The 300C barely even registers on this comparison anyway. Compared to a Town Car, it drives like a cheap Mercedes.

The DTS is a FWD turd. I just drove a 2006 with 22K miles on it the other day that was falling apart literally and drove accordingly. Worn down climate control and radio knobs, blown struts, exhaust leak, and cabin noise rivaling my 1989 C1500. And what SOFT seats? The leather ones in the DTS I drove were comparable in softness to a concrete bench.

The Town Car’s sole remaining body-on-frame rear-wheel-drive sedan platform dates back to 1979, good for half a million miles, with unmatched crash test ratings, acres of hood and trunk, comfort of driving your living room sofa, how much more “yank tank” can you get than that?

Not that I’d know anything about “yank tanks”, I’ll go crawl back into my Roadmaster now.

The weird thing is that Chrysler never seems to learn that weird style turns away customers. Think of the Airstream and goofy cars like the ‘62 Dodges and Plymouths. Distinctiveness is not always a virtue.

If the stylists who penned this cartoonish design, and the managers who approved it for production, have not been fired, then Chrysler better switch from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7.

“But as some of our Best and Brightest have already pointed out, the Chrysler 300C is the one that doesn’t fit.”

Well, heck, considering that it will do 0-60 in five in a half, and features handling that won’t be confused with the Exxon Valdez, you’re right – the 300C doesn’t fit with a DTS or Town Car.

In terms of size, power, and capability, the 300C fits in more with a 5-series BMW or E-Class Benz.

A 360-HP front drive car?

No wonder your friends call you “Torque Steer.” :)

That says volumes about what the car is all about.

Well, I’ll tell ya what…I’ll slap a custom grill on the front of an SRT-8, and you won’t have to worry about EVER seeing it.

I agree with what you said.

I took a friend to buy a new Accord 08′ and I forced her to get foglamps/ navigation/ moonroof and the V6.

Now she realizes how to tell her higher level Accord from all the lower level Accords by checking for fog lamps and dual exhaust.

I think most companies now try to build their cars with obvious identifies (besides the japanese) of trim level.

It has always been that Mercedes Benzes could be told apart by the number on the back (S400, S430, S500) etc – and this was actually a way of “grading” other drivers on the fly. Nowwith so much aftermarket modifications I guess it becomes more and more difficult to simply guess.

That says volumes about what the car is all about.

I think this was a mistake by Chrysler. The 300C has it’s place, but why dump a relatively successful line of vehicles for this?

I still see many LS vehicles on the road today, all be it looking quite rough. They were very roomy inside and with refinement could compete head to head with the supersized Accord/Camry cash cows.

Instead all Chrysler has is a bloated RWD platform with styling that will instantly turn away +50% of buyers and a FWD Sebring platform that isn’t on par with the original Dodge Intrepid from the early 90’s. A niche product for the full sized market and a garbage product for the midsized? Epic failure.

the 300M isn’t an ugly car – I see lots of late models on the road and they have a pretty sharp look to them that could have been updated to run with newer 4 door coupes like the VW CC.

I own a 2006.

When I first saw the 300C I hated it cause I thought it was a ripoff Bentley. But when my friend bought one and lost his license to a DUI, I got enough time behind the wheel to appreciate it.

The interior, back in 2004, was decent because back then, interiors were still plasticy. Think back to the plastic Escalade interior as well as the plasticy interiors of most SUV’s of the time.

The 300C back then looked better than most cars of the time.

Had Chrysler upgraded the interior a long time ago (for 2006) this one major criticism could have been avoided. But still…most 300 drivers don’t care about the interior quality.

They care about their engines.

A 300C or a 300C SRT8 is pretty hard to hate when you can shoot from 0 – 60 in less than 5 seconds.

The SRT8’s seats are awesome and the 08 300’s offer lots of tech stuff such as Adaptive cruise control, smart key fobs and a slightly higher grade cup holder design.

I love my car. Its extremely spacious even for big people – like a low riding SUV. In fact, Chrysler 300’s have more interior space than most CUV’s on the market. I’m 6′7 and I drive this and a S550 because these are the only cars I fit in and can get comfortable in.

Yes, because Chrysler used to know how to do that. Especially in the years right after they dropped the DeSoto brand, Chrysler covered everything from Dodge up to Imperial price ranges. They had the Newport, the 300 Sport series, the New Yorker, and the 300 letter cars. Each had a different grille, different side and rear trim, and different interiors. It was easy to tell that the Newport was the low line and the New Yorker was the high line, inside or out.

Perhaps there were too many years in which the engineers spent too much time and effort trying to build cars to ever-changing government requirements and not enough to market requirements.

Obama isn’t driving anything now. But when his hypocrisy caught up to him during the campaign, he swapped the 300C for a Ford Escape Hybrid.

What is this, Consumer Reports? Jeez, you need to go a car with a real V8 once in a while just to remind yourself why people actually like cars.

c’mon….somebody’s got to hate that recommendation. Any takers?

“Wow, lots of people down on this car.”

that’s because there’s a giant difference between the V-8 and the base models. There’s nothing, literally, to recommend the slow ones. They had an initial take of over 50% on the Hemi actually, there never should have been a stripper model.

If you had to get a FWD alternative I’d go for the Passat CC stick (2.0T). Nothing else is nice enough to make up for the wrong wheel drive and lack of power.

I’d be curious to hear what vehicles people actually recommend in or near this segment.

Have at it!

That might have something to do with where you tried to fill it up. The new filler holes WILL NOT fit the old leaded gas nozzles. I’m pretty sure, and maybe some else can find a link, but the filler holes size is mandated by the EPA. The OEM’s just follow the size they are told.