2015 Chrysler 300
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 9,997
Likes: 248
From: California
Upon further study, it's not having any sort of frame in the upper grille that makes it look like a big black hole. Last model at least had something to break up the shape. I don't count the emblem as a grille filler.
Lead Lap
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 4,892
Likes: 14
From: Virginia
The Chrysler brand is moving more toward luxury - thus no Chrysler SRT. Dodge will become the performance brand under the new regime. I think that's a great idea - one that's long overdue. There has been far too much duplication of effort at Mopar - it killed off the Plymouth, once their entry-level car, and DeSoto, their near-lux model, and eventually discontinued the Imperial - first maintaining it as a trim package on the Chrysler before eliminating the marque altogether.
Automakers have eliminated a lot of brand names over the past 40 years or so - because the proliferation of models within brands had so confused the market that buyers were left puzzled. Huge overlaps between brands - and even intramural competition between them was costly and muddied the brand image. Was a Plymouth an entry-level car, a sporty car, or a near-lux vehicle? Except for badging, there wasn't a whole lot of difference between brands within the corporation - provided you optioned your choice of vehicle to your personal liking.
That kind of competition between brands cost Chrysler Corp. a lot of money - as well as their reputation for engineering leadership. If you look closely at the current Chrysler 300 and the new Chrysler 200, there is a wide difference between the models that are pointed to entirely different markets. In addition to the $10K base price differential, there's a distinctive move to fulfill their "best in class" objectives. They obviously have a long way to go, but I think they're on the right track.
Automakers have eliminated a lot of brand names over the past 40 years or so - because the proliferation of models within brands had so confused the market that buyers were left puzzled. Huge overlaps between brands - and even intramural competition between them was costly and muddied the brand image. Was a Plymouth an entry-level car, a sporty car, or a near-lux vehicle? Except for badging, there wasn't a whole lot of difference between brands within the corporation - provided you optioned your choice of vehicle to your personal liking.
That kind of competition between brands cost Chrysler Corp. a lot of money - as well as their reputation for engineering leadership. If you look closely at the current Chrysler 300 and the new Chrysler 200, there is a wide difference between the models that are pointed to entirely different markets. In addition to the $10K base price differential, there's a distinctive move to fulfill their "best in class" objectives. They obviously have a long way to go, but I think they're on the right track.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,521
Likes: 261
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
The Chrysler brand is moving more toward luxury - thus no Chrysler SRT. Dodge will become the performance brand under the new regime. I think that's a great idea - one that's long overdue. There has been far too much duplication of effort at Mopar - it killed off the Plymouth, once their entry-level car, and DeSoto, their near-lux model, and eventually discontinued the Imperial - first maintaining it as a trim package on the Chrysler before eliminating the marque altogether.
Automakers have eliminated a lot of brand names over the past 40 years or so - because the proliferation of models within brands had so confused the market that buyers were left puzzled. Huge overlaps between brands - and even intramural competition between them was costly and muddied the brand image. Was a Plymouth an entry-level car, a sporty car, or a near-lux vehicle? Except for badging, there wasn't a whole lot of difference between brands within the corporation - provided you optioned your choice of vehicle to your personal liking.
That kind of competition between brands cost Chrysler Corp. a lot of money - as well as their reputation for engineering leadership. If you look closely at the current Chrysler 300 and the new Chrysler 200, there is a wide difference between the models that are pointed to entirely different markets. In addition to the $10K base price differential, there's a distinctive move to fulfill their "best in class" objectives. They obviously have a long way to go, but I think they're on the right track.
Automakers have eliminated a lot of brand names over the past 40 years or so - because the proliferation of models within brands had so confused the market that buyers were left puzzled. Huge overlaps between brands - and even intramural competition between them was costly and muddied the brand image. Was a Plymouth an entry-level car, a sporty car, or a near-lux vehicle? Except for badging, there wasn't a whole lot of difference between brands within the corporation - provided you optioned your choice of vehicle to your personal liking.
That kind of competition between brands cost Chrysler Corp. a lot of money - as well as their reputation for engineering leadership. If you look closely at the current Chrysler 300 and the new Chrysler 200, there is a wide difference between the models that are pointed to entirely different markets. In addition to the $10K base price differential, there's a distinctive move to fulfill their "best in class" objectives. They obviously have a long way to go, but I think they're on the right track.
Some good points, Bob, but most of Chrysler's problems over the years have come about from poor quality control, shoddy workmanship, cheap parts/materials, and poor dealer service, not necessarily from poor marketing. Chrysler DID produce some iron-tough components in the 1960s like the 3.7L (225) Slant Six engine, the 5.2L 318 V8, the original 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic, and the durable torsion-front/leaf rear suspension. But, since then, too much of their offering has been unreliable junk.....up until the last few years, were we have seen light-year improvements in fit/finish and refinement, if not reliability.
Out of Warranty
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 14,925
Likes: 13
From: Houston, Republic of Texas
The "K" cars that supposedly saved Chrysler were nothing more than scaled-up Rabbits, cars of somewhat questionable pedigree at best. Building a 1:1.2 scale Rabbit taxed the Chrysler engineers of the day - and these were the guys who made the company name synonymous with "advanced engineering" through the thirties and fifties. The Omnirizon (1978–1990) was initially successful in spite of itself.
According to Lee Iaccoca's book, the problem when he took over was there was no communication in the organization and everything from engineering to purchasing to manufacturing was a nightmare. The old mossbacks that had run middle-management since the war were still trying to build 1940 cars as late as 1980. Note the Chrysler Fifth Avenue of '82 was probably the last of the RWD sedan dinosaurs on the American road - despite downsizing, the sheetmetal was about the same heavyweight car they were manufacturing in the '50's. Manufacturing techniques hadn't changed a bit in 30 years.
Iaccoca brought new organization to the company, but his "K" cars were clumsy copies of a European brand, they held together just long enough to save the company. It wasn't that Lee's "K"s were so good, but that GM and Ford were so bad in comparison. Enter Honda and Toyota to capture the market. About the time the K derivatives, the Reliant, Aries, and LeBaron arrived (1981 - 1988), the looks had improved as well as the engineering and manufacture, but it wasn't keeping pace with the compact and midsize offerings by other makers.
In 1984 I was working for a client in Orange County and commuting regularly up to Bakersfield and Mojave, and vicinity, running the Kern River Canyon almost daily in a rental Plymouth Caravel. I had regular contests on different occasions with a dozen aging Porches on a club run, a couple of Toyotas, and a forest service truck - which I managed to keep in sight and not embarrass myself too badly. Oddly enough the Caravel drew a lot of admiring looks and handled pretty reasonably for a mid-sized rental sedan, but it was gutless, The little Mitsu 2.6L was simply overwhelmed by the weight of the car, requiring a heavy throttle foot and more 10/10ths driving than I really wanted. About the best I can say for it was that it survived my maltreatment for ten days.
According to Lee Iaccoca's book, the problem when he took over was there was no communication in the organization and everything from engineering to purchasing to manufacturing was a nightmare. The old mossbacks that had run middle-management since the war were still trying to build 1940 cars as late as 1980. Note the Chrysler Fifth Avenue of '82 was probably the last of the RWD sedan dinosaurs on the American road - despite downsizing, the sheetmetal was about the same heavyweight car they were manufacturing in the '50's. Manufacturing techniques hadn't changed a bit in 30 years.
Iaccoca brought new organization to the company, but his "K" cars were clumsy copies of a European brand, they held together just long enough to save the company. It wasn't that Lee's "K"s were so good, but that GM and Ford were so bad in comparison. Enter Honda and Toyota to capture the market. About the time the K derivatives, the Reliant, Aries, and LeBaron arrived (1981 - 1988), the looks had improved as well as the engineering and manufacture, but it wasn't keeping pace with the compact and midsize offerings by other makers.
In 1984 I was working for a client in Orange County and commuting regularly up to Bakersfield and Mojave, and vicinity, running the Kern River Canyon almost daily in a rental Plymouth Caravel. I had regular contests on different occasions with a dozen aging Porches on a club run, a couple of Toyotas, and a forest service truck - which I managed to keep in sight and not embarrass myself too badly. Oddly enough the Caravel drew a lot of admiring looks and handled pretty reasonably for a mid-sized rental sedan, but it was gutless, The little Mitsu 2.6L was simply overwhelmed by the weight of the car, requiring a heavy throttle foot and more 10/10ths driving than I really wanted. About the best I can say for it was that it survived my maltreatment for ten days.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,459
Likes: 1
From: Makati, Philippines
Originally Posted by Lil4X
The Chrysler brand is moving more toward luxury - thus no Chrysler SRT.
THERE IS HOWEVER a possibility that the 300 SRT-8 version will still be sold for overseas export markets such as the Middle East and Australia (which is where the V8 versions including the SRT make up a fairly huge percentage of all Chrysler 300 cars sold in those regions).
Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,018
Likes: 0
From: CA™
This particular example is the 300S fitted with the 5.7L V8 Hemi with 363 HP and 394 LB-FT. The new 300 features redesigned front and rear fascias, a new interior, 8-speed transmission, electric power steering, and a variety of new safety and tech features.
2014 Chrysler 300S
Base price: $34,895
Color: Redline 3-Coat Pearl
Interior: Black Leather=Trimmed Sport Bucket Seats
Engine: 5.7L V8 Hemi 363 HP/394 LB-FT
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
2014 Chrysler 300S
Base price: $34,895
Color: Redline 3-Coat Pearl
Interior: Black Leather=Trimmed Sport Bucket Seats
Engine: 5.7L V8 Hemi 363 HP/394 LB-FT
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,521
Likes: 261
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
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Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,618
Likes: 0
From: NYC/ATL
The 2015 looks good, out of the several articles I came across, the 300 is still offered with a Hemi, but the Charger take rate was 9/10 compared to the 300 1/10, and no more V8 AWD configuration on Charger or 300, guess owners would rather pay 3000 extra for AWD and not 6000 total for the AWD and V8
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 11,204
Likes: 11
From: The Woodlands, TX
hahha I like the video at 1:46
Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,018
Likes: 0
From: CA™
Last week we headed out to Austin, TX to have a look at the new 2015 Chrysler 300C. Come along for a drive through the city in this 2015 Chrysler 300C.
The new 300 features redesigned front and rear fascias, a new interior, 8-speed transmission, electric power steering, and a variety of new safety and tech features.
Wear headphones! The audio in this video was recorded with in-ear binaural microphones. With headphones or earbuds on, you'll feel like you're actually sitting in the driver's seat.
The new 300 features redesigned front and rear fascias, a new interior, 8-speed transmission, electric power steering, and a variety of new safety and tech features.
Wear headphones! The audio in this video was recorded with in-ear binaural microphones. With headphones or earbuds on, you'll feel like you're actually sitting in the driver's seat.