The 300C Touring Is The Most Jalop Car You've Never Heard Of

"Egoods" (egoods) 09/03/2013 at 03:00 • Filed to: None

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So we started discussing it in my previous post about upgrading a Dodge Magnum to the Gen 2 LH platform design language, but since it seemed nobody really knows much about this vehicle I'd share the story of how it came to be, and why it's the absolute most Jalop car produced by a US manufacturer, and many of you (unless you're from the UK, Mainland Europe, or Japan) had no idea it existed!

So what is it? Well it's the 300C Touring, and it started life as a Dodge Magnum, but beyond the doors, and B/C pillars it's all either specific to the 300 "estate" or from a 300C (like the front clip). The early models were built right alongside the standard 300C in the great white north (Canada), but in 2007 the assembly went to Magna Steyr in Austria. They're much more then a Magnum with a 300C front clip, the rear lighting is more to the Chryco design language, and the options packages were from a 300C not a Dodge. So they offered the upgraded interior. They were also available in RHD.

OK so it's a Euro spec wagon made by an American manufacturer that we can't get in the US, sound fairly Jalop so far right? Well it gets better! Engine options were the wheezy 3.5L V6, 5.7L Hemi, 6.1L Hemi (in the 2006-07 SRT8) and the only one that matters, a 3.0L V6 Mercedes Diesel! Capable of 40+mpg on the highway. It has 215 HP and 372 Lb-Ft of torque. With the diesel mill it could do the 0-60 run in under 8 seconds and continue on all the way to 140mph! And with that much torque I'm sure it's a burnout monster.

Could it get any better? Yes, yes it can. From 2006-2007 they did offer an SRT8 variant, good luck finding one... I certainly can't. I can assume this is due to gas prices overseas, and cost thanks to huge taxes on cars like that. But, You'll notice the picture at the top looks surprisingly like it has the SRT package. Well that's because it does. Similar to the Audi S-line it's more show then go, but in 2008-09 they offered the 300C Touring CRD SRT-Design, so it's got the aforementioned V6 Diesel, the SRT body kit, slightly lowered, and SRT interior accoutrements. Is it blasphemous to sully the SRT name by not having a fire breathing engine and sport suspension? Probably, but the diesel is no slouch, and 40MPG... I'll club a baby seal for MPG in that range from an engine with those numbers!

Here's the SRT8 Version, compare to the SRT-Design version at the top of this post (externally they're almost identical):

I know what you're thinking, how hard could it be to import a RHD 300C Touring SRT-Design? Well, I've actually been looking in to this for some time, and while it's relatively easy compared to importing most cars newer then 25 years old, it's still not easy, and certainly not cheap. Right now a mint version, loaded, sells in the UK for ~$30,000USD, getting it road legal for the US once it's been imported is about another $20,000, take on all the fees, taxes, VAT, shipping, finding insurance, and you're well north of $50k. If I could get my hands on an SRT8 I would, but I feel IF I could find one, it would be extremely expensive, and that would bump the costs well north of $80k... screw that! I've told myself since I first found out these exist (my 2008 trip to London) if I could import one for less then $50k (every option possible, and super low miles) I'd do it... that day has yet to come, and it may not ever come.

So to wrap it up, why did Chrysler do this? Some of this is facts I know, some of it is extrapolation. The markets in the UK and Japan LOVE wagons, almost as much as we do, but the Dodge brand isn't really marketed very well outside North America, so a Dodge Magnum wouldn't sell well. A Chrysler, while still not a beloved brand, has better brand recognition, and is considered more "up-market". They only offered it in the 300C and SRT trim levels, adding to the up-market persona. I haven't been able to confirm this but the SRT8 variant appears to have been offered in 2006-07 only, switching to the SRT-Design in 2008-09, it's safe to assume the SRT8 didn't sell well thanks to the gas guzzler 6.1L V8 under the hood. Overall the car sold very well in the UK and Japan, at least by Chrysler's overseas standards, roughly 10,000 units per year in the UK, I haven't been able to nail down exact numbers in other countries thanks to the language barrier. Finally, the diesel option is a no-brainer, North America has a stigma about diesel that the rest of the world does not, and with the above quoted performance numbers it's simple to see the market potential outside the US.

So there you have it! All it's missing is a manual gearbox, but we live in an imperfect world! How do I know as much as I do about the vehicle? I'm an obsessive Jalop that saw one in the UK and has been mildly in love since then, I'm sure you all understand!

offroadkarter > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 03:03

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what... what do I do if I have heard of this?

do I panic?

GhostZ > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 03:04

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I argue that $50,000 would buy you a used 300C, and a Volvo 240 wagon to follow it around to carry your junk (your hand-welded exhaust pipes, obscure 60s valve covers, unlabeled wrenches, Citroen DS suspension fluid, the usual stuff), which is obviously the more Jalop choice!

Egoods > offroadkarter 09/03/2013 at 03:06

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Please do! Or consider yourself as much of an LX platform fan as myself (it's more of an incidental love). The "you" I used in the article refers to many of the Jalopnik readers, certainly not all. I know, shame on me and my generalizations!

Egoods > GhostZ 09/03/2013 at 03:07

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I certainly wouldn't argue the merits of what is and is not Jalop, that's very un-Jalop of me. I agree, but I want a fully loaded 300C Wagon with a 42mpg diesel engine and RHD... because I do, and I feel that to be very Jalop.

offroadkarter > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 03:09

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my brother has a 06 R/T (R/T - P I think, its been a while since I've had to look that stuff up) so I know a bit about the LX world. I remember hearing about the 300C touring a while ago when I saw the front clip swaps may people were doing. Its to bad this wasn't offered in the US, even if it went the way of the magnum it would still be cool to have as an option.

Egoods > offroadkarter 09/03/2013 at 03:17

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Excuse my LH slip in my previous comment, it's late... I'm tired...

I had an 07 R/T AWD with a Procharger supercharger, and pretty extensive brake and suspension upgrades. I sold it, honestly I was bored with it, and wanted something with a nicer interior, so I bought a 2013 Charger R/T AWD with all the options, and so far I friggen love it. I also own a 2009 3.5L AWD (it's soooo slow) that we use as a spare car, and my father has a 2011 300C AWD. My mother still has access to company vehicles even though she's retired from Chrysler so she has a 2013 300C... again AWD. Aside from the fact that I grew up in a Chrysler family (though I'm a 60s Chevy guy), they turned out to be the perfect vehicle for us, great for the Michigan winters thanks to the AWD (we travel north quite a bit for skiing in the winter), spacious, decent on fuel mileage (I average ~25mpg in my Charger), and they offer them with meaty V8s. What's not to love? Ok... don't answer that there's plenty to not love!

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 03:26

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huh. They're not really rare in Australia. I see a couple of them every day on my commute.

The SRT-8 model was offered here as late as 2008 for the Touring and 2011 for the sedan.

Egoods > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard 09/03/2013 at 03:31

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Well there you have it. Most of my info on it was posted from the UK market perspective, since it's where I have gearhead friends, and where I did the most research. Of course you Australians got the best...

offroadkarter > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 03:31

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Ha I kind of figured the LH was a slip up

The last time my forum had a meet at englishtown raceway park their was a mopar event going on, and two SRT8 chargers were running back to back 11's the entire time. I believe one was on nitrous and the other was procharged. I do wish the panther cars could hit 14's stock like the R/T's can, one thing I'll give to dodge is they were able to get the fat sedans moving some respectable times. I also wish panthers had large rotors like the LX cars, but my 1 set of factory rotors and pads, turned once (84,000 miles in total) outlasted 3 sets of rotors on my brothers charger. So I'm glad mine don't warp all the time lol

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 03:37

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yeah, it's not like we're spoiled for choice when it comes to RWD wagons :P

They've come down a whole lot in price, if it wasn't for the poor (abysmal) fuel economy I'd think about getting one.

Egoods > offroadkarter 09/03/2013 at 03:37

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Warping front rotors was a massive problem I had before I did the big brake upgrade (6 piston fronts, 4 piston rears), and they're notorious for blowing through pads/rotors. I used mine more for road racing/track-days but I've run it a Cecil county a few times and was easily in the 11s, I think with more practice/less fear of blowing it up I could've easily broke the 10s mark. I had to be careful with launches thanks to it being AWD, even though I had it specially tuned by a shop in Texas (whos name escapes me at 3:30am!), nothing is bullet proof and I was always fearful of the center diff going all *boom clatter clatter* on me, and at the time it was my daily.

offroadkarter > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 03:43

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I tried to talk my brother into the SRT brake setup but since his charger is at 120k miles and climbing (he got it with 10k back in 2008) I don't think he really cares anymore. He's just driving it until it blows up. All he has on it is a AFE CAI, Diablosport tune, stock mufflers and resonators deleted and super 44's in place of the resonators. He also added the factory sat nav and Uconnect mirror.

offroadkarter > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 03:56

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Ah, here is the shot I wanted to find

Aside from the factory sat nav, or factory brembos, or factory projectors, I would love to have a 5spd over my 4spd.... bah

Egoods > offroadkarter 09/03/2013 at 03:57

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I went with a Brembo setup on my Magnum, and they were fantastic, I did have a failure point issue with one of the front calipers (believed it to be manufacturing defect). Brembo actually sent a technician out to my house to look at it and see what the issue was... he was even nice enough to bring the replacement caliper with him to swap it. I suppose you get what you pay for! I loved that car... on days where I was carving back roads or at a track-day. I even loved driving it on my daily commute, until after a few years it started to wear thin on me. The exhaust was loud, the suspension was stiff, and unfortunately Dodge really didn't do a very good job with interior appointment back then. I desired a more driveable car, I drove a friends 2013 Charger, and ordered mine the next day. It has every option I could get, and still has enough power to be fun, I'll buy a track rat in the near future but the days of me driving a track car daily are long gone. Unfortunately the older I get the more I learn you can't have your cake and eat it to.

offroadkarter > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 04:02

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Agreed completely on the interior, while the R/T seats are really comfortable, the rest of the interior is, for a lack of better words, built like crap. The new LX platform cars have really come a long way in quality and interior.

Egoods > offroadkarter 09/03/2013 at 04:03

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My 3.5L Charger has a 4spd... it's hell. I feel like the car just needs an extra gear so it can get in the power band more quickly, right now from a dead stop a person can walk faster then that thing accelerates! Getting my ass handed to me by a girl in a V6 mustang was a sad... sad day, and the reason it's an extra car I only drive when I have to.

offroadkarter > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 04:11

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What did dodge even use for a 4spd RWD? I only know about the awful 41TE in FWD cars

Egoods > offroadkarter 09/03/2013 at 04:26

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I haven't the faintest idea... I tried doing some searching but I can't find the exact transmission code, just lots of posts on forums complaining about it!

Egoods > offroadkarter 09/03/2013 at 04:29

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Actually, upon further research you're technically correct it IS in fact a 5 speed, though it's often referred to as a 4-speed (that's how it was sold to me), the 5th gear is an overdrive gear. It's a Mercedes NAG1 Transmission.

duurtlang > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 04:32

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Why not get one from continental Europe? It'll be LHD. Here are 297 300C wagons with a diesel, the site is in English. If you want a low mileage one, with <100k km (<62k miles) there are 109 diesel wagons left.

Egoods > duurtlang 09/03/2013 at 04:34

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I specified I want the SRT-Design trim level as well... Those are still in the $30-40k range. Also, I kind of want RHD (because it's unique). And to add to all of that I have friends in the UK that can look at vehicles for me/have them inspected, I can't do that on mainland Europe.

Egoods > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard 09/03/2013 at 04:58

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I don't care where you are SRT vehicles really don't hold there value for very long (except for a few of the Vipers I suppose), I wouldn't even consider buying a brand new SRT, I'd go one year old used with low miles and save myself 20% or more on the cost!

offroadkarter > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 05:13

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oh okay so it has to be the same one in the hemi cars no?

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 05:39

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yeah you're not kidding. They've dropped to around $40k for a touring and cheaper for the sedan.

For the same price I could get a VE HSV Clubsport R8 which has the same power and comes in a manual. (even if it would make me a massive bogan)

Rory > Egoods 09/03/2013 at 06:10

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They are loved by taxi drivers here in Ireland, as well as limo services obviously. One thing I have noticed is , prices for early models seems to have come down quite a bit. This CRD estate is selling for around 10,000 euro with 50,000 miles
When the Mustang becomes too small or annoying , I may consider one.

duurtlang > Rory 09/03/2013 at 07:57

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In the Netherlands as well. Most 300Cs I see have taxi plates, bought second hand because of the steep depreciation. They almost always have the diesel engine.

Rory > duurtlang 09/03/2013 at 09:32

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I would love one but there are very few low milage good condition cars. They do work well as taxis though

Egoods > Rory 09/03/2013 at 23:47

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This is my issue, for $50K USD, I'm not really looking for a 50,000 mile taxi... I'm more interested in the guy or gal that kept it in there garage and drove it on the weekends and it has >20,000miles. I know it's a pipe dream but so be it.

Rory > Egoods 09/04/2013 at 07:44

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There are a few privately owned wagons here in Ireland , but my best bet is to look in Germany. They tend to have a better selection , tend to be better at maintaining cars and with the large number of US army bases and US import and export businesses , there is a better probability of getting one over for a good deal.
Yes it may be a dream , but if something did pop up for a good price .. it could be worth investigating.
Plus driving a rare car is awesome , feels nice !

The World of Vee > Egoods 09/04/2013 at 14:02

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importing one would be cool but for the jalops with realistic budgets, swapping a 300c nose on a magnum isn't very difficult.

and interior trim pieces and dash are all swappable too

(if someone has information contrary, feel free...but this is what I've gathered..yes I wanted one lol)

Sonex > Egoods 09/04/2013 at 14:03

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As far as I can see, if you change out the bumpers...this is a Magnum.

Nothing too exciting here

thebigbossyboss > Egoods 09/04/2013 at 14:07

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Hang on....they built a car in Canada that couldn`t be sold in the USA? What in the hell for? Could it be sold in Canada? I live here and have never seen one ever.

Egoods > thebigbossyboss 09/05/2013 at 00:19

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No, it was not sold in Canada, they just produced it in Canada... I know, it doesn't really make sense.

Egoods > The World of Vee 09/05/2013 at 00:21

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Some of the options available aren't realistic to swap out, like the adaptive cruise control, and I get it, it's a lot of money to spend on a jazzed up Magnum, but part of the appeal is also RHD and Merc Diesel, also having a car that came from the factory like that is even more appealing.

The World of Vee > Egoods 09/05/2013 at 11:52

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oh most definitely I agree. I'm just saying if you're into the SRT-8 but want the chrysler front end, then you don't have much modification to do