Good Car or Bad Car?: 300M

"CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever" (carsoffortlangley) 09/13/2019 at 11:16 • Filed to: None

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I saw a 300M this morning on my way to work and it got me thinking. Was this a good car? I was about 7 when it came out so I wasn’t exposed to the marketing/reviews.

I am pretty sure that they sold it like the 300C later. Refined with muscle. What does Oppo know about these?

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 11:20

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Neither. it is Car.

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 11:21

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You actually don’t HAVE to take the wheel off to get the battery out....

Apparently these are a nightmare to work on yourself 

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 11:24

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opel omega?

never had one...but ive heard they get pretty expensive when they need anything done to them

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 09/13/2019 at 11:25

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wait... im not sure thats an omega...

Ssfancyfresh > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 11:25

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I remember thinking these were super fancy when I was a kid. It’s counterpart, t he Dodge Intrepid was everywhere. Chrysler also sold another version, Concorde, that I perceived to be the car for oooooooooold people.

The 300M was more rare. And it’s design was pretty striking. I think there was a performance version as well.

And the most rare, Eagle Vision TSi, let’s not forget about that!

jimz > MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) 09/13/2019 at 11:28

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you’re thinking of the Sebring/Stratus/Avenger/200.  The battery in the LH cars was under the air box.

jimz > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 11:29

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they were “fine.” the 3.5 V6 was solid, and the 42LE transaxle wasn’t the strongest but kept up on maintenance with the correct trans fluid  they’re usually fine.

jimz > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 09/13/2019 at 11:30

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Chrysler 300M.  Part of the LH car family.  Was originally supposed to be the 2nd gen Eagle Vision until Chrysler pulled the plug on the brand.

Dasupersprint - base trim is enough > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 11:31

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I think it was meant to replace the Eagle Vision but the Eagle brand was killed just before. The Chrysler brand already had the Concorde and LHS that were the same car

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Ssfancyfresh 09/13/2019 at 11:33

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We had an intrepid (Chrysler ).  I thought it was sweet

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > jimz 09/13/2019 at 11:33

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That’s much easier. 

Textured Soy Protein > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 11:34

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The 300M was originally supposed to be the second-gen Eagle Vision but was repurposed into the 300M when Mopar dropped the Eagle brand.

At the time you had the Dodge Intrepid and Chrysler Concorde as the mainstream LH cars, with the Concorde being a little nicer. The LHS was a fancier version of the Concorde. The 300M was their attempt at an “import figher,” and 10 inches shorter in length, but that was all from trimming the front & rear overhangs.

jimz > Ssfancyfresh 09/13/2019 at 11:35

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nah, the New Yorker was the old person’s version. Probably Iacocca’s last bit of influence:

my dad worked as a wrench at a Chrysler-Jeep-Eagle dealer back then; when the LH cars were released (a big change from the boxy, stodgy K- and M- cars they replaced) Chrysler corporate begged dealers not to sell these with add-on fake landau or convertible tops. Dealers were like “fuck you, I can’t hear you over the $1,500 profit we get from installing them!”

needless to say, they did install them, and they looked about as ridiculous as you’d think.  and most certainly the old duffers driving them thought they were stylin’.

and 100 more > jimz 09/13/2019 at 11:35

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The newer Avenger kept the battery there as well.

Ssfancyfresh > jimz 09/13/2019 at 11:38

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I forgot about the new yorker.

Concorde was for cheap old people. New Yorker for f awn- say old people.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > jimz 09/13/2019 at 11:39

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first shot just made me think omega

i know a lot of cars over there are just rebadged opels (or maybe the other way around)

think i might be wrong on this one tho

jimz > and 100 more 09/13/2019 at 11:39

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that’s because it was a moderately-modified Chrysler J platform, not the Mitsubishi one everyone thinks it was. 

and 100 more > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 11:39

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So, funny thing about this car... they were FWD, but they had a longitudinal engine layout, like a Toronado or a VW Fox.

Dunno if that’s good or bad, but I’m sure Doug Demuro would love the quirki ness of it.

someassemblyrequired > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 11:40

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They were about 10in shorter than the Concorde - and in a nod to Porsche cost more.     

jimz > and 100 more 09/13/2019 at 11:45

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that was because they were built in a plant they got when they bought AMC (Brampton, ON) which at the time of the purchase was building the Renault 25-based Eagle Premier.  To minimize the cost of extensive re-tooling of the plant, they kept the same longitudinal FWD layout.  

DipodomysDeserti > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 09/13/2019 at 11:53

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That’s a Cadillac Catera over here. My grandma had one. Had a pretty peppy V6 in it.

Goggles Pizzano > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 11:54

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To kill time while I waited I bought the C&D and went to a coffee shop on Spring Garden Rd. in Halifax. It was the same magazine with the Shelby Series II unveil. Oddly, I can’t remember what I was waiting for.

/priorities

The way I remember it, it was a magazine star but sales weren’t very good. I think the hype was more for the prospect of European sales for an American company. It was only slightly sporty. At the time it had very good power and amenities but why would someone buy this over another LH car? Or a base BMW 5 series...

Related (only in that I rec ently saw one but didn’t take a pic):

Didn’t know it existed.

and 100 more > jimz 09/13/2019 at 11:55

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If someone hands you lemons... make lemonade? Or sell lemons?

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > DipodomysDeserti 09/13/2019 at 11:56

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yeah the higher end engines made those things not slow

fintail > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 12:00

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My 83 year old uncle has one of these, original owner, babied.

Transmissions would give me pause, but I might be paranoid given the era.

SiennaMan > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 09/13/2019 at 12:03

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The rebadged Opel from that era that has a similar side profile would likely be the Chevy Lumina..

jimz > and 100 more 09/13/2019 at 12:07

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?

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > and 100 more 09/13/2019 at 12:12

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When life hands you lemons you lemon.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Goggles Pizzano 09/13/2019 at 12:14

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I believe this car is  part of GMs plan to make money by taking European cars, slapping an American badge on them, and then selling them to China.

ihm96 > Goggles Pizzano 09/13/2019 at 12:17

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The cascada is so cramped and tiny, but then it feels like the exterior is huge when you’re inside. Awful, awful car. I had to use a trade in once for a several hour drive, it was terrible and little fun could be had by beating on it

MrSnrub > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 12:17

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I thought these had a pretty decent interior for the era, at least by Detroit 3 standards

duurtlang > Goggles Pizzano 09/13/2019 at 12:47

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The 300M was available in Europe. Only the 300M, no other versions. They sold a few. Obviously, it wasn’t competitive. I would guess; shitty interior quality, too thirsty and expensive to run , too crude, too wallowy, too large, insane depreciation . I have not read any reviews though.

It’s been ages since I’ve seen one.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > jimz 09/13/2019 at 13:37

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kept up on maintenance with the correct trans fluid they’re usually fine.

And this is where pretty much EVERY Chrysler buyer goes wrong.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 13:39

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Depends on who owned them and how they were cared for.

Taken care of they were great cars. They got respectable mileage, were incredibly comfortable for cruising yet offered decent handling, and the 3.5L had enough grunt throughout the rpm range to make them kinda fun.

AMC/Renauledge > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 14:03

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As others have noted, the 300M was the sporty version of the 2nd generation LH cars. It was originally supposed to be the 2nd generation Eagle Vision, but Chrysler decided that they’d already missed enough opportunities squandering what little brand identity Eagle had, and killed the name off entirely after a small run of Talons for the 1998 model year.

The extra piece in the puzzle was that the 300M was designed specifically to improve Chrysler’s fortunes in Europe . They lopped some overhang off the back of the 2nd generation Concorde/LHS to make the 300M a “five meter car,” a size more suited to European roads. Unfortunately, the lack of quality, refinement, handling, and the oversized and terribly fragile   2.7L V6 (the only engine Europe got) were the last things European buyers wanted. So it flopped in Europe. Predictably.

When the 300M launched in America, enthusiasts hated it because it took up the mantle of the letter-series Chrysler 300s of 1955-65. Chrysler came up with the “300" name for 1955 because the original car had 300hp. Later 300 letter cars had up to 425hp. In contrast, the 300M was a FWD 3.5L V6 family sedan with 253hp. Blah.

It sold pretty well in the US at first and even snagged MT’s 1999 Car of the Year award, but Chrysler pretty much refused to update the car in the 6 model years it was on sale. There was a “300M Special” performance upgrade that launched in mid-2002, but it added only 2hp and 3lb-ft of torque to the mix, as well as subtle ground effects and interior trim. After about 2001 or so, the car fell off most people’s radar.

My understanding is that the LH cars of both generations suffer with electrical maladies and weak transmissions. Their survival rate is quite low, but I’d imagine the cars that have survived are well cared-for.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > duurtlang 09/13/2019 at 14:13

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They were insanely comfortable with decent interiors for the time, got respectable fuel economy, rode amazing while maintaining stable handling. They weren’t all that large either, being 10" shorter than their siblings.

duurtlang > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 09/13/2019 at 16:13

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From an American perspective, sure. But from a European perspective, probably not. 

Jordan > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 09/13/2019 at 18:46

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I’ll put it to you this way. I’ve just immigrated to the US in June . I’ve seen tonnes of Panther-bodies, 1990's GM B-bodies, and early Lx-bodies. Chrysler 300M’s? Zero. Other LH- body cars? Very few. There’s a reason for that.

NojustNo > fintail 09/14/2019 at 02:23

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I test drive a 00 intrepid 3.5 with about 100k on it a decade ago at a dealer. The trans failed on the test drive. To its credit the car made it back to the lot

fintail > NojustNo 09/14/2019 at 10:53

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Back in the day, my mom test drove an Eagle Vision TSi. It was a lease return I think, fully loaded, nice car. The old school indy mechanic she patronized told her to keep away.