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Marketing Dynamics: Theory and Practice
Freightliner achieved a slight increase in unit sales despite the very low level of demand in the United
States. Group revenues for the second quarter decreased from EUR 39.3 billion to EUR 34.3 billion,
primarily due to the appreciation of the euro against the US dollar, but also as a result of lower unit
sales in the second quarter. Adjusted to exclude currency translation effects, the decrease amounts
to 2%.
At the end of the second quarter of 2003, DaimlerChrysler employed 372,100 people worldwide
(June 30, 2002: 374,100). Despite the first consolidation of the New Venture Gear Inc. with some
3,800 employees, the size of the Chrysler Group workforce decreased to 97,100 people (-6%). This
was due to the measures taken to reduce costs and increase efficiency, as well as the sale of
Eurostar Graz with around 2,000 employees in Q3 2002. The number of people employed by the
Mercedes-Benz sales organizations for passenger cars and commercial vehicles increased by 10%
to 43,700 as a result of acquiring dealerships within the framework of the Metropolitan strategy.
PT CRUISER : PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
Pick up the pace with PT
Cruiser’s High Output 2.4-liter
turbocharged engine. It creates
220 horsepower at 5000 rpm
and 245 lb.-ft. of peak torque
available from 2400 to 4400
rpm. This engine is included on
GT and Dream Cruiser Series
3. A new turbocharged 2.4-liter
DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder
engine producing 180 horse-
power and 210 lb.-ft. of torque
is available on Touring and Lim-
ited and included on Platinum
Series. PT Cruiser’s standard 2.4-liter DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder power plant offers 150 horse-
power at 5,100 rpm and 162 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. You’ll appreciate those numbers
when you step on the gas pedal to climb a hill or pass another vehicle. Interior amenities like leather-
trimmed seats with real suede accents and a leather-wrapped steering wheel are all standard on PT
Limited. In fact, the interior styling of every PT Cruiser is luxurious, refined and designed to fit the
customer’s preferences. Interior amenities like leather-trimmed seats with real suede accents and a
leather-wrapped steering wheel are standard on PT Limited. The air conditioning, power windows,
rear windshield wiper/washer, rear defrost, and an AM/FM stereo radio with CD player and six
speakers standard are also part the interior excellence. The car has many customization options for
colours and wheels. The PT Cruiser experience includes a reassuring sense of protection. That’s
because we’ve included some of the most up-to-date safety features like Next Generation driver and
passenger front air bags. The available supplemental side air bags (standard on Limited, Platinum
Series, GT, and Dream Cruiser Series 3) for front occupants offer additional protection for driver and
Box 2: PT Cruiser: transmission
To set all that power into motion, choose from a 5-speed manual
transaxle or an optional 4-speed automatic.
The standard 5-speed manual transaxle has ratios spaced to give
optimum performance and fuel efficiency from the standard 2.4-
liter engine. A heavy-duty Getrag 5-speed manual is on GT and
Dream Cruiser Series 3. The four-speed automatic is an electronic,
fully adaptive transaxle, and is included with the 180-horsepower
turbocharged engine. This transaxle is available on GT (shown)
and Dream Cruiser Series 3 with the AutoStick® shifter. AutoStick
allows you to change gears without a clutch, or ignore shifting
altogether and let the transaxle shift for you.