Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News China
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
    • Latest news
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • New Product
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Sales By Market
    • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
    • Munich Auto Show
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
  • Features
    • Long Read
    • Interview of the Month
    • Focus on Electrification
    • Focus on Technology
    • Segment Analysis
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Europe By The Numbers
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Commentary
    • Guest columnists
  • Photos
    • Photo Galleries
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Podcasts
  • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS
    • ANE Congress
    • ANE Rising Stars
    • ANE Eurostars
  • More
    • Publishing Partners
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • About Us
    • Capgemini: All or nothing: Why circular business models require a holistic approach
    • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
    • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
    • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
    • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
    • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
    • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
    • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
    • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
    • Toyota Europe
    • UFI Filters
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Automotive News Europe
May 07, 2018 01:00 AM

What remains of Daimler in FCA's products? More than you think

Larry P. Vellequette
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Chrysler 300 and Jeep Grand Cherokee, above, both have Mercedes DNA.

    You thought DaimlerChrysler was dead? The vehicles on FCA US dealer lots today, more than a decade after the merger's unceremonious demise, say otherwise.

    Every Dodge in the lineup, two Jeep nameplates and the iconic Chrysler 300 sedan are either the direct result of the nine-year marriage of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler, or descendants from it.

    Over the past 11 years, the DaimlerChrysler name has been painted over on tractor trailers, pulled off signs outside plants, and ripped off the pedestal outside the FCA US headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

    But products generated by the laughably misrepresented "merger of equals" are far from exorcised. Even though they've all undergone some degree of intervention and improvement since Daimler cast off Chrysler in May 2007, they remain fundamental, foundational pieces of the lineup.

    How intertwined does Daimler remain in the FCA US lineup? So much so that it is impossible to say that the DaimlerChrysler era is truly over in Auburn Hills.

    Consider:

    The Dodge Charger and Challenger, along with the Chrysler 300, are descendants of the 1990s Mercedes E class.

    The Dodge Journey, though it rides on a Mitsubishi platform, was developed by DaimlerChrysler, though it debuted a year after the breakup in 2008.

    The Dodge Grand Caravan, which survived a planned phaseout last year to live on for a while longer, was last redesigned in 2007 by DaimlerChrysler.

    The Dodge Durango, like the Jeep Grand Cherokee, shares a platform with the Mercedes M class.

    The Jeep Wrangler JK was easily the greatest single product decision made (adding two doors to create the Wrangler Unlimited) during the entire DaimlerChrysler era. The last JK came off the line April 27 after a run that began in 2006.

    And it's not just vehicles and platforms.

    Under most FCA hoods is the Pentastar 3.6-liter, V-6 engine. Its development began in 2004, near the midpoint of the DaimlerChrysler era, and continued through both the divorce and the fire sale that followed with Chrysler's ill-suited, improvident interim owner, Cerberus Capital Management.

    The Pentastar — Chrysler's best engine since the Slant Six and the Hemi V-8 — debuted on the automaker's first Fiat-era product, the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Since then, the engine has proliferated across the lineup, into Jeeps, minivans, full-size pickups and sedans, and is the automaker's best-selling engine in the U.S. and Canada.

    Also on the engine front, the current 2.4-liter Tigershark is a much-modified descendant of the ill-fated World Gas Engine, itself a byproduct of a failed joint venture attempted by DaimlerChrysler, Mitsubishi and Hyundai.

    Though it's not nearly as widely used as the Pentastar, the I-4 Tigershark still lives on with technology devolved directly from DaimlerChrysler.

    And even though one of the first decisions Fiat made when it showed up in 2009 was to move the entire lineup onto ZF 8-speed rear-wheel-drive and 9-speed front-wheel-drive transmissions, the Jeep JK Wrangler and the Dodge Charger Pursuit law enforcement vehicle still used a rugged Mercedes five-speed automatic — until late last month. Now that the JK has ended production, only the Pursuit remains on the five-speed.

    What does it all mean?

    According to Dave Sullivan, senior analyst with AutoPacific, it means that the biggest beneficiary of the ill-fated union between Daimler-Benz and Chrysler was (are you ready for it?) Fiat.

    "Daimler and Chrysler were strange bedfellows, but their offspring, with tooling amortized many years ago, continues to print money," Sullivan said. "DaimlerChrysler is a gift that keeps on giving, even in 2018. DaimlerChrysler bit into an apple, spit out the seeds, and the tree is still bearing fruit."

    And it means one other thing: that even failed marriages can produce beautiful offspring.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    2022 Eurostar winner Enrico Salvatori of Qualcomm
    Related Articles
    The culture clash heard 'round the world'
    Recommended for You
    Enrico Salvatori
    2022 Eurostar winner Enrico Salvatori of Qualcomm
    Christian Dahlheim
    2022 Eurostar winner Christian Dahlheim of VW Financial Services
    Milan Nedeljkovic
    2022 Eurostar winner Milan Nedeljkovic of BMW
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    SUBSCRIBE NOW
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584

    Email Us

    ISSN 2643-6590 (print)
    ISSN 2643-6604 (online)

     

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News Europe
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
      • Latest news
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • New Product
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Sales By Market
      • On The Move
      • Auto Shows
        • Munich Auto Show
        • Geneva Auto Show
        • Paris Auto Show
        • Beijing Auto Show
        • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Features
      • Long Read
      • Interview of the Month
      • Focus on Electrification
      • Focus on Technology
      • Segment Analysis
      • Cars & Concepts
      • Supplier Spotlight
      • Europe By The Numbers
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Commentary
      • Guest columnists
    • Photos
      • Photo Galleries
      • Geneva Photo Gallery
      • Beijing Photo Gallery
      • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
      • Paris Photo Gallery
      • Shanghai Photo Gallery
    • Podcasts
    • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS
      • ANE Congress
      • ANE Rising Stars
      • ANE Eurostars
    • More
      • Publishing Partners
        • Capgemini: All or nothing: Why circular business models require a holistic approach
        • Capgemini: Invent Head on automotive takeaways from CES 2023
        • Capgemini: Securing the industry's future through a radical rethink
        • Capgemini: Succeeding with the automated driving journey through AI
        • Capgemini: The circular economy is spurring new thinking on EV batteries
        • Capgemini: Toyota and Capgemini leaders on how OEMs can handle industry changes and succeed
        • HEXAGON: Plugging into data is the only way to make winning EVs
        • TUV Rheinland: Ideas, services and certifications for smart mobility
        • TUV Rheinland: Testing of automated and autonomous vehicles on test tracks
        • Toyota Europe
        • UFI Filters
      • Social Media
        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • LinkedIn
        • Twitter
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • About Us