It’s pronounced DIME-ler!
We appreciate your comments, but Kai's been getting it right when pronouncing the German carmaker's name. Here's another attempt to get us all on the same page.
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KAI RYSSDAL: This final note today, in which we put to rest the issue of exactly how you pronounce the name of Chrysler’s German parent company.
We mentioned yesterday there’d been some objections to our use of Daimler. That it ought to be “Daemler.” And how we’d called company headquarters outside Detroit to check.
AUTOMATED PHONE MESSAGE: Thank you for calling the DaimlerChrysler Corporation.
Several of you wrote last night to point out that since it’s a German company, we should have called Stuttgart. So here you go:
CLAUDIA AT DAIMLERCHRYSLER: Guten tag, DaimlerChrysler . . . Claudia . . .
Caught us by surprise. We were expecting a recording.
CLAUDIA AT DAIMLERCHRYSLER: Guten tag, DaimlerChyrsler?
Which is where we hung up, ’cause we don’t speak German.
The best letter came from Joe Petsche of West Linn, Oregon. He suggested we ask Daimler executives how they pronounce it. They’d probably say that the “Chrysler” part’s meant to be silent.