Crossfire/Magnum/300C

[immortal_suby]

Originally posted by Landshark
the transmission problem was fixed with several updates. late model SVX's aren't going to have these issues

I really hate to argue for Cash but you are misguided if you think ANY year svx will not eventually puke out its guts.
They still haven't figured out the tranny.

[LarryIII]

Rob,

A few weeks ago I posted my impressions of the styling of the Crossfire. I had parked our SVX alongside the Crossfire. At that time they only had the smaller engine and had not yet announced the convertible. You may want to find that post and read it.

From a strickly styling viewpoint, my initial impression is that the grills on the new 300 & the Magnum are too mmassive for the rest of these cars. They make the front ends look too heavy. The original 300C & D had big grills , but the design flowed into the tail fins and was more balanced front to back. I have only seen photos of the new 300 & Magnum and will reserve final judgement until I can walk around these cars

[LarryIII]

Rob,

A few weeks ago I posted my impressions of the styling of the Crossfire. I had parked our SVX alongside the Crossfire. At that time they only had the smaller engine and had not yet announced the convertible. You may want to find that post and read it.

From a strickly styling viewpoint, my initial impression is that the grills on the new 300 & the Magnum are too mmassive for the rest of these cars. They make the front ends look too heavy. The original 300C & D had big grills , but the design flowed into the tail fins and was more balanced front to back. I have only seen photos of the new 300 & Magnum and will reserve final judgement until I can walk around these cars.

I would love to see someone (Chrysler) incorporate a modern version of "boat tail" styling into one of todays sporty cars.

[Mr. Pockets]

I think the Crossfire looks...okay. But I'm certainly not as excited about it as you are, Rob. It's not a design that'll endure - that's my opinion.

I have Jeremy Clarkson's review of the Crossfire. He totally panned it.

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by Darksied-X
Actually, the Crossfire is a rebodied Mercedes SLK, not an SRT-4.

I think you mean CLK, not SLK. If it was based on the SLK, it would cost considerably more.

[WestCoastSVX]

We showcased a Crossfire hardtop the other night at a hockey game (every game a different car is driven around the ice during the 1st intermission before the Zambonis go out). It did look a lot nicer in person up close than I had expected by looking at pictures.

There are a few things I don't like about the style, and also IMO for what it is it needs more power.

[WestCoastSVX]

Shadow, I think you know I'm a big GM fan (though not as fanatical as you ), but I also love pointing out irony.

You can correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't our almighty GM just recently axe their last two V8 coupes, the Firebird and Camaro?

So doesn't that put GM in the same boat as Dodge/Chrysler?

All I can think of for GM V8's is the Corvette (2 seater sports car, not really a coupe and if you go there, then D/C DOES have something - the Viper, I doubt there are any complaints that is isn't exactly a V8 ), trucks/SUVs, and the bigger Cadillacs (not coupes).

In fact, I'm kinda saddened to think right now the only V8 coupe available for the last couple years and probably for the next couple to come is the Mustang. Not that there is anything wrong with the Mustang, but that's sad.

[Shadow248]

The crossfire looks fine, until you see the back of it. That's just about the ugliest rear-end i've ever seen.

Also - WHY oh WHY does chrysler refuse to build a V-8 coupe?! I could maybe build some respect for this company if they'd grow some balls in the car area. They've got the truck thing figured out (except for styling), now put some muscle in the cars! Trust me, they're going to need it!

[Shadow248]

Originally posted by MacGyver
You can correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't our almighty GM just recently axe their last two V8 coupes, the Firebird and Camaro?

So doesn't that put GM in the same boat as Dodge/Chrysler?

To answer your questions, yes, no. The F-bodies are out but the GTO is in. So they do still have one. Plus the vette, but that's in the viper's club, so i agree it shouldn't really count. My point was less with current offerings and more with the past ten years or so. What's the last Chrysler V8 coupe you can think of? That should make my point. Even more so, why is this the case? They are just as capable of doing this as GM or Ford, and it obviously sells, so why not? Plus it does wonders for image.

Originally posted by Chicane
love the rear end...it's very art deco ish... and v8s? why? With a forced induction V6, you get the same power and torque as a v8, but with better MPG. As for their cars not having balls......eh......... have you heard about these?

I happen to have "a forced induction V6" rated at 240hp. The 225hp V8 in the Trans Am of old is still a more powerful engine. You can give a 4 cylinder all the power in the world, it's still a 4 cylinder and still doesn't feel like a 6 or 8 cylinder. It's the seat-of-the-pants factor I think that matters in this case.

Don't even question an engine builder about balls. Trust me he knows more about them than you.

[Shadow248]

Originally posted by Chicane
I understand peak power and peak torque, but if an engine is supercharged, and not turbocharged, it should help down at the lower RPMs mostly, and the mid and not as much in the upper RPMs, due to the SC sapping power from the engine (since it's being spun so fast).

I'm not talking numbers here...I'm talking FEELING. For instance, if you knew nothing about what engine was in either car, and I put you in the GTP, said "floor it" then did the same for the 3rd generation T/A, then asked you "now which engine do you think is more powerful?" you would almost definetly answer "the second one". It just has a more beastly feel to it. It's not actually going faster, but because of the noise and feel and excess torque, you FEEL like you are moving faster. That, to me, is the argument for an N/A V8 over a forced induction V6. Not to mention the maintenance costs.

Originally posted by Chicane
I agree about Chrysler though. If I were in charge, I'd take a stratus, make it RWD somehow, throw the magnum v8 in it, with an optional hemi, offer it with no carpeting, pop out back side windows, and tons of weight redux, and call it the SUPERBEE.

Right on. Not so sure about the name though. I don't think a car named after an annoying insect will do much to stir emotions.

[Shadow248]

Originally posted by SVX26517
If anyone cares, GM has realased yet another recall to 4 million + of their pick-up trucks, and this is the fifth massive GM recall i have heardin about a 1 month time period. And you never hear about Chrysler recalls, because they're aren't any.

Good call.

January 14th, 2004 - Chrysler recalls 2.7 million Cirrus, Stratus, and Breeze cars because of a faulty shifter.

December 15th, 2003 - Chrysler recalls 4,000 2004 Dodge Durangos because of a faulty instrument cluster.

November 10th, 2003 - Chrysler recalls 438,000 Jeep Liberty's
because their wheels were literally falling off. Front suspension problems.

That's just in the last four months...check out the last four years:

http://www.crash-worthiness.com/chrysler/news.html

That's bad news right there.

As for what you said about the GM "recall", i'm not sure what you are talking about exactly but if you mean the controversy over the tailgates, you are a bit mistaken. There's no official recall at all involving GM trucks at this time. In fact, the only OFFICIAL GM recall this year involves the 2nd generation W-body (regal, GP, lumina, MC...etc) and includes about 800,000 cars. There is another recall pending...which involves wiper control modules on 300,000 SUVs...but that's not official yet. Also rumors have it that there may be a small corvette recall...also not official. I think maybe you are misreading the articles. I've read a few that talk about these rumored recalls and fail to make clear that they are not yet official.

[Shadow248]

S'mores, anyone?

[Shadow248]

Originally posted by Chicane
And I DO NOT think subarus are crap. I was making a parody of your blatent double standards. Basically, no car manufacturer is perfect, EVERY car EVER made will have it's ups and downs. You rip on chrysler products, basically just to try to get me pissed off, and yet you completley ignore any faults subaru has made.

- Rob

FINALLY!!! Someone else knows how I feel!

Oh but this is a Subaru site, which means we can throw reality out the window. Yeah I forgot about that AGAIN.

[Shadow248]

Originally posted by PA_SVX
Rob, I don't think I was nasty to you. I asked a simple question. If you don't know that's ok. I was just curious why they would do something so blatently cheap. Even on the "flagship" SRT-4.

They probably just didn't put enough thought into it. Kinda like Subaru did with that SVX. Remember those? The ones with the weird windows? Looked like a sports car, rode like a sports car, ran like an overweight touring car. Every option known to man, but no manual transmission. One of the greatest engines ever built, one of the worst transmissions ever built. The beauty of all-wheel-drive, the ugly of bad wheel bearings. Talk about inconsistency.

I agree that it's weird that they bothered to put power windows up front and then overlooked the back. Should just be manual all around. But that's a small speck of inconsistency compared to what the SVX displays.

[Royal Tiger]

They already announced the SRT-6 version of the Crossfire. I'm not really impressed with the car to be honest. As for the neon, it has power front windows as an option. The rear is manual, not matter what the fronts are. Seems dorky to me. The plastics are rather cheap looking inside as well. I sat in a bunch of cars at the Philly Autoshow and would have to say (no loyalty here) the WRX is the better buy at slightly more money. You can get the WRX just as high if not higher in peak power rather easily (it's already faster 0-60) and it has what the SRT-4 can never get as an option, AWD. The VW R32 was nice, but for $30k I'll take a STi.