Is this the modern Edsel?

"Pyrochazm" (pyrochazm) 01/25/2017 at 19:30 • Filed to: None

5

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RCR did a mini documentary on the Edsel:

It got me thinking about what would constitute a modern version of the Edsel story, and I landed on the 200/Dart twins.

While not truly a failure, Chrysler something like a billion on their development only to have most people go “meh”. It was only produced for a couple of years before they said screw it.

Anyone else have a modern Edsel story? It doesn’t need to be car related.

TheHondaBro > Pyrochazm 01/25/2017 at 19:38

29

Hold the phone.

Hold the fucking phone.

Hold the goddamn motherfucking phone.

Fucking FCA spent a billion dollars...

A BILLION DOLLARS

On the Dart/200 twins?

On two cars that are unequivocally shit?

Where the fuck did all that money go?!

Brickman > TheHondaBro 01/25/2017 at 19:42

4

And its based on the Alfa Giulietta platform. Not like Fiat had to engineer an entirely new platform.

pip bip - choose Corrour > TheHondaBro 01/25/2017 at 19:46

3

coffee and donuts?

E90M3 > TheHondaBro 01/25/2017 at 19:47

6

I heard this guy was in charge of that billion, so probably only about $10 on the car and the other $999,999,990.00 on, well I’m sure you can guess.

TheHondaBro > E90M3 01/25/2017 at 19:48

1

By the looks of it, a blue Corvette.

Land_Yacht_225 > Pyrochazm 01/25/2017 at 20:05

8

The real shame is that almost anybody who spent time in one of these had it as a rental car, in rental car spec. Shitty Dart SXTs and 200 Limiteds, maybe a 200S, with bad interiors, crap radios, and no options. The transmissions can’t take abuse, and the 2.4 tigershark they all have is an unwilling engine. If they could have really exposed the public to the Dart Aero Turbo or the 200C 3.6, they might have survived. They still would have been shitty FCA products with awful reliability like the rest of the lineup, but at least in their top powertrain combinations they were adequately satisfactory. But these just don’t exist in the wild in top trim because they would sit for months on dealer lots, unsold, because who’s gonna pay $35,000 for a not-a-300 Chrysler?

jimz > TheHondaBro 01/25/2017 at 20:10

7

If you think the Dart and 200 are “unequivocally shit” you need to be sentenced to drive a Citation, or a Vega, or any British car made from WWII up to 1989.

JeepJeremy > Land_Yacht_225 01/25/2017 at 20:11

2

I had a 200 as a rental. It was hands down, bar none, without a doubt: the worst car I’ve ever driven.

IanZ - limited-slip indifferential > E90M3 01/25/2017 at 20:13

1

From the waist up: Italian mobster

From the waist down: Little Lord Fauntleroy’s summerwear

Pyrochazm > TheHondaBro 01/25/2017 at 21:17

4

Yeah I couldn’t believe it myself.

Insert Edgy Username Here > Pyrochazm 01/25/2017 at 22:57

2

I actually got to drive a 200S 3.6 back when it first came out.

Pros: Made angry, almost Italian noises when pushed; the sat-nav interface didn’t cause me to punch the dashboard in frustration; the seats were supportive; it had fancy lights inside; the steering was light and on-center; it felt pretty well made; still was miles ahead of the Sebring and Avenger

Cons: Torque steer. And body roll. So much torque steer and body roll; the ride was harsh, and in the poorly-damped harsh, not the sporty harsh; the brake pedal felt like mush; the transmission was always busy, even in manual mode; it reeked of industrial adhesives; did I mention the body roll? no? what about the torque steer?

In short, it felt like Chrysler set out to build a proper mid-size family sedan that could beat Honda and Toyota at their own game, got halfway through building something great, got distracted by something else and forgot about it, and then remembered what it was supposed to be doing and half-assedly rushed the unfinished prototype to production before anyone noticed they were goofing off.  

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > TheHondaBro 01/27/2017 at 10:48

1

Consider what they started with. A Dodge Caliber and a Chrysler Sebring.

Carbon Fiber Sasquatch > Pyrochazm 01/27/2017 at 11:14

0

I think you’re on to something but I really wanted to say that your avatar is awesome and I’m jealous that I didn’t think of it

elRobRex > Land_Yacht_225 01/27/2017 at 11:15

0

I wouldn’t pay $35k for a 300 after renting one last month.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > E90M3 01/27/2017 at 11:34

2

is that Macklemore? Dude must have bought all of the thrift shops in the continental US.

In a Mini; let them mock me as My Mini Countryman is higher than you > E90M3 01/27/2017 at 11:52

0

I want his suit

Benny0407 > Pyrochazm 01/27/2017 at 12:51

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My sister has a Dart Aero turbo with the 6 spd manual, touchscreen radio, and the TFT display, she loves the car. Already has it paid off and has no plans to replace it anytime soon. I’ve driven it a few times, and I enjoy driving it, hard to see why it did so poorly from my point of view.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > E90M3 01/27/2017 at 14:01

2

Pretty sure he should have shaved his legs for that outfit. Commit or don’t, ya know?

2014Challenger > TheHondaBro 01/27/2017 at 14:35

4

I honestly don’t know where that number is coming from and I guarantee it is nowhere near that high.

They DID invest 1 billion into the Auburn Hills plant to BUILD the 200 at. But they needed the plant for other vehicles.

OttoMaddox > jimz 01/27/2017 at 16:18

0

“If you think the Dart and 200 are “unequivocally shit” you need to be sentenced to drive a Citation, or a Vega, or any British car made from WWII up to 1989 today.”

FIFY.

Fingfangfoom > JeepJeremy 01/27/2017 at 20:38

3

It’s one car removed from the top spot for me. I once had to rent a fucking Caliber for a weekend and they might as well have given me an STD.

JeepJeremy > Fingfangfoom 01/27/2017 at 20:41

1

I hear horror stories about the Caliber!

dogisbadob > Pyrochazm 01/27/2017 at 22:22

0

would the new coke qualify?

evilfacelessturtle (Hooning a Ford is Domestic Abuse) > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 01/28/2017 at 00:13

1

False and false. They are both based on Fiat’s CUSW platform.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > evilfacelessturtle (Hooning a Ford is Domestic Abuse) 01/28/2017 at 00:16

0

I meant spiritually not literally.

Master Cylinder > Fingfangfoom 01/28/2017 at 06:39

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Same here, except for the car occupying the top spot - my “worst car ever” was a rental-spec FWD CVT Jeep Patriot. Which Budget somehow tried to explain was an upgrade from the Lincoln MKS that I had actually reserved.

That car was so bad it nearly ruined a whole vacation.

Fingfangfoom > Master Cylinder 01/28/2017 at 08:33

0

I never rented /driven patriot, but I’ve been in one and don’t doubt you for a second.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > TheHondaBro 01/28/2017 at 12:04

1

A billion dollars on cars that were derived from another car, no less!

PyramidHat > E90M3 01/29/2017 at 02:06

0

Fancy blue velvet jacket and shorts?

Scott > Pyrochazm 01/29/2017 at 15:35

0

It seemed like for the first year or 2 when the Dart came out it was everywhere. I love Alfas and since underneath it was basically an Alfa, I was tempted, but in the end, the badge being wrong was too big of a flaw, right from the start. Now it seems like they are all off the road, I hardly ever see them. Not sure if that’s because I am in NY and they all just rusted away. Like I said they are Alfa’s underneath so very possible.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > E90M3 02/27/2017 at 00:34

1

Those shorts are fantastic

Zach Roether > Fingfangfoom 05/29/2018 at 21:39

0

Yep. Dodge Caliber. Still the worst rental car I’ve ever had.