DCX models will share more parts

'Commonizing,' a priority for new VP of product development, will cut costs, save time.

By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News

TRAVERSE CITY -- Owners of the economical Dodge Neon and upscale Mercedes vehicles will have more in common in coming years as DaimlerChrysler AG moves to share more parts across its American and German brands.

DaimlerChrysler wants to reduce engineering costs by paring down the number of different parts used across brands, said Frank Klegon, the Chrysler Group's vice president of product development process and components.

"Commonizing," as it's known in the industry, will be Klegon's top priority when becomes executive vice president of product development for Chrysler on Jan. 1.

He will replace Eric Ridenour, who becomes chief operating officer as part of a management shuffle that resulted in the retirement of DaimlerChrysler Chairman Juergen Schrempp and the elevation of Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche as his successor.

The shift will result in shorter product cycles and lower costs, Klegon said.

The shared parts mostly will be those that are invisible to the consumer, such as a transmission built by Mercedes but also installed in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Klegon said. The company also plans to use just one door latch for all of its vehicles.

"It sits inside the door, has no customer value, other than it's quiet and it's reliable and meets safety requirements," he said. "What's the difference between it being on a Mercedes or a Dodge?"

There's major savings in the cost to produce fewer variations of a part because it requires only one set of manufacturing tools, said Michael Robinet, vice president at CSM Worldwide Inc., a Farmington Hills-based consultant.

There are pitfalls, however, and DaimlerChrysler has seen them firsthand in the case of the Chrysler Crossfire, a two-seat roadster introduced in 2004. Derived from the Mercedes SLK, it was touted as the first true collaboration resulting from the 1998 marriage of Daimler- Benz and Chrysler Corp.

But consumers complained about the cryptic controls and imprecise steering. And Chrysler officials acknowledge it was too "Mercedes" and not enough "Chrysler."

The use of the same part in a number of vehicles can also be costly in the event of a recall, since the problem would not be isolated to only a few models.

But the benefits far outweigh the risks, Robinet said.

"As long as the customer perceives the same quality and function, they're not giving something up," Robinet said.