Had nothing to do Sunday, so me & my boy went to the "Auto Mall" over in Seaside & checked out just about everything.

The Pontiac dealer had only 1 GTO left, complete with a $4,000 "Limited edition" and a $795 "Classy Vehicle" markups, and a total price of $38,000.

My kid really fell for the GTO interior, and I think of all the cars we checked out (including a Cobra and GT Mustang, as well as a H2), the GTO was his favorite by a long shot (15 years old). He's counting down the days till that GTO show comes on TV. You know I'll be watching it too.



NOW about that 300C!

The dealer had only 1 300C and 1 Touring car left! He told me that those cars are going as quickly as they get them in, and they get at least 1 new special order for them per day. After talking to him I found out that the 300 is likely to become Chrysler division's best selling car by far. And the car is full of stop-in-your-track surprises.

*The 250 horse V6 300 is sticker priced lower at $26,770 than the 240 horse supercharged Impala SS's $28,795.

*Contrary to popular belief (including mine) the 300 isn't a pig. Get this, Comparing the 300 Touring 250 horse V6 to the 240 horse Supercharged Impala V6, the Impala weighs only 100 pounds less at about 3600 pounds to the V6 300's 3700 pounds! !!!

*There is NO DEALER MARKUP on the cars (at least here) even though they can't seem to keep them in stock.!!

*Despite the gun-slit windows, visability is actually excellent!

*The 300C is surprisingly quick! To be sure, you won't go racing Corvettes or Cobras with this car (some people here don't understand the concept of relativity and market segment, so I need to say that ), but I want to say this and make this completely clear:

Anyone who says that the Chrysler 300C isn't QUICK has their head up their ***! Seriously!!!

Anyone who compares this car to a Corvette, or says "Well all I have to do is take my Camaro and add...", or compares the 300C to the modified cars they've been watching on a dragstrip, then says the 300C isn't quick is a moron. The 300C doesn't snap your neck in 2, but it does have some ferocious acceleration. It's a big automatic transmissioned luxury sedan that I can say firsthand is definately a sub 6 second 0-60 car. Car & Driver says 5.3 (just .1 seconds off their test of a CTSv and identical to their LS1 F-body numbers) and being that they probally had time to figure out the best way to launch it, I believe them. Completely.

Looking under the car, it has rear resonators, and an absolutely huge dual inlet/outlet muffler that looks like a economy car's fuel tank. It's that big, and it just has to soak up horsepower. It would be pretty interesting what the car would sound (and go) like with a pair of flowmasters, or straight pipes, or even the seemingly smaller muffler from a Cummings Turbo Diesel.

The 300C interior seems better made than the Cadillac CTSv (which I also checked out, but didn't drive). While the Caddy was more edgy on the outside, it's interior was more businesslike than the 300C, but it didn't seem as well made, and it didn't have the same attention to detail the Chrysler had. While the Cadillac had black everything, with a touch of metal here & there, the 300C had what I can only describe as "tortoise shell" trim on the steering wheel and the door pull handles, a 2 tone interior with plastic that felt closer to solid but soft rubber, more & better use of metalic surfacing, and whitefaced guages. The whole interior felt much classier without being over the top. This is easily the 1st interior that tops Ford in combining at least percieved quality along with a great "wow" factor.

The trunk is easily 4 or 5 bodies big, and the battery is under the floor with the spare tire. Unlike Ford initially did with their Thunderbird, Chrysler sprang the extra 10 cents to cover the terminals to avoid shorting out the electrical system.

One thing that really stands out about the 300 is that the car really isn't that big! When you get up to it, it doesn't seem any larger than the CTS. It's a tall car, but it's styling is very deceptive. The car has 18 inch wheels, massive (and almost oversized) wheel arches, a high beltline, a massive grille, a trunk that almost comes up to your chest, but it's relatively short. It's waaay shorter than an LHS or Concorde, and it's no bigger or taller than a 300M when you look at the 2 about 10 feet apart. It's like someone took a modest sized car, raised the beltline to crossover vehicle levels, slammed the roof, and stuck on oversized wheels and styling touches.

The sticker price of the 300C at the dealer was $34,000, but it had quite a few options including a sunroof and the top CD player. The base price on the car was $32,000, and there is incentives on the car (though not alot) that should bring the Hemi powered 300C down to the $30-31K mark. Try finding a V6 Cadillac CTS for that!

The engine and drivetrain are also warrantied for 7 years or 70,000 miles.

Get a base 300C in black for about $30K out the door, replace the 225s with at least 245 tires, loose the oversized muffler, replace the chip (and the 129 mph governer), and you will have one hell of a sedan. It already has huge 18" wheels, huge dual piston 13.5" front disc brakes (12.5 rear), and is pretty damn quick out the door.

Monday I was out most of the day, and I easily saw a dozen new Chrysler 300s, and now I see why. With Lincoln's management believing that they shouldn't have anything quicker than 8 seconds to 60 mph, and Cadillac's move into the pricing stratosphere, you can have a CTSv-quick, Mercedes-Benz sourced, well made, fantastic handling, high styled luxury car for thousands less than a 275 horse Pontiac Bonneville GXP ($35,270) or the same price as an Acura TL ( $32,650).

Chrysler hit thisone out of the ballpark!

 

I really like what I've seen of the uplevel 300C's so far.

IMO, it is a winner so far as far as the way it looks, the features it offers, and the price points it comes in at.

 

Well written as usual ... when do you come out with car reviewing as your full time job?

I think the 300C is amazing (content, systing and price). I can't wait for the Charger. My 14 year old has a Subaru fetish (WRX STI Spec what?)... so I won't be bringing him shopping for cars.

Ted

 

"The trunk is easily 4 or 5 bodies big"

Just what do you need this room for??

 

full luggage for 4 people on vacation.

This full sized car sounds hot!

 

Because of the business I'm in. :blah:










(j/k)

Naw, seriously it was a tounge in cheek nod to a couple of reviews I've read that compare the new 300's styling to the gangster cars of the 30s.

The trunk is huge. Bigger than my T-bird. I find that amazing since the car isn't actually that big, and all those years of car makers telling us that FWD means bigger passenger & trunk room.

You could always use a big roomy trunk for something.....even moving bodies.

I guess I should include a disclaimer that I don't condone using the trunk in that way.

 

Call it trivial, but one of the biggest problems for me is the beltline. The car looks slick because it appears to be "chopped." However, when you get in the thing, it doesn't feel so neat (in my opinion). I love to be able to place my arm up on the window ledge, and this cannot be done with this car or a car like the 350Z. The window is just too high up on the door...

 

not very biased are you? i think thats good, too bad we don't have you working on the 5th gen.that we know of

 

I agree 100 percent.

However, you really missed the point. The interior of the 300C is great, but the best parts are the Mercedes-sourced steering column and seats. Personally, I like the metalic accents and "tortoise shell" inlay on the wheel and door pulls. However, I can wait to see my first Magnum RT-8. Will less flash, a tailgate and $3,000 less MSRP make the Hemi Magnum an even bigger hit?

 

I'd say that the trunk is usefull but not huge in a traditional American sense. In contrast, the trunk of an old fashioned American car is normally huge but not very usefull.

Still, the packaging of the 300 makes similarly sized cars (CTS, Lincoln LS, etc.) seem cramped and dowdy. Chrysler of Europe will have to careful not to steal sales from short-wheelbase Mercedes S-class models.

 

I tried getting my g/f to look at the 300 Touring, but she didn't even want to touch it. She thought it was way to big, and honestly, so did I. I've heard people say that they have to make a few attempts at parking into a parking spot. I couldn't imagine her having a car that big without it getting dings all over the place from edging random stuff. It was quite a bit larger than the CTS we test drove.

I test drove the 300 and it handled OK for what it was, like the CTS. They both had supple rides though, not every road vibration came through to the cabin. I didn't really get either car at WOT, I really hate doing that with new cars because I feel like I might be ruining it in some way for the guy who actually buys it and because when their brand new they're not as quick as they will be after their broken in anyway....

The interior in the Touring edition was great, I liked the CTS better because it was more fit to me, but the Touring was gorgeous on the inside too. Lots of little things to check out, I had to feel all different materials before I was completely satisfied.

Anyway, great review Guy as always. I definately don't think it is as great as you do, but then again I only drove the 300 and not the C, so I missed out on a bit more performance. For the same price I would take a "used" CTS over a 300. I have a feeling these 300's will hold their retail value pretty well.

 

Yep, if it was a Caddy, it would cost $55K.

(Before rebates, of course.)

 

I've only seen one so far, and it was a base model at the dealership with a sticker of $23,000! I asked my friend what his guess on the price would be (before I told him), and he said $40k. I didn't get to sit in it, but from the outside it didn't look that big to me, although I've become used to trucks and giant classic cars.

 

This big honkin', full sized sedan is only 4" longer than a 4th gen F-car.



THINK ABOUT IT.

 

Yeah, it always sounds weird to me when someone calls an F-body "huge".