The Middle Class - a comparison of the Chrysler Sebring/Dodge Stratus and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and related information - Statistical Data Included

Automotive Industries, July, 2000 by Dale Jewett

With the 2001 Chrysler Sebring/Dodge Stratus and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, DaimlerChrysler shows the promise, and limitations, of its trans-Atlantic muscle.

As DaimlerChrysler AG nears its second anniversary, true joint product development between the German and American groups remains several years away. But the 2001 model year marks the debut of two new vehicles that -- although developed independently -- offer the first glimpse of cooperation and synergies between the formerly separate automakers. They also illustrate where the two companies will, and won't, work closer in the future.

While the '01 Mercedes C-Class and Dodge Stratus/Chrysler Sebring are miles apart in price and market positioning, they are relatively close in size as measured by wheelbase and overall length (see chart). Those dimensions put both products in the heart of the passenger car market in North America. It's a giant "middle class" that crosses marketing segments and interior volumes to encompass Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Ford Taurus (on the low end of the price scale), to Audi A4, BMW 3-Series and Lexus ES300 on the high end. In Europe, it's called the C-segment. Last year in the United States, the middle class accounted for about 3.5 million, or 40 percent, of the 8.7 million passenger cars sold. On a larger scale, it also represents one out of five vehicles sold in the U.S.

Middle Class Cousins Comparing Basic Specifications

                                           Chrysler
                       Mercedes-Benz    Sebring/Dodge
                          C-Class          Stratus

Wheelbase (in)        106.9             108.0
Overall length (in)   178.2             190.7
Overall width (in)    68.0              70.6
Front track (in)      58.8              60.2
Rear track (in)       57.6              60.2
Curb weight (lb)      3,219             3,228
Interior volume       88.6 cubic feet   94 cubic feet
Trunk volume          12 cubic feet     16 cubic feet
Base engine           2.6L V-6          2.4L I-4
  Horsepower          168@5,500 rpm     150@5,200 rpm
  Torque              177@4,500 rpm     167@4,000 rpm
Optional engine       3.2L V-6          2.7L V-6
  Horsepower          215@5,700 rpm     200@5,900 rpm
  Torque              229@3,000 rpm     193@4,300 rpm

While it wasn't originally planned or coordinated, the simultaneous arrival of the new C-Class and Sebring/Stratus -- total cost of both programs, $2.3 billion -- gives DaimlerChrysler the advantage of outflanking competitors by bracketing the upper and lower ranges of the mid-size segment with new products.

"The Chryslers and the C-Class are in the same ballpark but at opposite ends of the field, like a left fielder and a right fielder," observes industry analyst Scott Upham, president of Providata Corp. in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The explosive popularity of trucks and sport-utilities over the past four years has taken a big bite out of the middle of the American car market -- in 1995, similarly sized cars held a 30 percent share of vehicle sales. But cars are still critically important to automakers.

"In spite of all the activity in tracks, 80 percent of all families still own at least one car today," notes Burke Brown, director of vehicle development for the Large Car platform team at DaimlerChrysler's U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. DaimlerChrysler planners expect cars to maintain that popularity as the Baby Boom generation continues to grow older.

"This group still sees cars as a viable purchase consideration," Brown says. He adds that while the group of people aged 50 or older make up only 20 percent of the U.S. population, they control 40 percent of the disposable income.

Despite the improvements both companies have made in shortening their product development cycles, virtually all the development on the Sebring/Stratus (platform designation: JR) and the C-Class (platform W203) was completed before Daimler-Benz AG acquired Chrysler Corp. in 1998. (The Chrysler Sebring/Dodge Stratus coupes (ST platform), also renewed for 2001, ride on a version of Mitsubishi's Galant platform.) Hence, there wasn't much opportunity for sharing between the vehicle development organizations in Auburn Hills, Mich., and Stuttgart, Germany.

Still, both cars incorporate the first examples of the trans-Atlantic product development cooperation that company Chairmen Juergen Schrempp and Bob Eaton gushed about when they announced the "merger." Though relatively small, the newfound synergies include:

One promised benefit of the DaimlerChrysler combination was the ability to cut costs. Chrysler was the industry's acknowledged low-cost producer, but the merged automaker benefits merely by the fact that representatives of both companies can compare notes on suppliers.

"We worked with the Germans and found that some of the suppliers were really soaking us or Daimler on costs," Brown says. "Here was the same supplier, providing basically the same part but at wildly different prices. We're working real hard on fixing that."

Chrysler's Sterling Heights, Mich., assembly plant is able to build the Stratus and Sebring sedans and the Sebring convertible on the same final assembly line because it makes use of a skillet conveyor system adopted from Mercedes plants in Germany. The new system replaces an overhead conveyor. DaimlerChrysler officials say building the sedan and convertible on the same line saves more than $100 million in production costs. Overall, Chrysler claims it spent $985 million to develop and build the sedans and convertible at Sterling Heights, vs. $940 million to develop and build just two sedans there previously.