300C's as beautiful as in the ads

Pfft. I'm reasonably-to-closely familiar with Imperials from '58 through '83, and I don't see any of 'em in the 300C.

I work at a large medical facility. The doctor's parking lot that used to be filled with Land Rovers, Mercedes 500 classes, Porsches, and H2s is starting to sport quite a few 300Cs. I mentioned to one of the surgeons that the torsion bar rear suspension on his Mercedes 500G was pretty cool (a new take on an old idea), and he asked, "What's a torsion bar?". And if you talk to any of them about their 300Cs you'll immediately be told they're, "Mercedes with Chrysler badges". Now try and find a doctor with dirt under his/her nails or a lot of points on their licenses (gross generalization I know). Ask one about powertrains and they'll wonder what Amtrack has to do with cars. They buy for style, prestige, and the Jones's approval. Obviously they think the C fits that bill.

50's: Had to have at least one part from an airplane ('57 Caddy) 60's: Looked fast standing still (Take your pick) 70's: Early, whales (Olds 98) - Late, small for small's sake (Chevette) 80's: Boxes (Caprice) 90's: Eggs (Caprice) 00's: Best features of boxes and eggs (300C, Nissan Frontier, Cadillac cars, '04 F150, etc.)

Again, it's all so subjective and many people are influenced by the magazines and the Jones'. Since a lot of car folks are also motorcycle folks, some examples: Mid 80's Suzuki Madura 1200; walked away from a V-Max and got lots of favorable looks from pedestrians but every bike mag complained about the looks/styling so it died after only 2 years. Another Suzuki example; current DL1000 V Strom. Bike of the year and/or in the top three for the last three years by all the mags, but not without mentioning how ugly they look.

BTW, I like the Cs. I still have the '89 New Yorker Landau I bought new because it still works really well at getting me down the road. Also a DL1000 V Strom because it does everything and I'm the only kid on my block with one.

Jay