i

The authors and publishers have taken care in the preparation of this book, but make
no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for
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in connection with or arising out of the use of the information contained herein.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Marshall, Chris
Soal, Richard
Corporate Hubris : A Perspective of DaimlerChrysler /
Chris Marshall, Richard Soal
Includes appendix, bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-201-45313-3
1.
Business enterprises--management. 2. Law--Contract.
3.
Law--Dispute. I. Title.
QA76.76.A65M3452000
005.121dc21
2005 by Chris Marshall and Richard Soal
1988 Cover Picture by Boris Vallejo
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, taping, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the
permission in writing from the publisher.
ISBN 0-201-45313-3
Text printed on recycled and acid free paper.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10-MA-0302010099

ii

iii

iv

Table of Contents

Foreword ...........................................................v
Preface...............................................................vii
DaimlerChrysler ......................................................................................... vii
Structure of the Book ................................................................................. viii
Approach of the Book ................................................................................ ix
Cover Picture .............................................................................................. x

Chapter 1:

Introduction..................................................

11

Chapter 2:

Personal Anecdotes ....................................

13

Boere Ferrari .............................................................................................. 13

E for Excellence .......................................................................................... 14
Tinny C Class.............................................................................................. 16
Is My New Car Really New?...................................................................... 16
Why Buy an Obsolete Jeep? ...................................................................... 17

Corporate Hubris: A Perspective of DaimlerChrysler - Chris Marshall & Richard Soal

Table of Contents

Spanners and Software............................................................................... 19

Chrysler Voyager ........................................................................................ 20
Insurance ..................................................................................................... 21
CLK500 Cabriolet ...................................................................................... 21

Chapter 3:

Purpose & Process ......................................

26

Motivation ................................................................................................... 26
Credentials................................................................................................... 27
Purpose ........................................................................................................ 28
Process ......................................................................................................... 29
Sources ......................................................................................................... 31

Chapter 4:

Intent & Outcome ......................................... 34

Market ......................................................................................................... 34
Product......................................................................................................... 36
Service.......................................................................................................... 42
Value............................................................................................................. 53
Ethics............................................................................................................ 69

Chapter 5:

Corporate Hubris..........................................

92

Appendix........................................................... 95
Bibliography ..................................................... 123

ii

Corporate Hubris: A Perspective of DaimlerChrysler - Chris Marshall & Richard Soal

List of Figures

Sources of Information .........................................................................32

DaimlerChrysler Share Price ................................................................35
Mercedes-Benz Dependability .............................................................38
Customer Satisfaction Study ................................................................43
New Car Prices USA v RSA ................................................................56
New Vehicle Premiums ........................................................................57
Mercedes-Benz C240 Prices .................................................................59
Radio/Electrical Problems on Mercedes-Benz W211 E Class .............74
Sales Process Steps ...............................................................................85

Corporate Hubris: A Perspective of DaimlerChrysler - Chris Marshall & Richard Soal

iii

List of Figures

iv

Corporate Hubris: A Perspective of DaimlerChrysler - Chris Marshall & Richard Soal

Aberration 26
Accident 17
Accounting Policy 24
Alex Taylor III 126
Alfred H. Ells 125
Allan Sloan 128
American Locomotive Company vii
American Management
Association 123
American Motors viii
Anderson & Zemke 90
Andre Jurgens 127, 128
Anecdote 12, 29
Anger 27, 44
Approach
Accessible 29
Big Brother 46, 65
Holistic 63
Management 28
of Book 12
Rational 53
Arms Procurement Program 70
Arrogance 27, 47, 48, 52, 62, 92, 93
Attitude 11, 44, 50, 76
Cavalier 94
Dealer 47
Dismissive 61
Dont Bother Me 77
Hubristic 93
Uncaring 27
Audit
Invoice 24
Profession 24
B

Baby Boomer 81
BBC News 123
Behavior 28
Accountability 25
Arrogant 48, 93
Bizarre 11, 28
Dysfunctional 28
Employee 69
Ethical 69

in Difficult Circumstances 72
Individual 11, 34
Senior Officers 69
Unethical 26
Unusual 26
Benz & Co vii
Benzworld 123
Bertel M. Sparks 129
Big Brother 46
Blue Book 60, 61
BMW 13, 59
Boere Ferrari 14
Botswana 18
Brand and Trust 88
Brand Pretorius 53
brandchannel.com 123
Buick Motor Company vii
Business Week 93, 129
C

Cape Town 16, 63

Carl Friedrich Benz vii
Carte Blanche 123
CBS Evening News 123
Chris Marshall 27, 94, 127
Christine Tierney 129
Chrysler 32, 34, 40, 61
Defects 73
Investors 35
Price 56
Prices 59
Service 42
Shareholders 70
Shipping Cost 58
Takeover 40
Voyager 20, 55
Chrysler Corporation vii
Competition 49, 68
Commission 54
Dealers 48, 68, 69
Policy 48
Tribunal 49, 50, 67, 125
Competitiveness 28
complain-complain.com 32
Complaint 47

Discussion Forum 39
Ethics 32
I was Your Customer 33
Online 32
Product 32
Ruin any Business 33
Satisfactorily Resolved 32
Service 32
Silent Majority 32
Tip of the Iceberg 32
Value 32
Website 37, 39, 47
Computer Technology 20
Consumer Affairs 28
Consumer Experience 26
Consumer Policy Framework 125
ConsumerAffairs.com 124
consumeraffairs.com 32, 124
Context 28
Contract
Attitude to 94
Conditions 21
Expertise 28
Hand Over 88
Invoice 24
Liability 24
Loss of Profits 23
Offer to Purchase 22
Price 22
Representations 22
Right of Resale 23
Specifications 22
Threat of Legal Action 88
Trade in Value 22
Corporate
Mirror ix
Values 90
Corporate Hubris 92, 124, 128
Corporate Management 67
Corporate Policy 11, 63
Corporate Shield 24
Corporate Stakeholder 29
Cover Picture x
Criticism 28
Curriculum Vitae viii

Customer 29
Customers Needs 27
Cyril Ramaphosa 80
D

Daimler Motor Company vii

Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft vii
Daimler-Benz viii
DaimlerChrysler 12, 24, 45, 124
Apology 80
Arrogance 27, 47, 48, 52, 62
Attitude 27, 44, 61, 76, 77, 93, 94
Big Brother 46, 65
Class Action 70
Code of Ethics 69
Competition 49
Confidence 20
Consumer Experience 26
Corporate Shield 24
Cover-up 41
Dealer 30
Defect 40
Embarrassment 80
Engineering Integrity 41
Ethics 24, 26, 45, 69, 87
Foundation 70
Future of the Automobile 94
Integrity 69
Integrity Code 69
Latent Defect 20
Management 26, 28
Management Attention 40
Management Development 29
Management Resources 40
Maybach 80
Merger with Chrysler 35, 40, 126
New Distribution Policy 27, 50, 51,
84

No Response 22
Policy 23, 40, 48
Product 47
Prohibition 51
Quality 26, 39
Reputation 40
Response 40, 46

SEC 71
Service 46, 47, 61
Share Price 34, 36
Skill 48
Strategy 34
Survival 91
Termination 44
Trade in Policy 61, 63
Trade in Value 61
Truth 94
Value 45
Warranty 40
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace 70
daimlerchrysler.com 124
daimlerchryslervehicleproblems.com
32

David Ticoll 77, 129

Dealer
Attitude 44, 47
Blue Book 60
Charge Back 87
DaimlerChrysler 30
Ethics 32
Involvement by DaimlerChrysler 50
Negotiation 60, 62
Network 49, 59
Orbit Motors 20, 88
Principal 20, 22
Profit 56
Prohibition 51
Rectify Fault 31, 42, 46, 74
Sandown Motors 16, 72
Sandown Service Center 45
Sandown Western Cape 88
Taken Over 63
Defect 40, 44
Latent 20
Manufacturing 37, 87
New Vehicle 31
Persistent 48
Deon Ebersohn 54
Department of Trade and Industry 28,
49, 125

Dependability
Price 59

Depreciation 60
Derek Watts 123
Detroit Free Press 129
Deutsche Welle 35, 124
Discussion Forum 30, 39
Disgust 44
Dodge viii
dodgelemons.com 32
Don Tapscott 77, 129
DTI 28, 49, 125
Duncan Williamson 130
E

Ed Garsten 126
edmunds.com 125
Electrical System 39
Electronic Mail 30
en.wikipedia.org 129
Engineering 16
Engineering Integrity 34
Enron 128
Enterprise Modeling 127
epinions.com 127
Estelle Ellis 125
Ethics 24, 26, 31, 32, 45, 69, 87
Dealer 32
European Aeronautic Defence and
Space Company (EADS) 70
Executive Remuneration 27
Expectation 11
F

Fanyana Shiburi 80
Foote, Cone & Belding 89, 127
Fortune Magazine 36, 126
forums.mbnz.org 123
Frustration 27, 44
Future of the Automobile 94
G

General Electric 63
Gerald Hill 126
Globalisation 11
Gottlieb Daimler vii

hellopeter.com 32, 126

Henry Root ix, 128, 130
Herr Kaufmann 127
High Technology 19
Holistic Approach 63
Howard A. Gutman 126
Humor 28
Hyundai viii

Just in Time 27
K

Kanban 27
Kathleen Hill 126
Ken Belson 129
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park 18
King Mswati 80
Kirk Kerkorian 35, 69
Kristin Anderson 123

Icarus x
Independent Suspension 17
Insurance Premium 21
Integrity 69, 78
Engineering 41
Trust 72, 88
Integrity Code 69
Internet 30, 60
Well Informed 41
Inventory 50
J

Jack Welch 63
Janet Pines 89, 127
JD Power & Associates 37, 42, 126
Jeep
American Motors viii
Cherokee 17, 55, 63
City Slicker 18
Grand Cherokee 17, 65
Liberty 17, 55
Price 56
Rubicon Trail 19
Service 45
Technology 17
Value 45
Jessica Bezuidenhout 127
Joan Claybrook 93, 124
Joann Muller 129
Johann Friedrich von Schiller 78
Jonathan Swift ix, 29
Journal of Business 128
Jovial Rantao 128
Jrgen E. Schrempp v, x, 34, 70

Land Cruiser 94
Land Rover 19
Latent Defect 20
Laurel Kenner 127
Lawyer 23, 28, 31, 35, 40, 49, 51, 60, 83,
84, 86, 87, 88, 94

Lean Manufacturing 50
Lee Rondganger 125
Legal Action
Costs 88
Threat of 88
Lexus 94, 127
Loss of Profits 23
Luxury Vehicle Market 36
M

Malawi 18
Management
Approach 28
Attention 40
Book 13
Core Skill 29
Corporate 67
Development 26, 29
Orbit Motors 88
Resources 40
Senior 70
Structure 67
Systems 27
Marvin Meintjies 128
Material Requirements Planning 27
Matt Karnitschnig 129
Maxwell Motor Company vii

Maybach viii, 80, 129

McCarthy Motors 16, 53
Mead & McGrouther 60
Blue Book 60, 61
meadnet.co.za 127
meadnet.co.za 127
Mercedes-Benz 13
300SL 13
300TD 47
Audio System 42
C180 Kompressor 37
CLK500 Cabriolet 21, 23, 48, 56, 61
Complaint 36
Consumer Warning 127
Dependability 19, 38
E-Class 15, 40
Finance and Insurance 21
Hunk of Junk 39
Known Problem 42
Life Span 15
Losing its Shine? 36, 94
Manual Gearbox 38
ML320 47
Price 23, 56
Price Premium 37
Quality 19, 36, 37, 39, 40
Recall 40
Service 42
SL500 54
SLK32 AMG 62
Software 20, 42, 74, 75
Test Drive 23
Trade in 23
Trade in Value 53
Values 16
W123 280E 13
W124 127
W124 300E 14
W202 16
W210 280E 16
W211 E320 19, 21, 75, 76, 79
Warranty 87
Mercedes-Benz E320 79
mercedes-benz-usa.com 32, 127
mercedesproblems.com 32

Michael Cusumano 34, 124

Michael Moore ix
Michael Schmidt 128
Michael Woerfel 71
Mika Brzezinski 123
Mitsubishi viii, 19
Moon Ihlwan 129
Motor Industry ix, 28, 29, 53, 67
Motor Vehicle 30, 44, 45, 47, 50, 51, 59
Appropriate 19
Condition 63, 79
Defective 20, 31, 86
Demonstration 51
Depreciation 61
Inspection 17
Insurance 21
Luxury 28
Manufacturer 31
Price 53, 54, 55, 57
Showroom Model 21
Specification 16, 83
Status 13, 14, 94
Trade in 60, 62
Motoring Press 31, 57
Mozambique 46
Mzilikazi wa Afrika 127
N

Namibia 17
New Distribution Policy 27, 50, 51, 84
New York Stock Exchange 34, 71
Niedhoffer and Kenner 2001 127
Nissan 19
Nomthetho Simelane 80
O

Offer to Purchase 22
Oldsmobile 37
Online
Article 30
Complaint 32
Discussion 31
Discussion Forum 30
Magazine 39
Research 30

Options 54, 55
Available 54
Cellular Phone 76
Configuration 51, 58
Effect on Price 56
Factory Fitted 50
Head Lamp 64
USA v RSA 51
Orbit Motors 20, 21, 23, 24, 67
Unsatisfactory Response 22
Owen Bell 48, 61, 63
P

Patrice Motsepe 80
Personal Perspective 27
Perspective 29
Peter Cheales 33, 124, 126
Platteland 18
Policy 23, 40, 48
Corporate 11
Policy Making 28
Pretoria News 128
Price 23, 51, 53, 54, 123, 125
Brand Premium 63
Chrysler 56
Dependability 59
Increase in 63
Investment 55
Jeep 56
Mercedes-Benz 56
Policy 69
Premium 37, 59
Profiteering 55
Residual Value 60
Spare Parts 63
USA v RSA 53, 55
Product 31, 47
Public Citizen News 124
Pull System 50
Purpose viii, 13, 26, 28
Executive 27
Research 30
Q

Quality 16, 26, 39, 40

Deteriorating 36
Mercedes-Benz 36
of Service 42
Superior 48
Zero Defect 27
R

Radio Fault 19
Rafael Mrowczynski 129
Red Herring 124
Relationship 12
Research 24, 27
Discussion Forum 30, 39
Internet 30
Literature 29
Material 30
Motivation 26
Motoring Press 31, 57
Online Article 30
Purpose 30
Resources 29
Sources 31
Statistics 40
Thesis 29
Website 30, 37, 39
www.sesh.com 30
Richard Roll 92, 128
Richard Soal 28, 94, 128
Robert Sobel 93, 129
Roger Hoerl 126
Ron Zemke 123
Ronald Snee 126
Roy Cokayne 125
S

Sales 15
Condition of 24
Department 61
Loss of Profits 23
Process 23
Uncertain 22
Value 14, 36, 62
Sandown Motor Holdings 17, 49, 61,
67, 72

Sandown Motors 16, 72

Sandown Western Cape 24, 48, 67

Sarah A. Webster 129
SEC 71
Secret Bank Account 71
Securities and Exchange
Commission 71
Service 31, 61
Chrysler 42
Excellence 28
Failure 31
Jeep 45
Mercedes-Benz 42
sesh.com 32, 128
Share Price 34
Simon & Schuster 129
Skoda 127
Smart viii
Software 17, 20, 27, 42, 74, 75
Source 31
Sources of Information 31, 32
South Africa 17, 30, 128
Local Manufacture 36
Spares and Service 36
Soweto 89
Spare Parts
Availability 19
Policy 54
Price 63
Spazza 89
Specification 55
Stakeholders 29, 78
Steven Andrew Fugue 126
Stolen Key 19
Strategy 34
Legal 87, 88
Sunday Times 127, 129
Swaziland 80
System
Audio 42, 74
Distribution 49
Legal 60
Navigation 75
NDP 50
SRS 19, 74
Windshield Washing 39

Tanzania 18
The Detroit News 126
The Mercury 123
The Star 125, 128
Tokyo Sexwale 80
Tom Blackett 89, 123
Tom Peters 127
Tony Yengeni 70, 128
Toyota 19, 50, 126
Tracinda Corporation 69
Trade in 23
Attitude 61
Blue Book 60
Depreciation 60
Negotiation 60
Policy 61, 63
Poor Value 62
Value 22, 23, 24, 53, 59, 60, 61
Worst Deal 61
Transparency 41, 67, 78
troublebenz.com 32, 129
Trust 88
Trust and Truth 89
Truth 94
Trust 89
Tylenol 72
Tyres 18
U

UCDD 14
Unfair Business Practices 28
United Car and Diesel Distributors 14
University of Cape Town 29
University of Swaziland 80
V

Value 11, 31
Corporate 90
of Reputation 89
Resale 14
Residual 60
Value Judgement 32
Victor Niedhoffer 127
Volvo 61

Walter Percy Chrysler vii

Warranty 31, 40, 63, 87
Washington Post 128
Website 30, 37, 39, 47
brandchannel.com 123
complain-complain.com 32
consumeraffairs.com 32, 124
daimlerchrysler.com 124
daimlerchryslervehicleproblems.co
m 32
dodgelemons.com 32
edmunds.com 125
en.wikipedia.org 129
epinions.com 127
forums.mbnz.org 123
hellopeter.com 32, 126
meadnet.co.za 127
mercedes-benz-usa.com 32, 127
mercedesproblems.com 32
sesh.com 32, 128
troublebenz.com 32, 129
www.sesh.com 30
Weidenfeld & Nicholson 128
Wikipedia 129
Z

Zambia 18
Zero Defect 27
Zimbabwe 18

cxl