Word: lexus
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Ford Fusion and the Mercury Milan, are still too similar. "We'd like to see more differentiation in the sheet metal, not just the inside creature comforts or the taillights," says Robert Thibodeau, owner of a major Detroit Ford dealership. Toyota, by contrast, has produced SUVs and the luxury Lexus--two totally different vehicles--even though they are built on the same platform. Some analysts argue that Ford should get rid of one of its brands, such as Mercury, and narrow its product line. The company's drab minivans may be dropped...
...Murphy. Mercedes is in the middle of a massive overhaul designed not only to fix the car problems and restore the luster but also to reinvent the company, no less. High-quality cars are a must, given the pounding Mercedes is taking from the likes of Lexus. The company is introducing a new S-Class (starting price for the flagship S500L version: around $115,00), which hits U.S. streets in January, joining two new R-Class models and a new M-Class SUV. At the same time, Mercedes has to revamp its manufacturing--no easy chore in high-cost Germany...
...Power's influential study of long-term vehicle dependability, which measures problems encountered by owners of three-year-old cars, Mercedes scored far below the industry average in the 2005 survey; Mercedes owners reported more than twice as many problems per 100 cars as top-ranked Lexus. "Mercedes' fall from grace has been especially severe," says Chance Parker, J.D. Power's executive director of product and research analysis...
...more postings (online) by people whose cars break down within weeks of leaving the showroom," he says. He still owns a '94 Mercedes E320 wagon and a '98 E320 sedan, but last year, after taking a long hard look at the S-Class, he bought a Lexus instead. "European-car aficionados may look down at me when I pull up to them in my supposedly ever-so-boring-to-drive Lexus," Hurvitz says, "but I'll enjoy the last laugh when their transmission fails...
...have truly been dealt with--and the indications are growing that they have been-- Mercedes will once again take its place at or near the top of the heap. "It would be foolish to believe Mercedes' weaknesses will exist for very long," says Stuart McCullough, the European director for Lexus. The big question is how quickly those scared off by the quality problems will come back. The goodwill is clearly there. "I personally haven't given up on Mercedes-Benz," says Hurvitz, the financial-company president in Rockville who switched to a Lexus. "I loved the older ones and what...