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Sports Wagons - The wave of the future?
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Comments
i'd include the mazda 6 wagon on my list, but there's something about it that doesn't quite sit right with me. but to each his/her own.
And that's coming from one who has been buying Chrysler products for 40 years.
The PASSENGER volume of the Magnum and 300C exceeds the 104.1 cu ft. of the Intrepid--not by much--but that still qualifies as a large car interior. The Magnum's "trunk" is about 28 cu. ft. as I recall--that's quite a bit larger than the 18.4 of the large Intrepid trunk. The deep opening APPEARS to offer much more utility than a conventional trunk.
I was horrified by the sketches released a few years ago which previewed the 300. In the flesh they do look heavy--but not bad--just different. I'm not excited about the switch to rear wheel drive, but I AM excited about the option of AWD and a Hemi V-8. Frankly I find the comments about the Hemi and the Cadillac V8-6-4 to be without merit. Umm...25 years have past?...
Maybe they ought to have used a modified Intrepid platform to create a new "mid size" Stratus replacement... Ah well...time marches on..
DCX felt not enough people were buying Intrepids, so they changed the design to appeal to different people. And I do think the Stratus will grow to fill that FWD mid-size gap.
-juice
Here they have now spent two decades of selling the traction benefits of FWD, and are now going to tell customers who live in the snow belt that RWD is the way to go. If they didn't offer AWD, I'd say they're nuts.
Bob
Plus, they'll just grow the Stratus to fill the gap left by the Intrepid.
-juice
Marauder could have been a hit, were it quicker than your garden variety Accord V6 automatic. To this day the Caprice SS is a cult car with excellent resale value. Marauder didn't deliver the goods.
If the Magnum Hemi offers that, there is a vacuum in the market right now waiting for such a car.
Unless GM does a GTO 4-door (Holden has them) then it'll have that tire-spinning 4-door niche to itself.
-juice
While I prefer AWD, if I'm forced to choose between FWD and RWD, I'll take the latter every time.
-juice
-juice
They call the PT Cruiser a truck, even the convertible! Even Toyota calls the Scion xB a truck. Both are FWD only, too.
They probalby should!
-juice
-juice
the magnum does look great in those pics and did you see those mileage numbers?
The mileage numbers do look good but I am still not convinced that the variable cylinder scheme is the way to go. I wonder if it would still be seamless after 100,000 miles.
I think if the average car buyer is going to be interested in a wagon, the Magnum style will work better than anything currently on the market. My wife does not want anything to do with the average wagon, however she does find the magnum/pacifica acceptable. She down right veto'd the Allroad, which surprised me since she loves the looks of our A6. People generally aren't going to buy things they find ugly, period.
As for comparing the Marauder flop to the 300C? The 300C is a niced sized ground-up new car with good performance. The Marauder is a spoofed Marquis, which is a crappy car riding a 20 year old chassis. Looks like a highschooler found a deal at the State Police auction and threw on some chrome rims and exhaust tips. The last Marquis I was near was at the Hertz counter when I informed them that a Marquis would not work as my premium class vehicle. Took a Taurus instead. Figure if I'm going to bang around in a junker, it might as well be a cheap one.
Night and day.
-juice
About half of all the cars I've bought over the past 40+ years were Chrysler products, and I'm as close to a diehard loyalist as can be found. If the Magnum and 300C indicate their future direction, I'll never buy another. Style is not high on my list of priorities, but even I have my limits. These are among the ugliest cars ever built. The high beltline and shallow mail-slot windows are simply awful. The too-vertical windshield, mammoth upright nose, contrived styling gimmicks everywhere - these are very unpleasant designs. I fear for Chrysler's survival. I work for another DaimlerChrysler subsidiary, and the German senior management will not tolerate losses for long.
-juice
-juice
Polarizing is an understatement. I'm all for the return to a RWD IRS layout, and the Hemi is moderately interesting, but I'd far rather have an all-alloy quad-cam 32-valve V-8 than a throwback iron-block pushrod 16-valver.
Those quibbles aside, there simply was no good reason to make these new Chrysler vehicles so horribly ugly. They may pick up a few brand-switchers, but they'll lose far more than they gain.
The Magnum Hemi at under $30k is a good value, V8 and RWD, wagon space.
The 300C sedan actually costs significatly more, but probably has more features.
-juice
Wagons are extremely popular, it is just the name that is not popular. People prefer to drive in something called a sport utility, no matter what it actually is. Those Outbacks may count as sport utilities, but they started the crossover thing, and are identical to the Legacy Wagon, as far as chasis are concerned. So the number of SUV's compared to wagons is misleading.
On top of that now that the sport moniker as been added to wagon, they are popping up all over the place.
BTW I am assuming you ment 1,000, though you wrote 1,00. ; )
I haven't tried a Pacifica.
-juice
I bet it's up there.
-juice
The contrast was stark. Compared to the lithe, sleek, sophisticated, clean Intrepid shape, the 300C looked exactly like a passenger-sedan version of the Hummer H2. The 300C looks considerably worse in the flesh than in photographs. How the company that was responsible for the 2nd-gen Intrepid (one of the best-styled large 4-door sedans ever produced) managed to produce this heavy-looking albatross is beyond comprehension.
They'll never sell one to this long-time Chrysler fan. Our '97 Concorde will be due for replacement this year or next, and a halfway-decently styled 300C or Magnum would have been prime candidates. We'll go elsewhere.
The 300C looks considerably worse in the flesh than in photographs. How the company that was responsible for the 2nd-gen Intrepid (one of the best-styled large 4-door sedans ever produced)snip
Wow, that's a big statement. At least you said "one of". I might agree if you threw in "from the last ten years starting under $20,0000". Sorry, the Intrepid to me was/is just a better rental alternative than a Taurus. And I make that observation simply because they drove so much better than a Taurus. I spent Thursday/Friday in a practically brand new rental Taurus and it amazes me that a car can drive worse than a full-size SUV.
The local dealer has a 300C and I stopped by Saturday for a look. I find them quite attractive and will be checking out the Magnum when they hit. I would say the bulk sales of these will NOT be to rental fleets. The Dodge version could be, but if they're smart they'll start avoiding that business. They have the Stratus which is a perfect car to dump on the rental companies.
On balance, I predict precarious financial performance for the Chrysler Division, as a direct result of the misguided direction the styling department is taking.
All the mags seem to be thrilled with the 300C and I've not heard anyone complaining about the looks (except this forum). I just hope DC can screw the things together decently. I'm still not sure these very car-looking wagons will ever be real popular but it's going to take some different styling to reel in new shoppers. My wife thinks the Pacifica/Magnum are "ok", pretty much hates anything else that resembles a wagon (A6, All-road, any Subaru, etc). She would stil rather replace the Tahoe (which she loves) with the Yukon Denali though.
The blocky styling is at least different, everything was getting too cookie cutter.
Personally I don't like the sedan much, but I do like the wagon.
-juice
Proving beyond all doubt that P.T. Barnum was far more right than he ever realized.
I see that you are a long time Chrysler owner. I am in the same boat as my family has been buying, selling, and repairing Chrysler Corporation products since the late 20s. I broke tradition when I bought my first new car, a Ford Mustang Mach 1 last year, though. I could not and will not buy from Daimler. I don't like the direction Daimler is taking Chrysler, nor do I like the new vehicles coming out. I've tried to figure out what vehicle I liked from them, and I come up with nothing. The 300C and Magnum just don't look right to me. They just look like a bunch of boxes on wheels. I, too, like the smooth, sporty styling of the LH cars, and think that if Daimler would not be in the picture, the LH cars would have progressed even farther.
Some people like the 300C. The first pictures I saw of the 300C almost made me gag. Some people said wait until the real thing. Well, I have seen the real thing, and it is worse than I thought it would be. I figured it would be a long car, thus it could be acceptable. However, it is a lot shorter than I thought. It and the Magnum just don't strike my fancy. The 5.7 doesn't really entice me too much either - maybe that is because of the Mach 1 I currently own.
Anyway, styling is subjective, and people like what they like. I just choose to go to somebody else.
It constantly amazes me how far car makers will go for an image. Trying to make cars look like SUV's, calling station wagons and minivans SUV's. Everything an SUV. Do they think we are that shallow?
The PT Barnum reference was spot on.