Mercedes SLS

[xpensive]

From October 13, 2010

Yes I read a similar story in Motortrend.

The whole article did explain that there was an aluminum chassis was being developed by Daimler-chrysler as it was back then.
Mercedes AMG were involved at the end of the development cycle when Chrysler became cerberus, and could not afford to produce its own version.

The chassis is pretty much unchanged from all reports. But lets face it, the chrysler was never going to pack the 6208cc V8. Nor was it going to look as viscious as the SLS(pure fanboy talk ).

I think you got it right already a year ago JET, same chassis, different engine.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Ahh yes the motortrend report.

How did that report go down in accuracy?

And since when was Daimler-Chrysler entirely Chrysler? Because by my reckoning Chrysler borrowed heavily from the mercedes parts bin to use for it's purposes. Facts.

300C has an eclass platform
Crossfire the slk

So where did the Chrysler arm come up with an all aluminium chassis to sell a $45,000 car and be able to justify the production costs?
They couldn't.

Unless of course your opinion on the worlds most valuable automotive brand is the same as that of it's gp team, then you could say Chrysler developed an expensive chassis that would never make money and AMG(those idiots who cannot create their own chassis) took the American design and called it 100 percent AMG.

I'm more inclined to believe mercedes, given that they actually built and sell the damn thing.

[munudeges]

It's a pretty easy thing to imagine. Car companies are getting together to cut costs, and what better way to cut costs on a brand new, high margin car than to recycle existing development? Why not?

I doubt very much whether anyone at Mercedes will admit to it publicly. It would be their Gerald Ratner moment.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Right....


$45,000 low volume sports car with an all alumium chassis. Somehow overnight, Chrysler become the most efficient car maker on the planet.

You see, the bean counters at Daimler chrylser would have a fit if the business plan ever got to them. a $230,000 sportscar on the other hand is a different story.

Now how many of those do you think Chrysler planned to sell?

[Richard]

There must have been some technology/knowledge share. Just as Chrysler adopted the SLK platform for the Crossfire.

That is not to say the SLS is a rebadged Viper! However, if both companies were wanting to develop two seater car on an aluminium platform, it would be sensible to share ideas so they could go onto share production technology, hence reduced development and production costs?

[Cocles]

For those of you who prefer a track car over a GT car:

http://www.benzinsider.com/2011/10/spys ... ck-series/

[munudeges]

I keep hearing sales figures for the SLS pulled from goodness knows where, but I've seen figures where certainly as far as the US is concerned the combined sales in August 2010 of the CL, CLS, SLK, SLR, SLS, and G-wagen were 348. This is the US, where we are being told that the SLS has been doing ever so well. It brings a whole new meaning to the word 'niche'.

Note that Merc are yet another car manufacturer that does combined sales to mask how each individual model is doing. Full order books? Pah. It's not the first time some of us have seen fiddled order books and go-slows to try and make it look like there is demand.

[xpensive]

Come now mun, don't you think 5th and 6th place in India will boost SLS-sales considerably?

[munudeges]

Well, according to something I saw from Formula Money Mercedes have to sell 4000 more cars to make the Formula 1 investment justify itself. That's higher than BMW when they quit and it will climb still higher now that Mercedes are going to have to spend more to try and win.

[nacho]

Surely a lot more than 4000.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Well, according to something I saw from Formula Money Mercedes have to sell 4000 more cars to make the Formula 1 investment justify itself. That's higher than BMW when they quit and it will climb still higher now that Mercedes are going to have to spend more to try and win.

Well they sell over a million a year, no worries there! Better look at McLaren and Ferrari with sales of their 12C or 458 to see who has to break even before these investments are concerned. 4000 units will not have Mercedes worrying over their F1 investments and any talk of it would be incredibly silly given that both McLaren and Ferrari are far more susceptible to these market forces.

And as for those figures, Mercedes publish them at year end. However the US do publish them monthly. How very kind of you to NOT source info that had Mercedes selling the car for ooooh....all of 6 weeks! And LO AND BEHOLD the SLS isnt hidden anywhere....it right there if you bothered to look.
Here how about an up to date one that will inform you the SLS has sold over 810 units in the US alone, not to mention Western Europe(their biggest market) or indeed China, the Middle-east(suckers for these benz') India or Brazil.

http://www.emercedesbenz.com/autos/merc ... 6-percent/


That September 2011 dear chum, not August 2010

[xpensive]

Surely a lot more than 4000.

Precisely my thought, if Daimler spends 100 MEUR on MGP, which sounds resonable, they need to sell 20 000 more cars,
even if they make a net profit of 5000 EUR from each car, the latter something which I doubt very much indeed.

But the point it that 5th place in a GP, a minute behind, won't sell any more cars anyway, au contraire I'm afraid.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Maybe using that logic Mercedes should have quit way back in 1996.

But they didnt.

And look where that got them.

[munudeges]

Well they sell over a million a year, no worries there!

Sadly, BMW pulled out of Formula 1 needing to sell less cars than Mercedes to break even despite the sales figures you believe.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Good job Mercedes needn't answer to the Quandt family over their F1 expense.

You see, when I last checked BMW didnt have a 250,000 dollar supercar nor a line of sporscars in the pipeline requiring the sheen of F1.
Their M motorsport division has its own identity.

Mercedes are forging ahead with their own identity, as per the 50s. They may be competitors but they have vastly different identities, good on both of them for that.