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Look up the tabs.
Here's the link to the SRT-8 AWD (just that it's going into production):
http://www.arifleet.com/production.html
The "all-speed traction control" was in the AWD/RWD tab.
It seems that the car appeals to all three of these groups:
- show-off big spenders with small net worths;
- frugal millionaires, and
- car guys really impressed with the power and mechanical features, some of whom have to really stretch to afford the car.
Chrysler wisely included proven Mercedes-Benz parts / designs, a powerful engine with good gas mileage, and fancy features usually only found on much more expensive cars, such as outside mirrors which dim at night and dip down in reverse.
I really like the Lexus LS430, but a base model with just the sport suspension and minimal seat/reverse warning system package lists for more than $57,000. Yes, the ride would be smoother and quieter, and the trunk is larger (although they mysteriously omitted a split / folding rear seat), but I just do not see $22,000 of additional value in the Lexus. Maybe a few thousand dollars, but certainly not $22,000. And, for those in heavy winter climates, the 300 has an AWD option and the Lexus does not. The way I see it, I could buy the LS430, or buy the 300C and another rental house. Or, I think about how many weeks I have to work to make $22,000 after-tax. Either way, the 300C wins.
At the other end of the scale, I have been seriously considering the Mercury Montego, which is $4,000 less than the 300C when both are equipped as I would buy them. I like the Montego's exterior styling and good visibility from the driver's seat, and the trunk is huge (an important issue for my work vehicle), but the engine is far too small (the Edmunds road test of its Freestyle sister talks of struggling up hills, not being able to do better than a first generation Prius, and brakes smoking after just three quick stops), it lacks features such as Bluetooth, exterior mirrors which dim and dip, factory satellite radio, a cabin air filter, and stability control, and the 300C interior is fancier. While less expensive, the Montego just does not seem like a good value.
Cars such as the Cadillac CTS and Lincoln LS cost at least $5,000 to $10,000 more than the 300C, but what do they offer for the extra money besides smaller size?
I doubt that the 300C will appeal to the ultra-wealthy, but DCX has plenty of Mercedes-Benz and Maybach cars to sell to those buyers.
I will have to wait a few years since I don't have the cash right now. The only thing that needs to be changed is the front grille and I see that ebay sells a european style grille, the side mirrors are too small, louder exhaust and tinting the back windows.
FSMMCSI--the cadillac CTS doesn't cost $5-10K more like you stated. Unless you are considering the CTS-V which has the Corvette engine.
However, I checked the CTS prices again. A CTS with the 3.6 V6, and option PDL (luxury), PDX (sport), U2S (6-CD), U2K (XM radio), and M82 (shiftable five speed automatic) lists for $40,235.
A 300C with options AD4 (protection), ATL (sound group II), RSP (Buetooth), RSA (Sirius radio), and XAM (power pedals) lists for $35,615.
That is a $5,000 difference. Add the V8 to the CTS, and the price is far higher than that.
-mike
These aren't new features to Chrysler. The 300M had/has these features (in '02 and maybe '01 BOTH mirrors tilted down, not one or the other) along with some that the hi-luxury (and the new 300) cars don't; driver/passenger vanity mirrors with sliding dimmer switches being one. Neither Mercedes S-class, nor Lexus LS430, nor BMW 7-series, nor the new Acura RL have this feature. A small feature, yes, but very welcome nonetheless. (And it has inviting, theater lighting throughout, not the bright white lighting like in the forementioned vehicles.) Easy exit driver seat being another. The seat slides back up to 2 inches when the key is removed from the ignition if it isn't all the way back already, and slides forward when the seatbelt is pulled out to be fastened.
I'm in the market for a luxury car now. In shopping around and doing comparisons, I've found that, surprisingly, it's the simple touches in the luxury cars that make all the difference. And going [non-permissible content removed]-for-tat, there's nothing in the "somewhat affordable" (S-class, et. al.) category that can usurp me from my 2002 300M Special. Yes, the others are (subjectively) "nicer," but they aren't $20K - $40K nicer, and the 300M (and 300) is right in the thick of it when it comes to passenger and cargo volume. The new RL is not even a player in that regard.
At this point, I'm looking more into keeping my Special since she meets all my "luxury" needs and buying a new Mustang GT 5-speed for daily use and weekend "playing" and use the Special for "date nights" and traveling.
Sorry for straying WAY off topic.
I live in Northern Virginia and am wondering under what winter weather conditions should I decide to use my 4wd explorer rather than my 300c.
Obviously, I would use the 4wd for any real snow, but what about freezing rain and/or a couple inches of snow ?
I saw a review on another site that said chrysler invited a bunch of auto journalists/reviewers to their "frozen lake" to test the 300c and they came away impressed with its abilities.
Any advice and/or real world experience would be appreciated. I haven't had a RWD car since I was a teenager and that was in Hawaii. Ice and snow were not an issue.
The ESP is an amazing gizmo in this car and performs awesome. Of course in real bad weather, couple of inches (6"+), I would pull out the 4WD, but because I'm crazy like that, I would drive my 300C in that kind of weather anyway ;-)
But if I get the 300C AWD, then it wouldn't matter!!!
I remember driving my '86 Cutlass Coupe in a blizzard. Now THAT was fun!!!
Good lord, now you need AWD to cruise at 160mph?? Sorry, I couldn't stay quiet on this comment...
I'd also love to see a vid of you or anyone else driving a RWD 300c in 6"+ snow !!
Thanks again.
Under 'Chrysler Group', 'Chrysler brand', '300' there is a link on the lower right that says "Winter Driving: 2005 Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum" that takes you to a text synopsis. Elsewhere on the site is the video itself. As you might expect it is quite the inspirational piece.
I don't suspect you'd have much luck driving in over 6" of snow as your bumper would become a plow (there's an aftermarket add-on I haven't seen yet...)
Enjoy !!
And what's wrong with that? ;-)
As to performance in snow, I think the key is Stability Control.
I own a 2002 Jaguar S-Type V8 Sport, and have driven it in 2 winters.
I live in Minnesota, plenty of snow eh?
The car works great, and does fine.
HOWEVER, the car would be a menace if it did not have Stability Control, which the 300C also has.
I refuse to own a vehicle that does not have Stability Control. Stability Control, is, in my opinion, the most important safety feature you can buy.
I once saw a police car video of a sports car driving normally down a snowy highway, then start to lose control, and actually smash into the police car. The sports car driver died. The driver would clearly had avoided the accident if his car had Stability Control.
Stability Control works at low speed. I was once driving down a small side street, where it had just snowed. The street was slanted, to the right. The backend of my Jag kept wanting to slide out, to the right. But the Stability Control kept it in check. With it off? I'm not leaving the drive way. Seriously, it would be a nightmare.
So have no fear! You have stability gear!
P.S.-I am dumping my Jag S-Type in April when my lease is up, and heading right down to the Chrysler dealership. The 300C is $20,000 less expensive than my Jaguar, and it has every feature, plus some, and its a better car. It's a no brainer! (I just hope Chysler doesn't smarten up and raise the price! Shhhh!)
I think I need to learn more about this to gain a little confidence in it. I don't want to be overly cautious and miss good driving time in my 300c. It's always good to get real world feedback from people who have a lot of RWD experience.
http://www.daimlerchrysler.ca/EN/CHRYSLER/1,,EN-CHRYSLER-300-SAFE- TY,.html
The demo is on the the further information link.
I guess it's not just hype.
If you live in a snow belt and are a new or inexperienced snow driver then I suggest taking a winter driving course. It's well worth the money.
If you ever get stuck or snowed in, AWD is the choice, apart from being more confident of that ever happening.
I don't want to beat a dead horse here (as it's been covered before) but AWD is not just for snow as the way it's advertised. Though it is an advantage.
Best thing for you to do is test drive them back to back.
Lots of good info here:
http://www.esceducation.org/
and here:
http://www.abs-education.org/ishs/techindex.html
http://popularmechanics.com/automotive/auto_technology/2004/3/300- - c_magnum_winter/index.phtml
Here's an article on FWD vs RWD that includes the 300c in it's tests. For some reason they seem to keep turning off the "traction control" and esp in the tests:
http://popularmechanics.com/automotive/auto_technology/2004/9/pus- h_pull/index.phtml
http://www.dcxmediaservices.com/videoptrs/wms/dctv/Mar04/Houghton- - _Ride_Drive_300k.wvx
Best part is watching base model RWD 300's & Magnum's climb up an icy hill while a Grand Prix is stuck at the bottom!
As a testament to the ESP (ABS,Traction Control,and Lateral Control) if it had not been for these feature on my 300c I would have one dead deer and a wrecked HEMI. The technology needs to be in all cards
I've got a choice between a G35 Infiniti and a 300 Touring. Price is almost exactly the same for a 4 year lease. I like the look of the 300 far better, but the infiniti is a VERY nice car - and worth 10,000 bucks more.
what would you choose? The luxury Infiniti, or the 300 Touring? there's a 30$/month difference in price (the 300 is cheaper).
(600/ month for the infiniti and 570/month for the 300 touring) - that's canadian.
help? I've never bothered leasing a car before... the one I'll be getting rid of is a 95 lexus ls 400 - which I LOVE, but it's time for a new car... and I can't afford a lexus again.
dkaardal
I expect this to be a minority view on this board, however...
I'm in Windsor, Ontario. I've got friends who work at chrysler who are more then happy to give me their discounts... but this dealer said "I can give them to you without that, so don't worry about it"
I had pretty much decided to buy a 300 limited - which they'd graciously decided to give me for the same price as a baseline touring. That was when I rather thought I was being had. if they were willing to give me a car that was 4k more then the one they originally quoted me, for EXACTLY the same cost...
anyway. I drove the 300 limited, and within 3 km of the dealership white smoke began billowing out from under the hood. Slipped rad hose or something, I suppose... but why the heck do I want to buy a car that doesnt even work right when it's brand new?!?
Grr. I'm just about out of patience. I've never leased before, or bought new. This is REALLY frustrating.
dak.
It may happen to a Rolls or a Geo, C´mon, you know it´s perfectly normal and understandable. Buy a 300 or a Magnum, you´ll enjoy them a lot, they are by far the best buy on the market, no question about it.
Good luck.
It may happen to a Rolls or a Geo, C´mon, you know it´s perfectly normal and understandable. Buy a 300 or a Magnum, you´ll enjoy them a lot, they are by far the best buy on the market, no question about it.
Good luck.
I'm in Windsor, Ontario. I've got friends who work at chrysler who are more then happy to give me their discounts... but this dealer said "I can give them to you without that, so don't worry about it"
I had pretty much decided to buy a 300 limited - which they'd graciously decided to give me for the same price as a baseline touring. That was when I rather thought I was being had. if they were willing to give me a car that was 4k more then the one they originally quoted me, for EXACTLY the same cost...
anyway. I drove the 300 limited, and within 3 km of the dealership white smoke began billowing out from under the hood. Slipped rad hose or something, I suppose... but why the heck do I want to buy a car that doesnt even work right when it's brand new?!?
Grr. I'm just about out of patience. I've never leased before, or bought new. This is REALLY frustrating.
dak.
I told the dealer to give me a call today, and I'll give him a chance to explain... but all I can think of is if that had happened on the way to toronto with my family on board.
dak.
Here is what I have found for 2005 MSRP Base Pricing for each model:
2005 Chrysler 300-Series 4dr Sdn 300C
MSRP
Base $32,870.00
2005 Ford Mustang 2dr Cpe GT Premium
MSRP
Base $25,705.00
2005 Pontiac GTO 2dr Cpe
MSRP
Base $32,295.00
Anyone else having problems deciding between these vehicles?
As far as the GTO, notwithstanding the name which is a lure, I'd avoid it. There's a reason they're not selling well with mechanical issues, generic looks, and outdated platform.