300C and Magnum cars -- First impressions from NAIAS (long)

Geoff · 2004-01-10T04:57:01+00:00

I was lucky to be able to attend NAIAS on Thursday night for the industrypreview night. I attended a design review for the PT Convertible andChrysler 300 series while I was there. I also had the opportunity to sit inboth the 300C as well as the Magnum, plus take in the rest of the show withonly a few hundred people around, rather than the usual 40,000.Ralph Gilles, design chief for the LX series, did the presentation on the300 series, using a 300C for demonstration purposes. For those of youwho've seen the pictures of the car at the NY auto show, or in themagazines, let me tell you, it looks very good in person. He said it'sactually 1" shorter in overall length than the current 300M, but I can tellyou, you'd never know it unless somebody told you. The car presents astocky, muscular appearance, but it's not short at all; the so-called 'H'line that runs along the top of the front fender stands quite tall comparedto the current LH cars. The detail in the headlamps is very intricate, andGilles said he was particularly proud of how they turned out. Apparentlyone of the guys on his team that did the work had been a jeweler in aprevious life, and it shows.The grille is large, and is the love-it or hate-it part of the car's design.Personally, I love it, but I can see where it would be a turn-off forpeople. Gilles said they wanted to make a statement with the grille, andthey chose its large, bold appearance to give the car character. Love it orhate it, it does that in spades. I'm reminded of the reaction I had back in'97 to the Sebring's grille; it seemed large and plasticky to me, and Ithought, gee, that will never work out. But it grew on me, and I think thatif you don't like it, give it some time and you might change your mind.There are four trim levels offered: a base, two mid-level versions, and the300C. The Hemi will be available only in the 300C which starts out at $32Kand change. They made a big deal about the value for the price, by the way,I guess the...

Jan 10, 2004 25 Replies

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Todd Bandrowsky 22 years ago

I am guardedly optimistic about the prospects of DCX in general and Chrysler in particular. The 300C is an attractive car, and for the money, it's a V8 RWD Sedan with a hemi engine for under 35k. That's pretty impressive, and for many people, that's all they really need.

I've been a lifelong Chrysler fan and I've even written about how I've thought DCX was going to ruin Chrysler, and maybe they have. But, pre-buyout Chrysler had some problems of its own that we seem to overlook. Fit and finish on the interiors were always so-so at best, but Chrysler's transmissions oft left something to be desired. How many Chrysler Cirrus owners are out there that need a new tranny at

90k miles? How many Neon owners?

I for one am looking forward to test driving the Dodge Magnum, and I certainly welcome the Mercedes transmission in the 300C.

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Geoff 22 years ago

Yep. I think it just might save 'em. We'll see.

--Geoff

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Charlie Dilks 22 years ago

I've never been a Chrysler fan one way or the other. In 1960 when I was a junior in HS my parents bought a '59 Dodge D-500 convertable, white with red tail fins. THAT really impressed me. It also impressed my classmates whom I used to beat in drag races. ;)

I owned a '59 Plymouth between '65 and '67 after I totalled a '65 VW with no insurance. I paid $250 for it and it served me well until I had paid off enough of the loan on the VW to buy a '67 Mustang in "candy apple red."

I've always liked the look of the PT cruiser, but the 4 cylinder engine turned me off.

IMO, the Dodge Magnum Hemi is like a PT Cruiser with attitude!! I'd really like to have one one, but I'm retired and hardly ever go anywhere. It would be a pretty stupid purchace since my '90 Toyota Camry is serving me well for little trips to the store.

However, you only live once and it's about time for a new car. DROOL! DROOL!

I was glad to see this thread. After seeing the Magnum on the Super Bowl and surfing the net for info, I subscribed to this NG to see what people were saying about it.

P.S. Doesn't the Magnum Hemi have the Mercedes transmission too? I thought I read that it did.

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Steve 22 years ago

Chrysler *used* to make the best transmission in the world (the A-727 and A-904), and really the only questionable one was the 41TE. If you think it had problems, just wait until you try to live with one of those Rube Goldberg piece of *&#@@ transmissions that Mercedes builds. I love the Hemi, but I'd only buy it if they use the same transmission that the trucks have been getting. Last I heard, though, it will have a Mercedes junker in it.

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Steve 22 years ago

Yep, the only time you get a real Chrysler transmission is if you buy a truck. And its no longer the tried-and-true A-518, but I'm not hearing too many gripes about the new one. A real shame they didn't shoehorn it into the cars as well as the trucks, it would have been a nice drivetrain without a piece of Mercedes bubblegum between the engine and rear wheels :-(

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robs440 22 years ago

yep....gotta love those 727s!

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