ASC Helios 300C convertible - yay or nay?
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,963
Likes: 1
From: rip current, CA
that's a pretty tripping proposal... i enjoy getting in-n-out of my 2 door 3 serious.. can't really imagine having friends pull the 3rd or 4th door open and sit in the car behind me... but i'm generally very open-minded about change. so i vote for yay.
and i vote double yay for the xyz system. 2006, it's coming soon.
nice find, thanks.
and i vote double yay for the xyz system. 2006, it's coming soon.
nice find, thanks.
Thread Starter
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 5,813
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From: The Bay Area, CA, USA
Lexus Champion
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,973
Likes: 1
From: California
Originally Posted by GS3Tek
Wow, for a 2 door I was going to say "yay" to go against the Bentley GT.
But a 4 door.............not that bad looking. Could this be a first for 4-door convertible?
But a 4 door.............not that bad looking. Could this be a first for 4-door convertible?
i hated that tho...this 300C looks sick
Out of Warranty
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 14,925
Likes: 13
From: Houston, Republic of Texas
Beautiful 300 should have better success than Lincoln
The '61-'67 Lincoln Continental made a beautiful convertible - with that long, straight beltline and broad, flat deck, it looked like a pocket aircraft carrier. Rear suicide doors latched to a vestigial "B" post that also secured the front doors. Unfortunately, despite some significant bracing of the frame, the car had very little torsional rigidity, wreaking havoc with the large rubber frameless window seals at the "B" pillar. Most became a symphony of squeaks, rattles and groans within a few thousand miles.
Photo courtesy of hubcapcafe.com
The top was not cloth, but steel; the complex hoisting mechanism adapted from the old Ford Skyliner and consuming the entire trunk, along with storage for the top. While never a practical car (Where could you put the clubs when you drove the foursome to the country club?), the Conti was a supreme statement of power. Horsepower (at 340) was not an issue, this was a statement of personal power - Lyndon Johnson was fond of tearing around the hill country of central Texas . . . including a bit of off-roading through his ranch . . . terrorizing both cattle and hapless passengers in his Continental Convertible.
That didn't stop Lincoln from selling every one of the convertibles they could paint . . . until the market reached saturation after peaking at nearly 10% of all Lincoln Continentals sold. By '66 -'67 the convertibles had passed their peak of popularity. Most of their target market of aging executives may have liked the look, but preferred a silent, air-conditioned sedan to pricey fun 'n sun. The temporary disappearance of the convertible from the American market for "safety" reasons after MY'67 was the final nail in the coffin.
Photo courtesy of hubcapcafe.com
The top was not cloth, but steel; the complex hoisting mechanism adapted from the old Ford Skyliner and consuming the entire trunk, along with storage for the top. While never a practical car (Where could you put the clubs when you drove the foursome to the country club?), the Conti was a supreme statement of power. Horsepower (at 340) was not an issue, this was a statement of personal power - Lyndon Johnson was fond of tearing around the hill country of central Texas . . . including a bit of off-roading through his ranch . . . terrorizing both cattle and hapless passengers in his Continental Convertible.
That didn't stop Lincoln from selling every one of the convertibles they could paint . . . until the market reached saturation after peaking at nearly 10% of all Lincoln Continentals sold. By '66 -'67 the convertibles had passed their peak of popularity. Most of their target market of aging executives may have liked the look, but preferred a silent, air-conditioned sedan to pricey fun 'n sun. The temporary disappearance of the convertible from the American market for "safety" reasons after MY'67 was the final nail in the coffin.
CL Community Team
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 30,277
Likes: 354
From: Canada
Proposed Chrysler 300 ragtop could add as much as $7,000 to vehicle's price
RICK KRANZ | Automotive News
Posted Date: 6/1/05
DURHAM, N.C. -- A price premium of about $7,000 is likely for a proposed four-door Chrysler 300 convertible.
The Chrysler group will take another year to determine whether it will build a production version of a concept car unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January, said Joe Eberhardt, executive vice president of global sales and marketing for the Chrysler group.
Key factors are market appeal and the structural concerns involved in creating a four-door convertible.
ASC Inc., with assistance from Chrysler engineers, created the four-door Helios convertible concept. It cut off the top of a 300C sedan and strengthened the car's structure.
Eberhardt said: "Convertible premiums typically range anywhere between $2,500 and $7,000 in the marketplace. I think we would have to be probably on the upper range of it because of all the changes required for the vehicle."
Pricing it any higher would make it hard to sell, said Eberhardt, who was interviewed at a Dodge event here.
Craig Love, vice president of the Chrysler group's rear-wheel-drive product team, said there are engineering challenges to create sufficient stiffness in a four-door convertible.
Eberhardt said research shows there is demand for a more functional convertible.
Part of the business case is determining where the four-door convertible could be assembled. DaimlerChrysler's Brampton, Ontario, assembly plant, which builds the 300, is near capacity. Eberhardt said the automaker is in discussions with ASC, which builds niche vehicles.
"If you run it on the regular line, I think the volume would have to be quite substantial because you need to tool for it, you need to do all the dimensional things," he said.
"If you (go) offline at a specialty shop, I think you could make a viable business case with smaller volumes."
Posted Date: 6/1/05
DURHAM, N.C. -- A price premium of about $7,000 is likely for a proposed four-door Chrysler 300 convertible.
The Chrysler group will take another year to determine whether it will build a production version of a concept car unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January, said Joe Eberhardt, executive vice president of global sales and marketing for the Chrysler group.
Key factors are market appeal and the structural concerns involved in creating a four-door convertible.
ASC Inc., with assistance from Chrysler engineers, created the four-door Helios convertible concept. It cut off the top of a 300C sedan and strengthened the car's structure.
Eberhardt said: "Convertible premiums typically range anywhere between $2,500 and $7,000 in the marketplace. I think we would have to be probably on the upper range of it because of all the changes required for the vehicle."
Pricing it any higher would make it hard to sell, said Eberhardt, who was interviewed at a Dodge event here.
Craig Love, vice president of the Chrysler group's rear-wheel-drive product team, said there are engineering challenges to create sufficient stiffness in a four-door convertible.
Eberhardt said research shows there is demand for a more functional convertible.
Part of the business case is determining where the four-door convertible could be assembled. DaimlerChrysler's Brampton, Ontario, assembly plant, which builds the 300, is near capacity. Eberhardt said the automaker is in discussions with ASC, which builds niche vehicles.
"If you run it on the regular line, I think the volume would have to be quite substantial because you need to tool for it, you need to do all the dimensional things," he said.
"If you (go) offline at a specialty shop, I think you could make a viable business case with smaller volumes."
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