Big Al,
Thank you for your thoughts on this topic, I am sure there are more than just a few people interested in this topic.
My point was: DCX in making the "low pressure" turbo was merely taking off the shelf items, detuning them, and making the path to re-constitute the horsepower already built in difficult. The method of de-tuning is merely semantics if the base engine is the same, and aparently it is.
e.g. Why no 5 speed transmission - this isn't a case of cheaper! I don't think you will find that there is any $$ reason for 'only' automatic transmission, other than to prevent the tuners from reconstituting the de-tuned 180 into the Stage II. (Make the drivetrain so weak they won't attempt it.)
You have answered your own question and raised more as you talked about AMG and TRD warranting aftermarket parts. (Does this mean that a Stage I installed at the dealership gets a written warranty now?)
Lastly is the dissapointing (and I wish it wasn't so) Missfire, a reconstitution of MB SLK parts, made by MB in Europe (not by Americans) from discontinued SLK drivetrain, suspension, and other parts (kind of like buying a new - used car), in an attempt to satisfy some investors that there really some synergy between the mothership and the poor little Chrysler company. My own dissapointment other than the poor power for an expensive Chrysler 2-seater is that the engineers were so sloppy that they made it almost uninhabitable by over 6 footers.
I made the comparrison because MB has made sure that the "lesser model cannot compete with the "real SLK", again by de-tuning and under-engineering.
My original quote, using their engineering prowess to "Limit the Value" rather than maximize it.
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