Coolness Comes of Age In spite of my wife's claim that my sense of fashion makes no sense at all, I stand firm in my belief that the 1960s produced the coolest cars ever - at least domestically. Ford's Thunderbird, Buick's Riviera, Lincoln's Continental and Cadillac's Coupe Deville just oozed coolness, along with the Beatles, JFK and Bond - James Bond.
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| As a major fan of 1960s cars, I was more than happy to put Chrysler's new full-size, rear-drive 300 through the rigors of a road test. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
The hulking automotive masses of cosmopolitan panache were almost exclusively propelled by their rear wheels and powered by massive V8 iron (GM introduced the front-wheel drive Cadillac Eldorado and Oldsmobile Toronado in the 1966 model year). It's well known that history repeats itself, as my wardrobe is testament to, however, Chrysler's case history is repeating in the form of rear-wheel drive and tremendous V8 power. But before sending your heart into palpitations, this review puts the milder version of Chrysler's new 300 through the rigors of a road test. So take a deep breath, relax the neck muscles and extinguish those visions of tire burning acceleration.
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| In a world of uninspired bar-of-soap auto designs, the chopped roofline and long horizontal hood of the 300 is a breath of fresh air. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
In 1955 the automotive world was set ablaze when Chrysler issued its first HEMI powered car, the C-300. Paying homage to its elders today's
300C, and to a lesser extent the unlettered 300, perpetuates the performance and sophistication of the original "lettered" Chrysler. And like its predecessors the all-new 300s accomplish such laudable tasks with a healthy dose of foreboding style.
Sinister: That's the adjective that came to mind the first time I laid eyes on the new 300 in the skin. This beast looks like something villainous from the set of Batman, and I don't mean that negatively. In a world of uninspired bar-of-soap auto designs, the chopped roofline and long horizontal hood of the 300 imparts a bad-guy image that stands out like a mobster at choir practice. You know the guy I mean, standing in the shadows wearing a dark pinstriped suit, carrying a violin case.
