300C

anyone have opinion on 300C 5.7L ? i was about to buy a Jaguar x-typ 3.0
sport, but the 300C is a bad ass car for under $35k !! anyone own one yet ??
the Jag is awd, but i have a 4runner 4x4 for bad weather.... i was never a
big fan of Chrysler product, but the 300C is rather nice...

k

 

Next time you're out driving, do this:

Look around and notice all the Intrepids, Concordes, LHS and 300M's.

In 5 years that's how many 300C's will be around.

They will be as common as Accords or Camry's or MAximas. They are
replacing 3 different cars. If you want to stand out from the crowd -
buy one real quick. Their look will get old- fast. 3 times faster
than the 300M did.

 

i'm not worried about being different, just want a nice luxury ride without
burning a hole in my wallet. i kinda like the "bentley" look og 300C...

how do you think it's value will hold up as compared to Jaguar x-type ?? i
plan to own the car...

thanks for the input,
k

 

X-type underpinning is aging Ford Modeo/Contour platform with 4wd, a decent
v6 covered in a pretty good looking Jaguar skin. X-type is a relatively
small car and is basically a Ford Contour in a nice tuxedo.

300C uses some older Mercedes underpinnings with rwd, a hemi v8 covered in a
Bentley-like (Green Hornet... your new car is ready) skin. 300C is a
relatively big powerful car.

The warranty is better on the Jag. 300C is going to slurp fuel. If you are
looking for a third and like the look, the Infinity G35 might be worth
looking at... it is more practical and a better raw value than the other
two.

Price/value/genetics will restrict volume and market for X-types.
Reputation/efficiency/polarizing style will restrict volume and market for
300C. I wouldn't expect stellar resale values for either vehicle.

If you like the 300C... go for it.

Best of luck out there...
Mike

 

Here are my thoughts on the 300C. My dad has not bought a car other than a
BMW or a Mercedes since his Pontiac Firebird 400 in 1970-something (I forget
when that was). They weren't the comfy BMW's or Benz's either, the Benz's
were always big ones with big engines and the BMW's were always little fast
ones (I could list the models but why bother). Anyways, after 9 BMW's and
Mercedes', my dad test drove the Hemi C, and guess which car he is looking
to buy next? Like him, you may want to check out the Caddilac CTS-V or wait
for the 300 SRT. The STS-V will be nice, but over $60,000.
Here's my take on the the Hemi. It's an extremely good car. Powerful, RWD
(though I should let you know there is an AWD option), well built (gaps are
small), the engine is nice and accessable, and good looking. There are only
a few issues I have with the car. They could have used nicer plastics for
the dashboard and the like, but at a 2005 Mustang cheaper than my 1998 540
cost when new, that's fine with me. I just can't wait for the SRT version.
Richard
PS - In case you're wondering what does some kid talking about his dad
buying cars know about cars, well my dad my buy them but I do all the work.
My 1985 Mercedes hasn't seen the mechanic in about 5 years. Also, I figure I
sound like a jerk talking abou BMW's and Benz's, but consider this: my Benz
is worth about $2000 today. I was just trying to show that we are not
usually American car people.

 

not sure what your point is, but i'm after a luxury type sedan around the
$36k-$37k range max. x-type jag and 300C fit the bill, just not sure what to
buy yet. seems that Jag (or Ford) lacked the insight to build their x-type
"sport" models with 3 pedals under the dash, a auto "sport" sedan just don't
cut the mustard....

the 300C runs on 4 cylinders when not under load, done by controlling
valves. Chrysler claims they can transition from 4 to 8 in 40ms, but i'm
skeptical about this for a 8cylinder that has pushrods and hydraulic
lifters...

k

 

In the same position as yourself, I would get the hemi 300C. I don't know
what your family situation is (i.e. married or not, kids or not), but if
anybody will ever have to sit in the backseat, the 300C will be much
appreciated. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the hemi is a lot faster
too.

Nobody who has driven in (none of the magazines nor myself) has said that
they can feel or hear the transition. I wouldn't consider the 8 to 4
cylinder feature a negative against the car. Benz has been doing stuff like
that for a while, and I'm sure they used the research allready available to
them. I would go to a newstand and buy the may copies of Car and Driver,
Road and Track, and Motor Trend if I were you.
I forgot to mention one other "downside" I found when going over the car:
the backrest of the passenger seat is manually controlled, and there is no
option to make it power.
Richard

 

Have any 0-60 or 1/4 mile times been published yet?

That does suck. How much of the rest of the passenger seat is power?
Did they put the power seat controls on the center console or keep it
low (like where it is on the 300m)?

Some cars (Lexus for one) have (or did have) ventilated (or
air-conditioned) front seats (and I've been in a Lexus that had it and
it is VERY NICE) and some cars have a key-fob that activates the
ignition (ie no key-in-the-ignition to start the car). Any chance the
300C will get any of those features?

 

not with fully loaded gt stangs coming out at 19 k

 

the milage is 22 to 25 on the highway with the hemi and less with the 2.7
next year is a new 6.1 hemi motor is in the works and it won't have the 8,6,4
displacement drop off but will get the guzzler tax from what i learned today at
hemi school

 

Wrong AGAIN, as usual!!!

 

0-60 5.3 sec. 1/4 = 13.9 sec 102 mph Car and Driver
Motor Trend 0-60 5.8, 1/4 14.27 at 98.56 mph
Road and Track 0-60 5.6, 1/4 14.1 at 101.1 mph

Yep, its got a HEMI in it and I don't care what kind of gas mileage it gets.
If you want gas mileage, buy one of those small 4 cyl cars. This is a car I
WANT to buy, I am not even a fan of Chrysler products, but I am really
looking to getting this car.

JB

 

Kryptoknight wrote:

Why? It should be much simpler and more reliable with 2 valves per
cylinder than with 4. OHC is overrated in advertising glossies, its just
another way of operating valves with no inherent superiority over
pushrods and cam-in-block until you get to 8000 RPM (and maybe not even
then, given that NASCAR pushrod v8s are turning 9400+ RPM this year and
have to run about 2-3 times as many miles per race as Formula 1 engines
do). Let the engineers who build the engines pick the best method for
the job, not the car magazine editors.

 

God I hope not. I hate schlock like that on cars- its what's driving the
price to the sky. Give me the Hemi, rear drive, comfortable ergonmically
contoured seats, and a solid chassis. I'll move the seats, unlock the
doors, start the car, adjust the A/C, and pick my nose all by myself,
thank you very much.

 

All the rest of the passenger seat is power. Honestly I wouldn't have cared
if they had made the whole seat manual, in a nice way like what you can get
in a BMW in Europe. The controls are on the side of the seat bottom.

Not that I know of, and I hope not.
Richard

 

8,6,4


That must be what I was thinking of when I asked about the 300C SRT. Do you
have any info on it other than displacement?
Richard

 

no car mags. at all, just wondering how they control the lift at the valve
stem as it can't be in the lifter or pushrod... any links would be good for
me.

thanks

 

as a side note, there was a University team experimenting with magnetically
controlled lifters, no lifters, no cam, and no pushrods. the setup also
allowed for no starter (NO STARTER). they could start the engine by knowing
the next cylinder to fire, load some fuel, set the valves, and fire, and the
thing would start.

was too noisy at the time, this is a few years back. probably the future of
upper valve train...

 

we will see
thats what billy ford keeps saying on the news here in michigan

 

I think you had better clean out your ears. The base Mustang with V-6 will be
at the 19K range but there is no way you'll see a fully loaded GT at that
price. If Billy Ford keeps saying that, he will be sued for either false
advertising or running a bait-and-switch campaign. I mean, let's get REAL, mic!