Chrysler 300M

sdmike2

The lack of dual memory seats on the 01 TL was a big deal to me, given the issues I had with car sharing with my wife in the past.

ruski

I have the same needs as you when it comes to memory seats.

rstilp

Was coming home from a road trip today and wanted a coke and and a john. I spot a Sunoco station ahead and notice a 300M at the pumps with a guy washing his windshield. Pull up next to him (had his back to me) and say "Sir"? I had a 300M Club wiper card extended towards him and he turns around and it's Joe Kernan, the Lt. Gov. of Indiana. Joe used to be the Mayor of South Bend. He's a Ex-POW/Navy pilot (Viet Nam). Cool Guy! Turns out, its not his car, afriend let him drive it from Indy to South Bend. He said it was a Great car and would give the card to the owner. I don't know what year it was. So if we get a new member from Indy ask him if he knows Joe Kernan.:-) Rick//Geezer300M

fastdriver

sdmike2 & ruski-

My 2001 CL-S has dual memory seats. Not really sure if they're connected with the key FOB since I'm the only one who drives it. That was another item that was no factor.

fastdriver

rstilp

Felt flush today and gave the M it's first ever tank of mid-grade. Maybe its me, but I really noticed the difference. Performance & mileage.Now that gas prices are going down, I may stay with it.

sdmike2

You may have seat memory, but you need a couple more doors.

300michael

The Codes for colors are:
Deep Amethyst TCN
Bright Platinum MS4
Candy Apple RH2
Cinnamon Glaze VLB
Champagne Pearl VTE
Deep Cranberry VMT
Deep Slate VAW
Froest Green SG8
Light Cypress Green WG2
Stone White SW1

These are the 99 Colors.

sdmike2

Why doesn't doc just have him send a picture of the car.

valhs

I used 1sourceautowarranty.com. They are a member of the BBB and come highly recommended by many of my friends and co-workers. They also offer a 10year/100K mile warranty with $0 deductible. As with any extended warranty..."read the fine print."

99_300m_ric_va

Mike,

The DRL Module is part number 04602229AC

Here's the link on my install:

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/rpowelljr300n/lst?.dir=/My+Photos/DaytimeRunLights

99_300m_ric_va

Those that are buying tires cheaper from places like tirerack.com,

How are you getting them mounted, balanced, etc on your car? If you are going to a tire shop for installation, mounting, balancing, new valve stems, and disposal of the old tires, then does it make sense to order via mail, wait for shipment, carry the tires to the shop, etc. just to save $20?

What am I missing here? I am willing to pay slightly more to avoid huge amounts of inconvience and aggravation. Anyone agree/disagree?

guesswho1

i saved close to $100 on a set of tires for my Ram last year, i had them delivered to my doorstep, through them in the back of the truck, headed over to bubba's tire shop and he put them on for $40. not bad for a truck but not practical for the m, more of a hassle.

traley

thanx

300michael

It pays to shop around. I compared prices and ended up at Discount tire. They charged me $54 less the Tirerack and I had them mounted there. Drove in, and in a half hour, out with them on.

denverm

I've bought one motorcycle tire off the web, but for cars other than the M, I've always bought tires at a local retailer (usually Discount Tire) that does free rotations for the life of the tires. Buying tires on the web loses that benefit, and five rotations at $20 each would be $100. I guess when it comes time for tires for the M I'll check both options, but there's gonna have to be a significant cost difference for me to buy off the web.

silverbullet4

My wife yelled at me tonight to come watch Jay Leno's skit where he visits the Kevin's home. He drove off in a 300M that was absolutely the twin of mine. Jay's quite a car enthusiast, so it made me feel pride of ownership.

Silver

guesswho1

well if it makes you feel better, do you really think Jay would wake up and say hmmm i think i'll take my north american sedan for a drive today. NOT! Had Chevy paid him more than chrysler he would have drove up in a malibu. )))))))))))))

easyrider300m

I believe Tirerack will deliver tires directly to one of their cooperating tire-dealers who will then mount them for you at price quoted on the tirerack site. You could also use the prices at Tirerack and go to your local tire retailer and use it as a bargaining chip. I did this at the local Sears shop and the salesman lowered the price to Tirerack's price. But he later got reprimanded by his boss---but I still got the tirerack price--I paid like $91 ea for V-rated Yokohamas 16" tires for my past MarkVIII. I still think I will be getting the Yokos for my M on the demise of the BadYears

russklass

I've used both Tire Rack & Discount Tire with complete satisfaction. Their prices are excellent, and thre is no sales tax if they have no "brick & mortar" in your state.
I get them mounted at my dealer with no hassle,
Reasons to buy mail order:
1. SELECTION You can look at all available brands, the locals usually have a very limited selection.
2. ON SCREEN COMPARISON You can compare different tires on screen.
3. OWNERS REPORTS Get the experiences of present owners.
4. KNOWLEDGEABLE SALES REPS
As far as mounting is concerned, I know who in the area has a Hunter GSP 9700 wheel balancer (the local BMW dealer) and I go there for special jobs, like the new wheels & tires I'm getting for the MIata.

scottjohnson

I went to a small local chain (3 stores) to ask about tires for my M and he showed me the Yokohamas that the store carries. When I asked about other brands he said "Lets see what the 'rack' has" and pulled out a Tirerack catalog. According to the dealer, they can get them a bit cheaper than we consumers and he was happy to mount them for the standard charge.

Funny thing was, his price on the Yoko Avids was a good $30 per tire higher than Tirerack with shipping. Part of that is a road hazard warranty but it struck me as odd. Maybe I should ask him about the price difference since he can look both up.

Most likely, when I get my Avids, it'll be from a different dealer down the block who is $20/tire cheaper on them (without the road hazard).

rstilp

I guess I'm just lucky. Tirerack is just completing the building of it's multimillion $ distribution center here in South Bend. Great company and they have the Hunter Balancers out the wazoo. They cured my vibs 7 or 8 months ago. Diagnosed 2 bad Badyears and 1 bad Razorstar. Rick/Geezer300M

fuzzywuzzy

Where is it. I happend to visit south bend last months for over a week. I didn't see it any where. Could fin the old store either. I was up by the Walmart, & that road that has all the restrants, gas station, & hotels by the fighting Irish college.

wencao

DC LH cars' sale year to date has fell 30% to 50% precent!!!. CHrysler had winning design and good products, but they just seat there and watching them die!!! only 27000 300Ms up to now, at this speed, I doubt by 2003 can they sell 10000 300Ms? What the 300M special is about, drop ZF trany , it is not about cost, it is about image!!!

fastdriver

sdmike2-

"You may have seat memory, but you need a couple more doors. "

Nope! Don't need those other two doors for anything. I have always liked 2 doors better anyway, but have had several 4 door cars because I liked the looks of the car in general. It's all a matter of personal preferences.

fastdriver

fastdriver

This might make some of you happy-

http://www.detnews.com/2001/autos/0109/29/autos-306119.htm

fastdriver

sdmike2

The car survey event that I participated in today was for DC. There were 4 future DC models plus dozens of other competitive cars in the convention hall. All were silver with black interiors and very shiney with bright lights on them. I, and dozens of others at the same time, answered questions presented to us on flat touch-screen computer panels that we carried with us....hung over our shoulders using straps. It looked like star trek. Some of the cars were presented in multiple flavors, with the interior, trunk and exterior sections being presented separately in many cases. One car even had a significantly different look from one side versus the other, and one of the series of questions was about what look I liked better. Very cool. The cars included:

A radical designed rear-wheel drive, low priced sedan with a "300" badge on the trunk
A similar designed sedan (Concept C) with a 300N badge
A very nifty station wagon/suv/minivan type car that reminds me of a bigger/nicer Outback
A very strange station-wagon looking sedan with a revolutionary trunk design

What I can tell you now is that you'll be surpised. I believe, in my heart of hearts, that I just saw the prototypes of the 300N and the Hemi C.

Gotta go to my kids' soccer game. I'll post more later. Please, in the meantime, post links to pictures of concept cars and prototypes you have found so I can make comparisons. By the way, they look nothing like the crossfire.

300michael

I saw Pacesetter Monza tips on clearance at Checker for $25 each. Which I believe is less than half price. They were for the 2.5" tail pipes. Easy was it you looking to replace yours?????

300michael

Didn't you wear your your cap with the spy camera in it?? Did they say anything about doing it in different cities.

sdmike2

Man, I wish I would have had a spy camera on me. Describing everything is going to be real difficult. There were a LOT of guards around though...probably 3 at each of the 4 chrysler prototypes. I'll give you a summary. First, I think the wagon/suv/mini-van auto was very, very cool, but according to the estimated pricing it might be too much money for what it is. I think the number was around $35k, but it was very neat. 6 bucket seats, with the rear 4 folding every which way to make a completely flat and gap-free cargo area. Cool tricks with those seats. The specs on the computer indicated that they might be using the LH as the base, since they said it will come with a 3.5 V6 with 250hp and autostick. Knock the price under $30k and I might be interested. Very neat.

Looks like DC will be offering an entry level M in the $24k range with a 2.7 litre engine and cloth seats...at least according to the information that I got during the event. Our 3.5 litre V6 and leather would be options. It would still have ABS, heated seats, traction control, etc. No mention of PHG. The car looked smaller than ours, but that might just be because it was so radically different. It has a blunt front end with a huge grill, very tall sheet metal on the sides, and 3/4 height retro-style windows. The only thing that makes it look at all like an M is the trunk and tail lights, but even then it's a stretch. The chrome wheels are gorgeous, but they had Goodyear LS tires on the darned thing. The one labeled 300N supposedly will have a 5.7 litre engine producting about 340hp and 380 ftlbs of torque. Both are rear wheel drive. The N (Hemi C?) had 8 spoke chrome wheels that were even nicer looking than the other, plus it had Z rated michelin pilots. The headlights looked a little different between the models, with the unmarked car having very boxy lights, and the N-labeled car having some rounded accents. The fog lights were different too. On the N-labeled they were prominent and looked like cool spots, while on the other they were recessed and wrapped in a grill of some sort. If I find some pictures on-line I can point at the things that are similar and different.

While I didn't like the flat nosed, low roof retro-look of the car at all at first, it grew on me a bit to get to "tolerable". However, the interior was disgusting. They took retro WAY too far. Very sparse with some chrome and textured plastic that tried to look like carbon fiber. It was downright butt ugly. The seats were uncomfortable as hell, and the visibility because of the retro-style windows and the high body panels was bordering on dangerous. I was sitting in the interior mock-up with another guy and we chatted a little. He drives a Diamante. We both said this is NOT a luxury car interior. Not even close. It reminded me more of climbing into a 1960s Chevy pickup than a 2004 luxury car. We both agreed that we really had to let DC know how we felt about that interior.

Each of the cars had a code letter. The strange station wagon was Product A, I think. The 300 was B, with the interior prototype labeled KK. The cool minivan/wagon thing was Product V. The one labeled 300N, with the 5.7 litre engine, was labeled as Product C. Coincidence? Maybe...maybe not! While I walked around it I started giggling with the realization that I might be looking a the mysterious Hemi C, and that all my friends on the board here would love to be in my shoes. The stodgy guard said "something funny?", and when I told him what I was thinking he just smiled. So did I.

Oh, it was like a library in there. Everyone walking around like Borg around these silver and black cars under bright lights...with a computer hanging around our necks. Strange sight.

Anyway, if anyone has any questions let me know. I have a LOT more rattling around in my brain about this, but I don't want to spend all night typing here. I hope the DC cops don't come looking for me.

sdmike2

Thanks for the DRL number.

sdmike2

Ok, this is NOT what I saw at the show today. Not even close. Maybe I saw a 2005 300N sedan or something. Still looking for pictures that show anything close to what I saw.

http://www.chrysler300site.com/cgibin/history.cgi?hemi

sdmike2

"The good news is that we had the
opportunity to go to the styling dome
and see the new products for 2004
Model year. We were shown proto
types of the 300N and the Chrysler
sedan. These vehicles do not look
like anything close to what we are
building today, but have the styling of
a Mercedes at a North American
price. I believe that once we start
producing these vehicles they will sell
like hot cakes. These cars will be
sharing 30% of their parts with the
Mercedes E Class vehicles that is
good news for us. Who knows
maybe the next step will be to build a
Mercedes here in our plant some
time in the future."

This must be what I saw... the 2004 N

sdmike2

http://www.car-truck.com/chryed/buzz/b062701.htm

yosito

OOHHHH!! thanks for the tip, I see you still arround here, can´t live without looking into Chrysler´s topics??

BTW I´m sure your "wonderful" Acura is still magnificent, enjoy it, and please keep us all in the news about those "Fabulous" Chrysler vehicles!!

ruski

hey, I have looked on Acura boards and many people are complaining about rattles in their TLs. How's your CL doing rattle-wise?

wencao

You should buy this next time you come to Chrylser Design Dome:

http://www.casio.com/watches/product.cfm?section=16&market=0&product=4101

sdmike2

That would have been PERFECT! lol

fastdriver

ruski-

I don't know about the TL's, but my CL-S is rattle free. I think you know me well enough to know that if I had any problems with the CL, I would not hesitate to post them in the appropriate forum. 8,700+ plus trouble-free miles so far!

Have you replaced the GTP yet? I never did catch up on all the messages that I missed when I was in FL in August.

fastdriver

ottowrkr

Fist off ,were did you get a copy of the plants newsletter? Man I wish I could have seen those cars. Did any of the cars look like this?

http://www.car-truck.com/chryed/concept/super8.htm

sdmike2

The factory newsletter is actually published on the Internet, if you can believe that. I was doing a search and ran across it.

That concept car has a couple of characteristics of the 300N, but it's really no-where close. Notice that from the side it has taller body panels and shorter windows to give it a retro look? They're doing that with the 300N, although the sides and windows are very different in design from what you posted. However, you get the idea on the more rectangular shape on the side view and the retro profile. The body accents on the N are more like the beveled look like the Galant or new Mustang instead of what you see in the picture. The N also doesn't have windshield that looks like it slopes forward or is flat. It slopes back like normal...just that the windows are shorter. Now, if you take the design of the Chronos nose and make it taller and flatter like that picture you start to get an idea of what the front looks like. Not the dodge grill bars like in the picture, but rather a large gridded grill like the Chronos. The headlights sit down lower on the front and are flat and rectangular, not rounded on the top like the picture. The fog lights are similar, but they are moved to a large air dam that wraps around the bottom of the front end.

Keep sending pictures. Eventually we'll piece this together. lol

wencao

Are you sure the 5.7L HEMI only makes 340hp?
It should be 353hp, maybe DC want to make it inferior to MB's 5.5L engine which is 353hp.
But I am sure we can do aftermarket mods to make it a 400hp+ engine. Glad to see 300N beat M5 or E55 with half their price!!!!!!!!!

intrepidspirit

Just now getting back to you on PSI for my Avid T4's...I checked the air pressure this weekend and they were running 36/37. If I am reading the sidewall correctly, the maximum pressure is 35 psi. They might have overloaded them a tad when installed 2 weeks ago, expecting some loss before sealing. I reported that at first they were a little harsh over bumps.

Anyway, I adjusted them downward close to 35 and haven't noticed a difference -- still run great!!

Now about the snow traction for the Avids -- I can't help you there. I don't expect to ever drive in snow again! When I left Canada in 1984, I had only driven rear-wheel drives and they were all difficult in snow!

intrepidspirit

Distressing to see DC is planning a $24,000 entry level 300M. However, if I read your post correctly, it looks entirely different from the current M, so we may be safe for a while.

A couple of years ago, Chrysler (Dodge) started producing entry level Intrepids, which, in my view, cheapened the entire line. Intrepids became rental and fleet cars and had "dime a dozen" visibility, with cheap interiors. The higher level ES models became lumped in with the cheaper renditions.

Is DC trying to force discerning car buyers that want some level of exclusivity in their cars to buy Mercedes (or some other higher level car?)

They have already reduced the base 2002 300M by $1,300 with reduced amenities...I hope they don't go any further...

sdmike2

That 330HP is from memory, which was pretty overloaded at the time. It might be higher, but I thought it was in that range. I'm sure of the torque though. Again, since there were prototypes used in a market survey it's possible that the information we were provided was off a bit. If I remember correctly, the price listed for the N was in the low 30s.

sdmike2

That was my impression of what they were doing with that car...removing ammenties to make it less expensive. The look of the base model shown and the one labeled 300N were almost the same. The 300N had slightly different headlights and tail lights, fog lights, wheels (8 spoke vs. 7 spoke) and tires. The new radical body was fundamentally the same for both.

wencao

How stupid DC is. Chrysler and DODGE need a ICON.
the 300 and Charger fits that icon so well. Hard to believe DC is going to degrade their legend icon. They have concorde and Intrepid to fit mid range market, why Cheap the 300 ? Hard to image fleet of 300Ns at rental. If that is the case, I'd rather pass 300N. 300M club should send our views to Chrysler.

99_300m_ric_va

I agree, Chrysler should listen to us. Hopefully we have got a little attention with the recent inclusion of Dieter in the club.

However, we need a line of communication that we could put together and forward a bunch of user comments here and in the club message board to the people at Chrysler. Of course, they are probably already reading this and other forums and already know what we want. Still a formal line of communication would make me feel like we got a say in how we can help save Chrysler.

fuzzywuzzy

Pacesetter tips, that was me. I checked those places down by me, & they don't have them. I'm just waiting for now. Not replacing therm yet.

sdmike2

I don't know how much of the information they were providing was just them feeling out what we thought, or if it was actual plans. Tread lightly. We might be getting upset over nothing. However, I agree that the company's flagship car...whatever it is...not be cheapened down.

fuzzywuzzy

That TL-S is started to look very nice......

I just don't understand these DC techs. Do they test the car after they "fix" a problem????

Got my M back Friday night. They said it was all good, no leaks, all that goo sealent was gone, or cleaned up very well. My door panel was on(right one this time) they even washed it for me. It looked great. Friday night, there was a big storm. Rained all night hard. On Saturday I needed to pick up something for my truck in Fort Myers(that's the west coast of FL, I'm on the east coast) Good 2 hour drive. It's raining all Saturday too. I got out in the rain to leave, open the door lift up the floor mat, & was suprised that the floor was DRY. I though great it's fixed. So I take my trip, go through some very heavy down pours. Get back home late afternoon. Just for fun I decided to check the carpet again. I lifted up the floor mat, & the carpet underneither is SOAKED. I drive it to the dealer & leave it there. I'll drop the keys off(along with some not so nice words) Monday morning. So far they said the leak was coming from the grommet in the firwall I ran my power wire through(had it like that for over a year with no leaks) They sealed that on both sides. Then they said it was the little seals in the door well area where that grey foam piece is. They sealed that. Souds to me they don't know where it is! I had to pay them $380 to fix it the first time.(Extended warranty didnt' cover it) They said that also covers any problems with the leaking even if it's not coming form there. So now they have to fix it for free, until it is fixed. Wondering where "they" are going to say it is now! I think, & have always though it was a body seem under the driver floorpan. I'm suggesting that to them on Monday. I feel like Fastdriver