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Automakers go to great lengths to avoid being hit with the 25 percent chicken tax when they import trucks or vans into the U.S. Mercedes-Benz takes the cake for the most absurd method. For the past decade, Mercedes-Benz would build Sprinter vans fully in Germany before disassembling them and shipping the pieces to South Carolina. Workers in a small assembly building would put the vans back together. This method allowed Mercedes-Benz to claim the vans as "locally made". "I really couldn't believe it. To build up and tear down, that's really something that hurts me, personally. And the costs!" said Volker Mornhinweg, worldwide head of Mercedes-Benz Vans. Mornhinweg first learned about this back in 2010 and like us, found himself wondering 'WHY?!' Thankfully, Mornhinweg began working on making this process not seem like Rube Goldberg machine which will fully culminate with a new assembly plant in South Carolina that will be tasked with building the next-generation Sprinter, most likely in 2018. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article -
Mercedes-Benz's Absurd Way Of Avoiding the Chicken Tax
William Maley posted an article in Mercedes Benz
Automakers go to great lengths to avoid being hit with the 25 percent chicken tax when they import trucks or vans into the U.S. Mercedes-Benz takes the cake for the most absurd method. For the past decade, Mercedes-Benz would build Sprinter vans fully in Germany before disassembling them and shipping the pieces to South Carolina. Workers in a small assembly building would put the vans back together. This method allowed Mercedes-Benz to claim the vans as "locally made". "I really couldn't believe it. To build up and tear down, that's really something that hurts me, personally. And the costs!" said Volker Mornhinweg, worldwide head of Mercedes-Benz Vans. Mornhinweg first learned about this back in 2010 and like us, found himself wondering 'WHY?!' Thankfully, Mornhinweg began working on making this process not seem like Rube Goldberg machine which will fully culminate with a new assembly plant in South Carolina that will be tasked with building the next-generation Sprinter, most likely in 2018. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) -
G. David Felt Alternative Fuels & Propulsion writer www.CheersandGears.com 15 New Car Auto's to Avoid Forbes published their 2015 list of 15 cars to Avoid. #15 - Smart ForTwo - due to premium fuel, under powered and lack of space #14 - Scion iQ - oddly aligned seeting for 3, lack of room, poor quality, etc. #13 - Nissan Titan - Outclassed in every way by US trucks and worst values. #12 - Nissan Armada - Poor reliability, ownership cost, fuel economy and quality #11 - Mitsubishi Mirage - Sluggish engine, performance, quality, value #10 - Mitsubishi iMiEV - Rock bottom residual value, lowest performance score for EV's #9 - Lincoln MKT - Below average quality, reliability and depreciation #8 - Lincoln MKS - Below average performance, quality, value and residual value #7 - Jeep Wrangler - Poor passenger comfort, harsh ride and handling, noise, value & quality #6 - Jeep Patriot - poor performance, reliability and below average residual value #5 - Jeep Compass - poor performance, reliability and below average residual value #4 - Fiat 500L - poor quality, performance, reliability and below average resale value #3 - Dodge Journey - poor quality, performance, reliability short and long term. #2 - Cadillac XTS - Poor Value, Quality, performance and resale value #1 - BMW 7 Series - Poor Handling, Highest Operating cost, worst value and below average performance Forbes compiled this list based on ratings from consumers reports and JD power. They looked at these models compared to like models in the same segment in coming up with these top 15 versions to avoid. An interesting observation is that all of these auto's are also known to have electronic issues according to their research making them more expensive than normal to fix once out of warranty. Now that you have Forbes top 15 autos's to avoid for the 2015 model year, what are your top 15 cars to avoid in the coming new year?
