do you think that the merger of Chrysler and MB will help either? I don't and in ten years as the dealership merge all dodge and Chrysler's to fewer and fewer models, everyone will realize that the age of German leadership passed to a sad end.
you really don't come to appreciate what kind of engineering does (or does not) go into a car without servicing them yourself. sure, a ford brake stops a car just like a mercedes brake for the most part.
want to see what goes into a mercedes, browse around here and check it out (need IE with windows media player). you have to go into each section in some depth to really get an understanding of what they are putting into their cars, brakes for example, and then consider that many manufacturers still use drum brakes:
http://www.mbusalearning.com/w211elearning/