carcounsel.com |HID|

Just when Mercedes was starting to get its groove back, Mercedes and Chrysler have decided to share more parts. According to the article,

the company insists that the sharing of these parts won’t damage the manufacturers’ reputations.

How could it not?

Keep your right foot buried, though, and things start to go awry as the big Chrysler bounces from hump to bump, its tall 225/60/18 Pirelli P7s contributing to the impression that ride control is care of a space-hopper at each corner. Numb steering doesn’t improve the experience. – evo

...the steering. For a start you have to grip an almost comically large steering wheel, reminiscent of a mid-70s Mercedes-Benz. Even though the SRT changes include reduced hydraulic assistance, the steering still feels mushy around the straight-ahead position. Lob it into a corner and there’s less clarity and more vagueness than you’d hope for. Instead of being able to hold a line confidently through a long, sweeping corner, you find yourself having to make a number of small adjustments to keep repositioning the big saloon where you need it. – 4Car

There’s not much wrong with the Pacifica – actually as a freeway cruiser there’s a lot about it that’s right – collaboration with Mercedes Benz engineers resulted in an almost Germanic 6 passenger vehicle. But one thing that was hugely lacking was the engine – a leftover 3.5L that you might remember from the now deceased Chrysler Concorde, etc.

By the time the engine’s power made it through the long ratios of the 4 speed automatic, the opportunity to accelerate was often gone. If you see a Pacifica being driven sedately it’s probably because the driver has given up on going faster or is tired of whipping the reluctant motor for more.

Now the Pacifica’s going to get a new 4.0 V6 that’s bound to be an improvment – my only concern is that a 6 cylinder of this size is bound to be rough at high revs (try to think of a 4.0 V6 that’s ever been smooth – getting smoothness out of more than 3.2L is difficult to achieve).

In other Chrysler news the new Cirrus is about to take flight; the car loks like a cross between a 300C and a Nitro and will feature heated and cooled cupholders and a MP3 storing 20 GB hard drive. Hopefully it will be more like the 300 and less like the Nitro to drive (unlikely given its front drive roots).

Mercedes Benz has long [sic] offered its S class in standard and long wheelbase forms (something Lexus wil be doing wth the new LS to be taken more seriously in the market).

Now Chrysler plans a stretched version of the 300C and Magnum.

The stretched 300C’s wheelbase is 152mm longer, all of which is used to enhance rear legroom… Chrysler says the added length of the stretched cars provides rear-seat passengers with nearly 1200mm of legroom. Customers will be able to order the cars with a host of personalised features, including lit writing tables, footrests and directional reading lights. – What Car?

That’s what my mother said when I suggested she and my father choose a PT Cruiser over a Neon, Stratus and Taurus at the LAX rental counter. Here’s why:

The fundamentals really work. The PT Cruiser was born as a sit-high car. Your eyes enjoy a near-SUV view. The driving position is excellent. The firm front buckets hold you like good dinner chairs. The oversize, deftly detailed four-spoke steering wheel is contrary to today’s fashion… All around you see interesting details. For example, the outside hatch release: It has intricacy, and a feeling of value beyond anything offered by the others. The Chrysler simply overwhelms in its sense of quality. It has fewer quivers through the structure, fewer thrums from the powertrain, and fewer thumps from the road. Wind noise is subdued. The Cruiser feels far more expensive than its price. – Car and Driver 06.02

[with the optional touring suspension] Cruiser is surprisingly adept on snaky sections of back roads. Body roll is well-controlled, particularly in view of the relatively high center of gravity; the power rack-and-pinion steering is nicely weighted, with better-than-average road feel; and the damping rates are well-selected for keeping the tires in contact with the surface… Car and Driver 06.00

You know how sometimes you just can’t help liking something, even if, deep down, you know it’s actually a bit wobbly. Think most old James Bond films… The Chrysler 300C’s a bit like that. Dynamically it’s a division below the big BMWs and Jags; it’s not madly quick; it doesn’t ride particularly well, and it’ll probably lose money like a drunk on a cattle-grid. And yet everyone here who drove the new right-hand-drive version of the top-of-the-range 5.7 ‘Hemi’ just loved it… The ride feels initially good, though much of that’s down to the deep sidewalls of the 225/60 R18 {Euro-spec] Pirelli P7s; at speed over even moderately uneven surfaces it lacks the damping control and general poise of the best Europeans. Not great, then, but immensely likeable. source: evo

Click here. (We’re speechless).

You might have heard that Mitsubishi (and more recently DaimlerChrysler) is offering free gasoline with the purchase of a new car.

Executive Vice President of Mitsubishi’s Sales and Marketing Dave Schembri points out, “There are a lot of confusing incentive offers out there whose true value is extremely hard for customers to determine” but the true value of the Mitsubishi offer is – well – confusing and extrememely hard to determine…

Here’s the fine print:

Each customer after purchasing a new 2005-model-year Mitsubishi vehicle will receive in the mail pre-paid debit cards, totaling from $1,500 to $2,500. The amount varies by vehicle depending on two factors: 1) The estimated amount of gas required to drive the new vehicle for 12,000 miles (at the EPA combined rating for the vehicle). 2)Whether the recommended fuel for the vehicle is regular (computed at $2.80 per gallon) or premium (computed at $3.10 per gallon). These rounded prices were fixed at the average price per gallon as reported in the AAA daily fuel report of Monday, September 19, 2005. Customers can select from a variety of major motor oil companies for each debit card. source: Motor Trend

(If Mitsubishi spent as much effort on all their cars as they do the Evo, they wouldn’t need any incentives).