, which could not be exchanged. The Dodge/Chrysler has adopted composite engine parts which Mercedes rejected and kicked out of the prototype effort as far back as 95-96, and the body panels are noticably thinner. Looking past the covers and valve covers at the block and pulleys, I found absolutely no crossover parts. Go do this for yourself; it will make you see where the extra money goes into a Mercedes.

Blue

 

Nice job on the homework. I have not looked at new cars is chrysler claiming or why the thought. Are they having a joint venture? Again I like your stytle get under the hood and check parts out.

 

Mercedes and Chrysler merged, rather Mercedes bought the slowing Chrysler corporation for the discounted price ofapproximately 36 billion dollars back in 1998 or thereabout according to the news. I do not understand why to this day, and gulped at the idea then, but professors of Business at the local university speculated that it would gain a greater access to the American market, for Chrysler's well established distribution system, and the idea of expanding Chrysler sales to the European market, which could have turned the company profitable. Well, hear-say has it that Mercedes was not satisfied with the way Chrysler was being operated, and began overhauling the machinery and the management. You can imagine the disruption. One report suggested that Mercedes invested over 6 billion in tooling and machinery alone. Nine years later, after nearly dragging the German economy down, and causing the first losses and layoffs in the company history, they decided to cut Chrysler loose.

Now while the separation is close to a year now, there are still "DC" (Daimler Chrysler) packaging floating around Mercedes dealerships, and I hope they will pass away in time, like the common cold, but many of us long-term enthusiasts are still scratching our heads and frowning at the association. Since the separation, Mercedes has picked up momentum again, and Chrysler has been on the auction block, now headed by Bob Nardelli, the former CEO that managed the downsizing of Home Depot. I think the recent GM interest in the purchase of Chrysler includes all the new capital machinery sitting around paid for by Mercedes. It could be purchased at a discount price at put to good use. After all, look how Chryslers have improved in the last decade as a result of the engineering, design, and cash investment.

I have been paying close attention to the American products recently as well, and have noticed a strong effort to attract and satisfy the customer, including very nice looking body designs, very much improved interior designs, the wheels and the colors that customers like. They ARE listening to the customers. The cars are actually impressive, and I would like to congratulate the improvements, but outside the economy, I think American car sales and stocks are sagging due to a lack of trust of the customer, and this reflects poorly on the dealerships. My recommendations to American manufacturers would include benchmarking the best brands in service and most of all sales training at the dealer level. I still get a cheezy greased feeling from the salesman and this absolutely has to go away. It begins with good sales personnel selection, professional training, acommitment to this staff, and a commitment to the customers. Secondly, American car companies need to stop accepting the third place role, and denounce the "American product stigma". Imports break too, so they need to stop acknowledging defeat, stop taking a beating from the paid media, and get back to making, selling, and servicing the best they can. And I know there is an army of young people out there willing to give it everything.

Well, why am Ilooking under the hoods and under the cars. I can only speak for myself, but I remember having a Chrysler Labaron back in the eighties, that would make the aHAAAAAAAAA uproar when trying to get to 50 MPH, and falling apart before 10k miles, and wanted to make very sure none of those parts are on our new cars. Superstition, I suppose.

Blue

 

Do Chrysler still make passenger cars with leaf springs? Or have they joined the 21 century yet?

Out of interest was the Merc factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where they used to build M-Classes in addition to building them at Magna Steyr in Graz, a Chrysler factory as well, or was it originally a Chrysler factory converted, or not?

 

Tuscaloosa was built as a Mercedes factory, and remained a Mercedes factory, even through and after the Daimler/Chrysler merger and breakup. I have just been informed that the R class and GLK class are being produced there, and are considered US domestic vehicles when calculating the GDP.

Next time I get out, I will look at the 6.2 engine and the springs you guys are referring to.

Blue

 

We have a lot of knowledge and experience to share with the rest of the forum participants.