So I took my '00 300m to my dealer to get an emissions test - another waste of $35 I spend every 2 years for no good reason:
40 km/hr speed: HC ppm: 13 (pass = 54) CO%: .01 (pass = .3) NO ppm: 0 (pass = 396) Dilution: 14.31 (valid)Curb idle: HC ppm: 23 (pass = 150) CO%: .18 (pass = .7) NO ppm: (no reading?) (pass = no reading?) Dilution: 13.56 (valid)
Talk about a f*ckin reliable car. Best 30-odd K I ever spent.
Still have the factory original battery in the car. 11 years, 4 months old. How's that for battery life? I will admit that the car spends practically every night for the past 11 years in an insulated garage, never drops below 40f, and I have put the battery on a charger overnight about once night a week for the past 2 or 3 months. Still have the same K&N air filter that I clean and oil once a year that must be 8 or 9 years old by now.
Had a look in the showroom while I was waiting for the emissions test to get done. Saw a Fiat 500 (1.4 L engine, manual transmission). Base price was $18k, with options it was like $21.5k. These are Canuck bucks
- worth about 3% more than your Yankee bucks these days.
I had a look at the Chrysler "200" (the car formerly known as Sebring). I asked why this car was getting all the press, and not the new-look 300 (which they didn't have in the showroom or anywhere else I could see). They said the new 300 isin't available yet - they were expecting it a few weeks ago. Hmmm...
The base price on the 200 is something like $22k. Who would get the Fiat 500 when the faux-sebring is like basically the same price?
One thing I absolutely HATE about the gear shifter for the auto trans in the 200 is the zig-zag gate pattern. I hate those when I get them in a rental car - I practically break my wrist dealing with them. I love my straight-line gear shifter in the 300m.
They had a "392" (?) Challenger (6.4 L hemi, 6-speed manual trans) - white with blue racing stripes and blue-trimmed bucket seats. Base price + options came to $57k. Like I said before - I'd buy the Challenger to replace my 300m, but only if it came as optional FWD (which bonehead Chrysler didn't do).