Today marks the 21st anniversary of the unlikely merger between Daimler and Chrysler, so we thought it apropos to look back at some of the greatest accomplishments the two companies churned out together.

In 1998, Chrysler was in a bad way; it seemed to have a lot of great product ideas it wanted to implement, but not a lot of budget to make them happen.

Enter Daimler-Benz, who had just the cash to keep Chrysler alive. Oh, and the desire to get more vehicles built in the U.S. using Chrysler’s facilities.

According to Daimler’s then-CEO Jürgen E. Schrempp, the US$37-billion merger was a “marriage made in Heaven,” and it isn’t hard to see why he thought so. However, once the honeymoon period was over, it was all murky waters for the two brands.

It turns out you can’t mix German OCD with American attitude; so Daimler acted like a dictator, and Chrysler had to begrudgingly do what it was told.

The whole thing went belly up in 2007, but the combined efforts of the two companies produced some incredible vehicles and technology. Here are our top five favourites.

The LX Platform (Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger/Challenger/Magnum)

Introduced in 2004, the LX platform was Chrysler’s re-entry into the rear-wheel-drive sedan market. It replaced the LH platform that’d underpinned the Dodge Intrepid, Chrysler Concorde and various other “cab forward” designs that arose out of Chrysler’s partnership with Lamborghini.

The Chrysler LX platform was designed in America with minimal reliance on the Mercedes-Benz parts bin, but it still benefitted from a lot of Germany technology. The rear-drive layout made it much easier to include an all-wheel-drive option, courtesy of Mercedes’ five-speed automatic transmission and transfer case. The rear differential and five-link rear suspension was Mercedes-sourced too, along with the double wishbone front suspension, some steering components and a lot of the electronics.

Chrysler used the LX platform for many of its sedans, and still uses a modified version designated “LD” to this day, under the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. A shortened version designated “LC” for the Challenger has recently been updated into the “LA” platform, to support an eight-speed automatic.

Pentastar V6

Chrysler’s venerable V6: it’s gone into almost every vehicle the brand has built, from the Chrysler 300 to the Dodge Charger, Challenger, Grand Caravan and Magnum to the Jeep Cherokee and Wrangler and more.

The Pentastar – so named for the five-pointed logo of the Chrysler brand – was a purebred design initially displacing 3.6 litres, eventually shrinking to 3.2 and 3.0 litres. It was introduced at the 2009 New York Auto Show, but developed during the DaimlerChrysler years. Power ranges from 230 to 305 horsepower depending on application, and the design has dual variable valve timing, plus yet-to-be-utilized features like direct injection, forced air induction and cylinder deactivation.

Mercedes-Benz took the basic engine design and used it for their M276 family, which shares the same basic architecture and 60-degree-V design. The design was a massive improvement over the previous M272 V6, which used a 90-degree-V design, facilitating the need for a balance shaft that added mechanical complexity. Mercedes used a 3.5-litre version of the V6 for its W204-generation C-Class sedan.

Jeep JK Wrangler

For 2006, the Wrangler had been totally redesigned from the ground up with a new suspension, frame and body (while retaining the same rugged good looks). The JK replaced the TJ, which still followed the standard Jeep design, but what made the JK special was the introduction of a longer-wheelbase “Unlimited” model.

Not only was the wheelbase increased by some 50 cm, but a new four-door body style came along with it, to offer considerably more room. The four-door was a hit with consumers, and by 2017 it represented three-quarters of all new Wranglers for sale.

The design of the JK was done by Mark Moushegian, who won an internal contest in 2001. A Jeep Gladiator pickup was revealed at the 2005 Detroit Auto Show, which previewed the styling of the upcoming model but was never ultimately released as a standalone model.

The JK-generation Wrangler lasted up until 2018 when it was replaced by the JL, which features many revised details.

Dr. Zetsche’s moustache

Do you remember Dr. Z? The extremely German man who would dismantle people’s vehicles and tell them how great they were? Well, Dieter Zetsche wasn’t just some marketing ploy to tell people about how great DaimlerChrysler vehicles were—he was actually an engineer and the Chairman of the Board of Management for Daimler.

In 1998, he became a member of DaimlerChrysler’s Board of Management, and then President of Chrysler Group from 2000 through 2005.

What better way for Chrysler to really show how much German technology was actually in their vehicles than having a doctor with a big fluffy moustache tell you about it? Without the merger between Daimler and Chrysler, we might never have seen Dr. Z’s wonderful moustache in public. In an ironic twist, Dr. Z was also responsible for the dismantling of the merger after it proved to be disastrous for Daimler.

Mercedes-AMG SLS and Dodge Viper

Daimler did a lot for Chrysler—you could even say it owed them one. But the favour was repaid in 2010 when Mercedes-AMG chopped up a Dodge Viper to build its SLS sports car.

At the time, Dodge was planning on building a next-generation Viper, going so far as to build a brand-new chassis for the vehicle when Daimler stepped in to co-develop the vehicle into what was then called the SLC. Financial troubles would strike the Chrysler side and the next-generation Viper was shelved; however, Mercedes-AMG continued with its own model and eventually released the SLS AMG.

The SLS was a tribute to one of Mercedes-Benz’ greatest ever cars, the 300SL Gullwing, so named for its doors, which swung up instead of to the side. It isn’t powered by a V10, but instead a 6.2-litre V8 that produced 563 horsepower initially; those numbers grew to 622 horsepower in the Black Series.