Article: DCX drags suppliers down rocky road; Bernhard declares end to era of good feeling.(DaimlerChrysler's relations North American suppliers)

After months of tumult in DaimlerChrysler's relations with its North American suppliers, the automaker is articulating a new way of buying components. For suppliers, it isn't pretty.

Through private meetings and public comments this month, DaimlerChrysler suppliers have been told the automaker is abandoning past principles. Chief among them: the tradition of favoring an existing part supplier with the contract to supply the part on the next-generation model.

Also gone is the practice of pre-selecting a supplier before settling on the technology that will be incorporated into the vehicle.

The changes are dramatic. They also are drawing chilled ...

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