Young business woman's view: Understated would not be the operational word when you see these two parked in your driveway. Their looks demand your attention. Even the interiors, although much less outspoken than the exteriors, are not for the trendy. Call it meat and potatoes, but elegant it aint. Still, the ride is fine and the highway miles fly by without much notice.
There is a lot to like and a lot to consider with these newcomers. Driving in town is a different experience as the side and back visibility is impinged upon by the wide C pillars. The ignition key fits into the dash, which is always nice, and the gauges are easy to read. The heat and stereo controls don't fall as readily to hand. The stalk for the cruise control is easily confused with the turn signal stalk, although you push it in a different direction.
The one area that business people are going to appreciate is the strong position DaimlerChrysler's pricing policy has placed on sales. These are what I call "peg" cars. The set a pricing standard that others manufacturers must meet to be competitive. There are a few of these cars such as the base Honda Accord, the Scion C, the Ford Escape hybrid, the turbocharged Neon, and the base Toyota van that serve as price points that are difficult to match. For example, the Ford Escape is almost priced the same as a loaded Toyota Prius and offers much more room and even an all wheel drive option.
However, despite the excellent values, these rear wheel drive car of the year candidates are not my dream cars for three reasons. First, the image they convey is too bold for me. Secondly, even though they ride smoothly, have good balance, and appear to be well built, I don't need that much cargo room and I don't like the side visibility issue every time I change lanes.
Young working male's view: You can clearly tell that the DaimlerChrylser marriage has produced an interesting, but not elegant, offspring. The 300C looks like a Dodge Ram truck mated with a Mercedes E Class. Anyway, I dropped the genetics class so I might be off a touch with that insight.
In a nutshell, both cars ride on independent suspensions that earn their keep by steadying these 4000 pounders in all but the most extreme situations . The wide tires and bulk of the cars seem to push most bumps back into the pavement and only a nervous twitching when the tires try to relay messages from diamond cut concrete highways prevents you from feeling totally isolated from the road. The acceleration for both cars was not brisk, despite the HEMI's reputation. I figure it takes over six seconds to get to 60 mph in the 300C and about nine in the six cylinder Dodge Magnum. That is fast enough for me when driving such large cars, but for the speed challenged the new 425 horsepower HEMI should be the cure.
Of the two I really liked the Magnum the most. It had a nasty top chop look, held all my sports equipment and other unused items such as a nearly unopened genetics textbook, and was fairly frugal on regular fuel. The optional sound system is quite good and the safety equipment typical for this segment with advanced airbag system with front and side-curtains available, anti-lock brakes, all-speed traction control system, and electronic stability program.
Family conference: American cars are clearly making a comeback and Chrysler is doing more than its share. We really like the new offerings, especially when you keep the option list under control.
There is a lot to like and a lot to consider with these newcomers. Driving in town is a different experience as the side and back visibility is impinged upon by the wide C pillars. The ignition key fits into the dash, which is always nice, and the gauges are easy to read. The heat and stereo controls don't fall as readily to hand. The stalk for the cruise control is easily confused with the turn signal stalk, although you push it in a different direction.
The one area that business people are going to appreciate is the strong position DaimlerChrysler's pricing policy has placed on sales. These are what I call "peg" cars. The set a pricing standard that others manufacturers must meet to be competitive. There are a few of these cars such as the base Honda Accord, the Scion C, the Ford Escape hybrid, the turbocharged Neon, and the base Toyota van that serve as price points that are difficult to match. For example, the Ford Escape is almost priced the same as a loaded Toyota Prius and offers much more room and even an all wheel drive option.
However, despite the excellent values, these rear wheel drive car of the year candidates are not my dream cars for three reasons. First, the image they convey is too bold for me. Secondly, even though they ride smoothly, have good balance, and appear to be well built, I don't need that much cargo room and I don't like the side visibility issue every time I change lanes.
Young working male's view: You can clearly tell that the DaimlerChrylser marriage has produced an interesting, but not elegant, offspring. The 300C looks like a Dodge Ram truck mated with a Mercedes E Class. Anyway, I dropped the genetics class so I might be off a touch with that insight.
In a nutshell, both cars ride on independent suspensions that earn their keep by steadying these 4000 pounders in all but the most extreme situations . The wide tires and bulk of the cars seem to push most bumps back into the pavement and only a nervous twitching when the tires try to relay messages from diamond cut concrete highways prevents you from feeling totally isolated from the road. The acceleration for both cars was not brisk, despite the HEMI's reputation. I figure it takes over six seconds to get to 60 mph in the 300C and about nine in the six cylinder Dodge Magnum. That is fast enough for me when driving such large cars, but for the speed challenged the new 425 horsepower HEMI should be the cure.
Of the two I really liked the Magnum the most. It had a nasty top chop look, held all my sports equipment and other unused items such as a nearly unopened genetics textbook, and was fairly frugal on regular fuel. The optional sound system is quite good and the safety equipment typical for this segment with advanced airbag system with front and side-curtains available, anti-lock brakes, all-speed traction control system, and electronic stability program.
Family conference: American cars are clearly making a comeback and Chrysler is doing more than its share. We really like the new offerings, especially when you keep the option list under control.
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