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If I were you though, what about the Seville? Much sportier, more like the M and only about $1k more. Personally, I love the STS, but can't afford it. If you remember the older commercials, they showed the car and all sorts of curvy roads. At the end all they said was "It's what comes next". Wife and I were watching TV - at the end of the commercial, she just looks at me and goes "NO". rotfl.
but heck - it's a mod, right?? I was a bit ticked that I scratched the corner a little on the roof, but it's below where the sunroof closes, and you can't see it from in or out of the car anyway...
And the 300MClub.ord membership is really growing fast! I'm pretty impressed. It's a great place.
Any chance people might want to change the chat night though? I know it's tonight and I prolly won't make it again
in early 2002. The price seems to be comparable to the 300m. Plus it comes with rear wheel drive plus a standard transmission if you want it. Engine is only a 3.2 220 hp (same as the Accura TL) but still should be enough power. The exterior design is radical so either you'll love it or hate it. As for me I still love my 300M and plan on keeping it.
It is a smooth ride, took me a while to get used to the steering, brakes and well, it drives, well, like a Caddy. I've driven older ('94s) Devilles, and while the older ones can be likened to marshmallows or clouds, the newer ones are more like pillows.
Gas mileage was over 24MPG consistently. I put about 1200 miles on it in 10 days.
By virtue of their properties, they are indeed good cars in the categories in which they prefer to excel. The Caddy's category is Luxury, while the 300M is more Performance.
Different accoutrements, etc. as well. I prefer the floor shifter, the Caddy has the column mounted shifter.
But, it goes without saying, drive them both, try out the different things -- from stereo to cup holders to seat pockets, and go with what you want.
-m
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Current member total is now 223 happy 300m enthusiasts and still counting. Roger--if you're lurking out there, all of the recent dozen members have been sent out. Mr. Ghobash through me for a loop, but a quick check through whowhere.com showed that he is who he is!
Hope to see some of youse in the chatroom tonight--10:00pm EDT/EST time. Click on the link to the chatroom--please be patient as it may take 30 to 40 seconds or so to login.
Regards from the Doc
Ground Zero news...
The Deutsch Bank building (split in half up the middle..) is scheduled to be imploded sometime today...BUT the air quality downtown here is good (?).....
Rick/Geezer300M
Just wanted to know what's the secret about car trade in. Example. My friend financed a 4 Ruuner several years back and in less then a year traded that car in for a Linclon Nav. Had that for about a year and then traded that car in for the Lexus Jeep. My questions is how does this work. How can you trade in a car with another car dealer when you still paying off the loan. From my knowledge she owed alomost 30,000 loan for the Nav. had it for a year (just paying the monthly payments) tradded it in and got a Lexus for close to the same payment as the Nav, OK What gives how do this work and is it worth trading my car in for another although i still owe the loan
I am fairly new to Edmunds and so I just recently read up on some of the older threads comparing the 300M with other cars. I saw quite a few of your posts and am a bit surprised to see you getting a TL-S :-) I missed your post though where you announced getting one. I do like the TL quite a bit. From all the entry level Japanese luxury sedans I like it the best. The Mazda Millenia is pretty nice, too. Compared to the 300M, the TL looks to me a bit more elegant (smoother) but also less agressive. I really like the width of the 300M and how it drives because of it. How is the TL-S in that department? Driving the 300M on HW 280 from Cupertino to San Francisco is such a joy. And I have always enjoyed the deep, humble sound of the M's V6. How does the TL-S sound?
Thanks for the info and congrats to another great car,
Hans
The feds just lowered the prime another .25% today which will help too.
Yep, you are correct. As soon as it's official you'll be able to move me from enthusiast to owner.
I was fence sitting for a while about the Special but decided that the package appealed to me. Having a good track record with my local dealer didn't hurt either since they gave me the chance to order their first one to my liking.
They haven't made 5 Star yet but it won't be long with that kind of customer service.
Arby- same story ,still waiting for passports to the U.S.A. ;-)
Rdl40- they have not shipped your car because we have not shipped any Specials yet, as for why? sorry don't know that . You wanted to know how long to ship to Cali , No idea!
Uxca300m- you can not see the lot from the road ,but if you do want to see cars , turn into the employee parking lot (closest to Torbram road) and drive under the bridge to the back of the parking lot .There you will see everything that's parked outside. If you want to see the specials bring a set of binoculars and look north of that big white tent .That's were they are parking the Specials.As for mentioning me , don't think that will get you in any easier.
Hee hee, Dr. Otto delivers another baby for a proud father! Not bad timing either, just 3 days before "dads" birthday.
Can you say how many Specials have been built so far? Or is that one of those "I can tell ya, but then I'd have to kill ya" sort of things.
Rats, now comes the hard part, waiting for delivery...but I can handle it .
I just hope that Daimler Chrysler keeps their best men on the project for the upcoming '04 model. I'm a bit afraid after seeing that the latest Sebrings were basically rebadged Mitsubishis. Anyway, enjoy your Acura and keep us posted on how reliable it is. How long did you keep your M (miles-wise) and how was its reliability?
What you need to realize in this situation is that while the person has a new Lexus with the same car payment as the old car, they will likely be paying on the car longer, they have already shelled out $17k (the original $10k plus the new $7k) and STILL owe $30k! So that's $47k worth of loan and deposits (not including the year of payments) for a car that will likely depreciate down to $35k when driven off the lot! It's a wicked circle, which is why people that replace cars often will opt for leases. Leases put the depreciation burden on the car owner...the leasing company.
300M special--I vaguely remember reading that the special wont be available to March--I could be wrong but thats what I recall--maybe they are expecting a big demand for the special and are making sure to have enough available--but in this economy, I would think they would ship as soon as possible---you buyers-just keep drooling over the brochure till your baby arrives--
Easyrider300M
The March date is unlikely. DC wouldn't sit on new vehicles that long before shipping. Not good for their bottom line, or the dealers.
As for demand, yeah, they will probably be popular but since only 8500 will be built I doubt there will be enough to fill demand in any case.
I'm not sure how many Chrysler dealers there are in the U.S. and Canada but it's probably safe to say that at 8500 that averages out to only one per store. Larger markets will get more, and some small stores won't even see it.
Hey, I'm not worried as long as my "Special" is under ottowrkr's watchful eyes.
Judging by your handle, you don't like your 300M.
My suggestion, either live with it, or trade out and take your lumps -but make darn sure that your NEXT car is a bona-fide keeper, lest you be tempted to "trade out" on it after a year.
As far as leasing - it's great if you want to trade a car every 3 years, but it won't work for trading a 1 year old car, unless you have a 12 month lease (almost unheard of). You'll still pay a penalty.
I still think the TL does not look as nice. But the Aegean Blue is a beatiful color
Anyway, over the years, I watched Acura working hard on making the TL better (added more powerful engine, added seat memory, updated suspension on TL-S, etc). While Chrysler sat on their hands and made insignificant improvements (chrome door locks, chrome strip on the tranny shifter, chrome strips around windows), plus they did very little to promote this great car and only teased us with rumors about German transmissions.
So I gave the prize of my hard earned money to the company I think deserves it best this time. Besides I always wanted to try and see for myself what was so special about the TL-S (I would also like to try for myself and see what is so special about S4, A6 2.7, A6 4.2, E55, CL55, XKR, M3, M5, the Vette of course, but they are a bit out of my range
TL-S tends to buck a bit on uneven road surface.
Thanks for letting me rant. It's therapeutic.
I also had the dealer's service department do an alignment while the car was in the shop and they seem to have done a perfect job on that! I'm impressed! I guess my hometown dealer really is a 5* dealer! Whoopee!
Lynn Flowers
McKinney, Texas
Are there any areas where she performs better?
I think DC is foolish to wait so long on the changes. Sure, the little things I got in the 01 like steering wheel controls, are great, but minor. They need to keep on top of this. Marketing is lousy. It's a great looking car, but people need to see it...
ah well, what can I do...
And Fuzzy, I just had to say, it's '2 fewer doors' not less. You can tell I'm a former English teacher? Sorry, couldn't help it :-D
I tried to put my sub box(the 2 12's) in the cl-s trunk, & it was a good laugh. Yes it fits, but I have NO trunk space at all. I should have sold it with the M. I ordered a basslink from ebay. Not bad $217 shipped. I already have a line output converter wired in, so I will have to use RCA's, I also have power, ground, & turn on lead already ran. Is there anything else I need to set this thing up? What mounting position have you guys found to be the best? Is the hardware to secure it to the floor good? Is it strong? Does it move around?
Thanks
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1620463&a=13418625&p=51162220&Sequence=0&res=high
I worked in several companies that did very little marketing and they are no more
It seems to me that the engineers who developed the 300M "get it," but I wonder about the Chrysler execs who make the marketing decisions.
Echoing blonda's observations, I've gotten more compliments on my 300M than any other car I've owned (and I've had some pretty cool cars). However, as often as not, the admirer asks me what it is--this does not bode well for the future of the 300-series.
http://www.stylinconcepts.com/parts.cfm?partfamilyid=617&categoryid=8&subcategoryid=31&ForceAll=1
Simply invite your nearest relatives to come and spend at least one night in your home. This will almost always cause a panic-stricken Spring cleaning effort. My in-laws are coming for a few days around New Years and you would not believe the honey-do list I have. (Gotta find a new job!)Good luck,
Silver
It's more my wife who gets bothered first. However, if I keep on top of the mess myself as well, she tends to make it worth my while, so it is, how shall we say, cost effective :-D
Ruski, you are right about Acura improving the TL over time. DC should have done quite a bit more there. Although, to me my 2001 is an almost perfect car. I love the interior design, especially with the real wood of the luxury package. I have to say though: I am anxious to see the 300N. That will be an interesting car.
Overall, in my opinion Detroit has to do some catching up again. It is disappointing to see that in the last Car&Driver mid size sedan test, all foreign cars were doing better than the domestic ones. Dodge with the Intrepid was the best performing U.S. car, coming in 5th.
So this Acura guy who was very professional and pleasant to work with gave me a good deal. I refused once, he waited a month and called me again with better offer. I just could not refuse then.
Hey Splatt, how's my English?
Why can't Chrysler make something like that? 300M is very comfortable to drive, fast. You could drive from NYC to LA for lunch in it and will not get tired.
Although my red 300M seemed to be a ticket magnet...
LOL... When I first saw that commercial, I said that was ME! I now have 11,000 miles on my CL-S since 3/28/01. Every mile of that has been a pleasure. Time for the 3rd oil change. The local dealer raised their price from $9.99 to $19.99.
Your red 300M was only a ticket magnet because you drive fast! Christine NEVER got stopped! Which does surprise me. ;-)) You're right- it was comfortable on long trips. The one time I took it to FL, my friends and I drove straight through without getting tired OR stopped.
fastdriver
When I leased my '98 Intrepid, it, too, was different and so striking! However, it soon became a volume car -- fleets, even police cars. And they produced cheaper, downgraded models in subsequent years -- really stripped down! The car became commonplace and it was alarming to see how many were being driven with body damage. It was almost like the owners felt the car was too cheap to bother fixing up.
Now that I've got my 300M, I hope Chrysler continues to make the Intrepid (and Neon, Stratus, etc.) their volume cars. That way, the 300M can remain "special" to its owners. I want the 300M to ALWAYS turn my head...