When Daimler-Benz Chairman Juergen Schrempp and Chrysler Chairman Robert Eaton sat down in New York with FORTUNE in their only U.S. joint interview, they couldn 't resist some celebratory smokes (a cigar for Eaton, a cigarette for Schrempp). Indulge them in their vices. The deal these guys pulled off, which now looks brilliant, was on nobody's radar screen before the news broke. Its possibilities were visible to them alone. With the deal exposed to full public view, the benefits of the linkup appear dazzlingly obvious. The two companies, which will be known as DaimlerChrysler AG and have combined revenues of $130 billion, fit together like yin and yang. Chrysler makes moderately priced cars and light trucks; Daimler makes Mercedes luxury cars and heavy trucks. Chrysler is strong in North America and weak in Western Europe; Daimler, just the reverse. Chrysler is deft at design and product development; Daimler holds the upper hand in engineering and technology. This is a marriage of opportunity, not desperation. Chrysler is riding high in the U.S. car and truck boom; Daimler has restructured and is expanding at a breakneck pace.
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