Dual Control

The new V8 Jeep or the new V8 Mercedes-Benz? One's more expensive than the other, but either way DaimlerChrysler wins, writes ALASTAIR SLOANE.

When Daimler-Benz and Chrysler Corporation first discussed joining forces a couple of years ago, Chrysler chairman Bob Eaton brought something to the meetings that the methodical Germans liked.

At the time, talk of the Millennium Bug and its potentially catastrophic effect on the world was starting to gain momentum.

Eaton wanted to know the worst. So he had all of the computer clocks at one assembly plant wound forward to just before midnight, December 31, 1999.

Then he and his senior staff went along to watch. At the stroke of midnight, the computers stopped, the security system locked all the doors, and the plant ground to a halt. There was indeed a problem. Eaton asked Chrysler's computer people to fix it. Quickly.

They were doing just that when Eaton and Daimler-Benz boss Jurgen Schrempp first got together to talk about a possible merger between the two automotive giants. Schrempp liked what he heard, because he and his people in Stuttgart were doing the same thing.

A few weeks ago, Chrysler told the world it was bug-proof, that its boffins had declared the carmaker Y2K-ready. Mercedes-Benz did, too, saying that the largest time dimension their cars' computers work in is one hour. Millennium Bug? Forget it.

But privately, like industries the world over, both carmakers will hold their breath at 11.59 pm on the last day of the 20th century.

There is still a risk, say pessimists, that cars - and clocks, washing machines, television sets and aeroplanes, for that matter - will not know what day it is after midnight.

But the assurance is important in this part of the world, if only because Australia/Pacific is one of the first DaimlerChrysler subsidiaries to integrate its Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler operations.

That is not to say that a Mercedes-Benz dealer will start selling Chrysler vehicles. Not now anyway. In time, perhaps, in provincial cities like Napier or Palmerston North, where a joint outlet would make economic sense to the parent company.

That is when things will become interesting. On one side of the shop, for example, will be Mercedes-Benz ML-Class four-wheel-drives. On the other will be Jeep Grand Cherokee four-wheel-drives

Three will be made in America, and one in Europe. But which is which? It can get confusing.

The six-cylinder Grand Cherokee Laredo is made in Detroit; the V8 Grand Cherokee is made in Graz, Austria (where Mercedes-Benz makes its go-anywhere Gelandewagen). The V6 ML320 and V8 ML430 Mercedes-Benz models, y'all should know, are built in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The choice is yours. Either way, DaimlerChrysler gets the cash. Geddit?

But this assembly arrangement wasn't as a result of the merger. The Jeep and Mercedes-Benz vehicles share nothing but room on the road and were up and running in prototype form long before Schrempp and Eaton got together.

The ML-Class arrived here last year powered by a 3.2-litre V6 petrol engine and starting at $87,900.

It is the best on/off-road compromise, certainly for day-to-day New Zealand, with good over-the-bonnet visibility and an electronic traction control system that works well off road. It would work even better if the vehicle had more ground clearance and wheel travel.

The V6 was joined the other day by the $118,900 4.3-litre V8. It offers the same bells and whistles but adds two extra rear seats and considerably more oomph - and petrol consumption - from the sophisticated V8, a reworked version of the motor found in the flagship S-Class saloon.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee arrived a few years ago, powered by a 4-litre in-line six-cylinder Valiant engine that was effective but obviously dated. A 5.2-litre V8 model was available but only in left-hand-drive markets. The position of the steering box meant the V8 basically would have had to be turned on its side to sit in the engine bay of a right-hand-drive.

At least, that was the case up until this week, when the new Grand Cherokee range was unveiled in the South Island. No word on official prices yet.

The Laredo's six-cylinder engine has been reworked for more power, smoother running and lower emissions, and the new 4.7-litre V8 Limited gives Jeep a right-hand-drive market it never had before.

The single overhead camshaft V8 produces 162kW at 4700 rpm and 390Nm of torque at 3200 rpm. It can't compete with its ML430 stablemate's 200kw/400Nm, but the Grand Cherokee Limited will be considerably cheaper.

The new Jeep models are bigger and more luxurious than their predecessor. The Laredo carries over the old-style four-wheel-drive drivetrain but the Limited has a new electronic system that uses hydraulic pumps installed at the front, centre and rear differentials to keep the vehicle moving even if only one wheel has traction.

But it can carry only five occupants, which might hurt its sales against, for example, the similarly priced 4-litre V8 Land Rover Discovery, which can carry seven. It will be a market worth watching.