I"m not just jumping...

I"m not just jumping on the "bash Mercedes" bandwagon here. Years ago, I highlighted the problem of production being farmed out to countries such as Thailand and India - slightly dubious car building nations with vastly different and often inferior manufacturing habits. A senior director argued at the time that his company makes vehicles to the same exacting standards whether they"re built in the Third World or Germany. I"ve never believed that, and dealers and other insiders have confirmed my doubts.

Problem number two is longevity. Mercedes is adamant its cars are as well built as ever, and that owners don"t need to replace them earlier than they used to. But as somebody who occasionally sits behind the wheel of new Mercs and compares them with the bomb-proof Eighties S-Class which still sits on my drive, I can confirm you can see, feel, hear and almost smell the differences between the past and present motors.

And the straw that breaks the camel"s back is that questionnaires worldwide - such as the Auto Express Driver Power Survey - have repeatedly revealed today"s Mercedes customers are comparatively unhappy with their cars. Compared to what, exactly? Well, Mercs of the past to start with, but also products offered by rivals. It sounds corny, I know, but "they don"t make "em like they used to" just about says it all on this occasion.

As I said, I"m not being wise after the event. I"ve repeatedly questioned the company"s product demise. But at the end of last month, Financial Times readers - the people who drive or are chauffeured around in models wearing the three-pointed star - saw on their front pages a headline reading "Poor quality of Mercedes" cars dents profits". It was illustrated by a graphic showing the sickening slump in Merc reliability in the past decade.

I was rather hoping that the German manufacturer would hold its hands up, acknowledge the difficulties and explain itself. But it almost seems in denial. As with an alcoholic who doesn"t see himself as a drunk, the firm admits it "can"t put its finger" on the problems. Indeed, it doesn"t even concede that it has any.

But it does, and they"re huge. Mercedes has done the hard bit - building a brand and reputation known and respected globally. Now it"s in danger of blowing all that, as it"s lost the knack of making cars that keep the customers satisfied. Top brass need to pop across to the Czech Republic and Skoda HQ to see how the job should be done.