I will own this car...

[Accumulator]

.... The person who traded his 2000 Maxima for a Durango...

...might be losing a front wheel over upper balljoint failure



But honestly, I don't think *anybody* builds perfect cars and I don't believe that *anybody* really builds junk these days.



C-Man is happy with his 300, thinks it's great for the price and he enjoys driving and owning it. That's what it's all about :xyxthumbs



Think back a few years...Chrysler has sorta put the style back into mainstream American cars.

 

[C-Man]

You wouldn't believe all the comments I get when driving around. Everyone from my teenage nephew to my wifes' 70+ uncle love the styling. I have had people roll down the window at a red lights, come up to me at the gas station and parking lots to ask me about the car. I even won my catagory at a car show that was held at work.



However, there are people that don't like it too. My wife was not keen on the styling, calling it the "ugly car" when we would see it on the road before mine was delivered. FYI, when I was deciding between the Acura TL and the 300C, I drove them both and the C just has that low end torque of the old muscle car era. Driving it is just plain fun.

 

[Corey Bit Spank]

You wouldn't believe all the comments I get when driving around. Everyone from my teenage nephew to my wifes' 70+ uncle love the styling. I have had people roll down the window at a red lights, come up to me at the gas station and parking lots to ask me about the car. I even won my catagory at a car show that was held at work.



However, there are people that don't like it too. My wife was not keen on the styling, calling it the "ugly car" when we would see it on the road before mine was delivered. FYI, when I was deciding between the Acura TL and the 300C, I drove them both and the C just has that low end torque of the old muscle car era. Driving it is just plain fun.

I love the styling of the car, but I just wish they would have polished it a little bit more. But you do get a lot for the money, so it's no doubt that some parts of the car are a bit lagging.



The 300 will probably move up the line and a smaller sedan will come below it. And then, I hope, the address some of the issues I have with it (without touching the styling too much, hopefully).

 

[Accumulator]

FYI, when I was deciding between the Acura TL and the 300C, I drove them both and the C just has that low end torque of the old muscle car era.

Heh heh, when one's taste runs in a certain direction, the Acuras just won't deliver the goods, no matter how "good" they are

Driving it is just plain fun.

That's sorta the point, once you're beyond "basic transportation", huh? Sounds like money well-spent.

 

[15951]

I also agree that Japanese cars are not immune from quality issues. The person who traded his 2000 Maxima for a Durango would agree with me about the rattles and things of that nature. Even my '02 had issues (e.g. vibrating hood at highway speeds, rotors that would warp easily, wind noise) but Nissan was pretty nice in that they tried to address many of the issues.

The Maxima was actually a pretty good car. We leased it for four years, and it was fairly problem free. It had some nagging rattles from the time it was new (dealer couldn't fix), had some issues with warped rotors and O2 sensors, but that's about it.



The new Durango has 10k miles on it now, and has been problem free. No rattles, 340 h.p. engine is lots of fun, and apparently my tires won't be falling off because that problem has been addressed in the redesign. We'll see....

 

[SilverLexus]

It's a nice looking car but there are some real quality issues with both Chrysler and Mercedes these days. Some of the posts about quality do have a basis in fact if you go by JD Power reliability surveys. Benz is having particular trouble.



www.jdpower.com

 

[jvcn]

But that's why it's priced relatively cheaply. If the 300C were as demonstrably bulletproof as an Acura or Lexus, the price would shoot through the roof.



Remember, the LS400 was priced around $35K when it first appeared in 1990 and Lexus had no rep. In a couple of years, it was selling well, even at $50K+.



All the Detroit producers have quality ratings which seem to be moving in the right direction. (Knock on wood). So if you factor the problems into the price, it's probably a reasonable gamble.



It is the Germans whose problems seem disproportionately high for the prices they charge.



Where once MB boasted reliability and quality feel, now its boosters just talk about style and whiz bang while disparaging the reliable Japanese as being "appliances". In the end, they will have to improve or lower their prices or decline. There aren't enough "performance" lovers who will put up with lesser reliability and higher prices to sustain MB's growth targets.

 

[tailwind]

and if the hemi is everything its calling itself, will outgun any gm sedan except for the ls6 caddy (which costs maybe 20 g more......not counting depreciation).

Just wanted to comment on this. The GTO will smoke the Hemi 300C without trying too hard. The 05 Goat is a 12 second car stock, and costs $33,000 loaded.

 

[imported_turbomangt]

The goat may be fast, but I think they blew it in the style department. Having grown up in the muscle car era, this new goat doesn't hold a candle to the 66-70 ones. I hope they don't blow it when it comes to bringing out the new charger.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

The goat may be fast, but I think they blew it in the style department. Having grown up in the muscle car era, this new goat doesn't hold a candle to the 66-70 ones. I hope they don't blow it when it comes to bringing out the new charger.

you're not going to find any car, by ANY manufacturer, that brings back the *true* essence of style that existed in the 60s and 70s. And remember, the goat is a re-used body style and platform from Australia that had its gestation period 5 or so years ago. Which is exactly why the entire thing is getting revamped in '06 or '07 (assuming they last that long) :bow

 

[NavindraLR]

you're not going to find any car, by ANY manufacturer, that brings back the *true* essence of style that existed in the 60s and 70s. And remember, the goat is a re-used body style and platform from Australia that had its gestation period 5 or so years ago. Which is exactly why the entire thing is getting revamped in '06 or '07 (assuming they last that long) :bow

yup... holden monaro.. i hope you're right about revamping the style of the gto.. its a damn bloated cavalier!! someone get it some midol!

if i had the net worth of a 300c, and i could get any car i wanted, i would get an awd turbo car, or a bmw 3 series.. just me though... what do you guys think?

 

[SilverLexus]

"It is the Germans whose problems seem disproportionately high for the prices they charge."



That is what I was implying with my comments on Benz. Chrysler has, however, improved but is far from Japanese territory. That's a problem to me as many fully loaded 300Cs can hit 30K.



I can't agree on the entire German products line. JD Power is showing superb reliability lately for both Porsche and BMW.



"The 05 Goat is a 12 second car stock, and costs $33,000 loaded."



But it's damn ugly. I'd get a new Mustang first.



I think Navindra is right about BMW 3 Series. That in fact has been the choice for many automotive critics who drive a very wide variety of vehicles.

 

[kompressornsc]

The 300 is a heck of a car for the money. Seriously. When my Mom bought hers, we were looking at a 300 limited vs. an MB C320. Now, I'm obvioously partial to MB, but the 300 blew it away, every category, for $10,000 less. I just drove it in the snow, and it wasn't bad-even with all season tires on it. And it can't be as bad as an MB as far as quality.



And speaking from experience, the MB quality issue revolves around a lot of little things that go wrong-not major safety items. Things like cracked steering wheel stereo control buttons, fuel tank sensors that act up, a bulb socket that arcs & burns the contacts, etc. Not major things, but still, PITAs.

 

[boywonder]

With any luck, they will; at minimum, they should be putting the slightly more efficient LS2 in them... its not like we don't have LS2's being shipped into town here already (for the SSR's built across the street)

Speaking of the next Z06.......



7.0L (427cid) putting out 500+ hp.

SPECS:

------------------------------------------------------------------

0 -> 60 in 3.8 sec.

Top Speed 200 MPH

2,900 #'s

5.7 #'s/HP



Chassis & Suspension development by Pratt & Miller,

Aluminum Hydroformed frame produced by DANA

- 345/30x19 Rears

- 6 piston Front, 4 piston Rear Brake Calipers

- Cross Drilled (cast and camfered) Rotors (possibly Brembo)



Engine Development by KaTech

To be hand built by new HP Engine Plant



LS7 427ci/ 7.0L. 500HP/500 Ft Lbs (512 HP derated to 500HP)

- 2 OHV (3 OHV not necessary for target HP)

- Raced based CNC ported Aluminum Head with 70cc chambers

- 11.0:1 CR

- 46 mm (1.81") Titanium Intake valve

- 41 mm (1.61") Na filled Exhaust Valve

- 104.8 mm Bore (4.125") , 101.6 mm Stroke (4.0") Aluminum block

- Forgrd Crank

- Forged 6 bolt main Bearing Caps

- Titanium Rods

- Cast Aluminum Flat Top Pistons

- 0.591" Lift Cam (15 mm)

- Dry Sump

- 90 mm Throttle Body on Composite manifold

- Ram Air

 

[SilverLexus]

And speaking from experience, the MB quality issue revolves around a lot of little things that go wrong-not major safety items. Things like cracked steering wheel stereo control buttons, fuel tank sensors that act up, a bulb socket that arcs & burns the contacts, etc. Not major things, but still, PITAs.

I'm sorry but that's just not accurate. The reliability issues around Mercedes also involve major systems. I'm a fan of some of the models but there are REAL quality control problems at Benz.



http://www.detnews.com/2002/insiders/0202/26/insider-426466.htm



http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2002/03/18/mercedes.htm



http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0412/17/autos-36138.htm