Interesting points and now the BBC says GM are interested in purchasing Chrysler. I'm sure there'll be some high falutin' business reasons which I don't understand but for the life of me I can't fathom why they'd do this. Has Rick Wagoner gone mad? Maybe they think shutting down the competition will increase GM's market share. And maybe it will for a while, until Toyota and Honda ultimately take it away from them.
Matt's right. Stuttgart was knocked out by a bit of good old salesmanship from the boys at Chrysler- "here's some great designs, let us make 'em real". Hats off to DaimlerChrysler for having the balls to make them. It's all so exasperating, the PT Cruiser is a "novelty" car but for me the "joke" of making it look like a 'fifties sedan wore off long ago and they should by now be onto the next big idea to shift metal. The Chrysler dealer round the corner from my office is festooned with the damn things, sales having completely collapsed. The real problem is underneath that flouncy exterior it really is a very ordinary vehicle. (Crueller folk than me have called it crap to drive). Compare it with the new Mini, another retro exercise but one that has succeeded long term. Why? My guess is because it's a damn good little car that people really enjoy driving as opposed to just looking at and talking about.
I first saw the Chrysler 300 series a couple of years ago in Sebring FL and I have to say it's looks knocked me over, I think I might have gotten wood. Absolutely fantastic, the shape just works 100%, I completely love it. But having driven one, only the diesel estate to be fair, it's again rather ordinary. I was disappointed, I really really wanted to love it. I'm not even going to mention the stunning-looking Crossfire I so nearly bought, but then I drove it...
I really hope the Challenger gets the go ahead, but only if it's a good car and not just a good-looking car. And there, as far as I see it, is the rub with Chryslers. If there's a US car maker I really want to succeed it's Chrysler. But the truth is, the cars just aren't good enough.
I knew Matt wouldn't be able to resist this thread, such an enquiring and able mind wouldn't for long. Forgetful though. The point of my original post was primarily intended to prove the inconsistency of his position; namely how could he pour scorn upon TVR's being awful vehicles (which i agree with) but hero worship the SRT-10. To all purposes they are two peas in a pod, (i.e. illconceived, badly built, over priced, over powered, poor handling, unreliable, chucked-together plastic lash-ups etc etc.) And I don't remember reading much in the last thread that actually countermined that premise.
