But this guy usually has good info.......

http://www.allpar.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=50549

 

That's the 1st independent mention I've heard of this.

The plot thickens.

 

OK, I can confirm it seems that there IS a midsized coupe in the pipeline at Chrysler.

It's NOT going to be a 300 coupe, & NOT Magnum based coupe. I can't say if it will be FWD or RWD, or even the market it's aimed for, but it will have 2 doors.

Before our imaginations run wild, remember, the Stratus & Sebring (considered mid sized coupes) are due to be replaced, and all those thirsty Hemi 300s and Magnums need to be offset by the sales of lots of 4s and V6s.

Sorry, that's the best I can do right now.

 

isn't the station wagon magnum classified as a light truck, since it has a flat bed?

But I was wondering how that 300C and SRT-8 affects their EPA avg...

 

Six Pack.

 

There's an outside possibility that we may see some rebadged Mitsubishi products, such as a Dodge(?) version of the upcoming Eclipse. With the Mitsubishi brand in jeopardy and sales in the toilet, DCX-badged models would soak up the Japanese company's excess capacity and address Chrysler's current weakness in mainstream FWD products. I'm not talking about the long planned Lancer-based Neon replacement, but about a crash program of Galant derivatives in DCX showrooms.

 

Yup, just like the Chrysler PT and the 2005 Subaru Outback, the Magnum is a "light truck."

Well, the 14MPG city/19MPG highway Chrysler 300C SRT-8 is going to have the "mother of all" gas guzzler penalties - something that the customer pays - low CAFE averages don't cost the manufacturers a penny. You see, all of those hundred of millions in CAFE penalties get "defered" into the future. In short, no automotive manufacturer has ever paid any penalties. Past violations could get wiped out by future averages that exceed the minimum CAFE standard, but there's no point in worrying because there no timetable for the collection of CAFE penalties.

In short CAFE average penalties cost manufacturers nothing, Gas Guzzler taxs are paid by the consumer, so they don't cost manufacters anything either.

 

to the SRT-8 will get the full $3000 fuel consumption tax??? and people wonder why i've had the 'lighter is better' mantra for years??? just like the first muscle car era, we are coming dangerously close to a return of the days of 10-12 mpg (i know, fullsize trucks and suvs already get that low)

 

C&D said somewhere between $1K and $2k, but since this car has a $10K price advantage on the far cruder Cadillac CTS-V and a $35K price advantage on the STS-V, who cares about the gas guzzler penalty?


Well, that's why they make the Lotus Elise which weighs less than 2000lbs. Personally, I'd prefer the equally quick but far more useful 4200lb Chrysler SRT-8 for the same $40K.

If you've got $40K+ to pay for a car, don't complain about the fuel economy. Move to Europe, pay $70K (including tax) for the exact same car and then pay $6.00/gallon (including tax) for the gasoline to run it. Then you've got plenty of reasons to complain.

The people in the $10K Korean cars are the one who get squeezed the most by the cost of gasoline - the very people who can afford it the least. I don't hear anyone whining about the 35MPG highway rating on the Chevy Aveo.

 

how is the CTS far 'far cruder,' i wonder???

and the elise is a great car (probably the best-handling nonexotic production car in the world)...it would just be nice if there were some better middle ground between the 4200 lb porko and the 2200 lb go-kart

and the price of gas doesn't begin to bother me in the least (for now) I get plenty of MPGs in my cavalier

 

it really isn't worth asking, he'll never reply because he can't. he'll just switch to something else.

 

http://www.supercars.net/garages/Wheelman/2v2.html

who says DCX cant make a hot looking V6...give it a more aggresive look and edge that Dodge has now and bam...heck give it the same engine the Crossfire has..

but when I saw the Venom Concept I loved it..that would of been a better charger than that thing...where did all those good stylist go for cars?? just not sure???

 

They also made a really cool V8 concept in '99, but they f*cked that up big time. Apart from the 300C, Viper, and Crossfire...I about lost hope in DCX.

 

I would think this new (Challenger) coupe version of the Neon replacement would be made off the next-gen Mitsu Evo chassis which will also be the basis for the next PT Cruiser. Because this new coupe and sedan would share platforms with the Evo it is possible for DCX could have an exclusive coupe-version of the Evo why Mitsu will continue to have the rights to the sedan version.

I have read that DCX is still uncertain what direction to take the 2008 PT and might possibly go with something more conventional (and Chrysler-like) and less retro with concerns the market-place might not be large enough for 2 retro 5-doors with the introduction of the Chevy HHR next year.


from autoweek.com

Chrysler says new, jointly-developed four-cylinder engines will bring big savings

MARY CONNELLY | Automotive News
Posted Date: 12/28/04

DETROIT -- The Chrysler group expects to save about $100 million annually when it begins building a new generation of four-cylinder engines with two Asian partners in September.

The savings are in comparison to what Chrysler spends for current four-cylinder engines.

The new line of engines was developed jointly by DaimlerChrysler AG, Hyundai Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. in their Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance. The alliance is building two plants in Dundee, Mich. The plants will produce about 840,000 four-cylinder engines annually, supplying 12 Chrysler model lines worldwide, Chrysler said last week.

About 30 percent of Chrysler vehicles are equipped with four-cylinder powertrains.

The alliance also will operate three Asian plants.

Mitsubishi will delay taking any allocation from the Dundee plants because a cash squeeze is putting its product plans in flux, says Bruce Coventry, president of the alliance.

Despite its financial problems, Mitsubishi is not reducing its investment in the engine venture, he says.

Chrysler expects to take more of the Dundee-produced engines than originally planned as its sales rise, he says.

Hyundai is not a customer of the Dundee plants, Coventry says.

U.S., Asia plants

The alliance expects to build 2 million engines annually worldwide. It will supply 20 model lines at the three companies.

The two other plants are in Asan and Hwasung, South Korea, and Shiga, Japan.

Operating contracts continue through 2012, Coventry says.

Anticipated savings will be derived from purchasing economies and design and manufacturing efficiencies, Chrysler says.

A 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine generating 170 hp will represent about two-thirds of Chrysler's Dundee production, the company said. The automaker also will use 1.8-liter and 2.0-liter variants. Turbocharged and supercharged versions are possible.

For example, the engines will be used in replacements for the Dodge Neon and Stratus and Chrysler Sebring.

Chrysler is touting the new engine's variable valve timing as a premium feature not now available in entry-level vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz, which offers the technology, participated in many technical discussions, Coventry says.

The technology helps provide high-end power while retaining low-end torque, Chrysler says.

Better fuel economy

The automaker says fuel economy is expected to improve 5 percent compared to Chrysler's current four-cylinder engine line.

Construction of the Dundee plants is ahead of schedule, Chrysler says. The first plant is building prototypes. The second plant is under construction and will begin operating in September 2006, a year after the first. Chrysler plans to continue operating its Trenton, Mich., and Saltillo, Mexico, plants, which build the company's current four-cylinder engines, says Eric Ridenour, Chrysler executive vice president of product development. He would not say what the plants will build.

 

BMW and Mercedes have paid CAFE fines for years.