Last of the Great Letter Series Chryslers
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I love my 300M.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Still running?
Granted, the fwd 300M (not the concept car by the same name) was not fully regarded as "A Letter Car" by many. Then one showed up at the 300 Letter Car national even at an Air Force Base in Nevada, with very loonngg runways. Naturally, there was some drag racing and such. The Chrysler operative was there with a 300M, for comparison.
Many of the Letter Car operatives, who scoffed at the fwd car's credentials, were taken for rides down the quarter mile and to top speed. In almost every measure of performance, the 300M bested the earlier cars. Now, it was reported that the vintage letter cars might not have been in their best "road test" tune, reflected in their 1/4 mile times, but even by earlier magazine road tests, the 300M left them in its dust, so to speak. All the way to a top speed of about 140mph, stock.
It also seems that a lead engineer on that project, bought a 300F (or 300E?) and drove it back from CA to MI, so he could get a full measure of what the cars were about. Neat move, I thought at the time!
End result, the Letter Car owners came to respect the 300M in a very positive manner. I rented a good number of 300Ms from Dollar car rental (as they were a unit of Chrysler at the time) and liked them a lot. But I liked the original LH cars a lot, too.
The "M" might not be as "rough and tumble brash" as the original Letter Cars might have been, being a bit more refined in nature, but they certainly perform better, as a modern alternative. But by the time of the 300-L, a lot of the brashness had diminished, leaving a "luxury car which performs" as a result. In THAT orientation, the newer 300M can fit right in.
Enjoy!
CBODY67
Many of the Letter Car operatives, who scoffed at the fwd car's credentials, were taken for rides down the quarter mile and to top speed. In almost every measure of performance, the 300M bested the earlier cars. Now, it was reported that the vintage letter cars might not have been in their best "road test" tune, reflected in their 1/4 mile times, but even by earlier magazine road tests, the 300M left them in its dust, so to speak. All the way to a top speed of about 140mph, stock.
It also seems that a lead engineer on that project, bought a 300F (or 300E?) and drove it back from CA to MI, so he could get a full measure of what the cars were about. Neat move, I thought at the time!
End result, the Letter Car owners came to respect the 300M in a very positive manner. I rented a good number of 300Ms from Dollar car rental (as they were a unit of Chrysler at the time) and liked them a lot. But I liked the original LH cars a lot, too.
The "M" might not be as "rough and tumble brash" as the original Letter Cars might have been, being a bit more refined in nature, but they certainly perform better, as a modern alternative. But by the time of the 300-L, a lot of the brashness had diminished, leaving a "luxury car which performs" as a result. In THAT orientation, the newer 300M can fit right in.
Enjoy!
CBODY67
That can be said about many cars built today, and in the last 20 years. Old cars are nice, but the new ones kick their asses!
The 300M was/is a nice car, but very overshadowed by the 300C that followed it.
And I agree with an earlier statement, calling it 300M was misguided.
ive owned 2 300ms, a regular and a 300M Special. the Special was a surprising car, more than a couple of friends after driving it said it felt like a rear wheel drive. it had larger wheels and tires, true dual exhaust, 3.89 gear ratio and lower, more handling oriented suspension. the only drawback was the car being lower with a more aggressive front fascia, it could snag on things where the regular 300m never did.
and then i got a 2005 300c.........
and then i got a 2005 300c.........
I concur that the 300M was more of a place marker until the new rwd 300s arrived. BUT, as much as i wanted to be impressed that the newer rwd 300, it was just the opposite. The V-6 lost its liveliness, due to the weight and Daimler tuning and the handling feel was numb. Nothing like the athletic LH chassis. To me, the LHS felt much more like a BMW 7-series than not, in how it felt and responded to steering input. It could be DRIVEN and live to tell about it, from my experiences and reading magazine road tests comparing it to its competiton.
Now, we all loved to see the Magnums sliding around race courses, full tilt, driven by race car drivers. So they did well in that setting, but in general use they were more "appliance" than "exciting" to drive. BUT when the "refresh" arrived with Fiat, THEN the car felt as it should, like a Chrysler, to me. The Daimler car might have been good, but the refreshed versions after Fiat came online, were much better.
The "300M" nomenclature might have been misguided, but not nearly as misguided as "300-M" would have been, to me.
These are just my experiences . . . yours might vary, which I respect.
The REAL 300 Letter Cars were great vehicles to look at, dream of, and drive (although I've never driven one).
Enjoy!
CBODY67
Now, we all loved to see the Magnums sliding around race courses, full tilt, driven by race car drivers. So they did well in that setting, but in general use they were more "appliance" than "exciting" to drive. BUT when the "refresh" arrived with Fiat, THEN the car felt as it should, like a Chrysler, to me. The Daimler car might have been good, but the refreshed versions after Fiat came online, were much better.
The "300M" nomenclature might have been misguided, but not nearly as misguided as "300-M" would have been, to me.
These are just my experiences . . . yours might vary, which I respect.
The REAL 300 Letter Cars were great vehicles to look at, dream of, and drive (although I've never driven one).
Enjoy!
CBODY67
Even though the 300L was not as unique as the previous Letter cars (a twin carb setup like the 413/426 Max Wedge would've been nice), it was a superb car in every way. I had the pleasure of riding in one many moons ago, super quiet, smooth, amazing car.
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It only has 128k on it, why would you wonder if it’s still running??Still running?
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
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