No big surprise – but now it’s official: The Chrysler 300 sedan will be retired after the 2020 model year.
But, it’s depressing regardless.
First, because the 300 still sells well. It doesn’t seem sound to kill of a car that . . . sells.
Chrysler has sold about 3,000 of them each month so far this year – which is steady as she goes and about the same as were sold last year and the year prior (see here). Which is remarkable, because the 300 hasn’t changed much in years. The basic car dates back to 2005.
And yet it sells. 
Much better than the electric Turducken that is slated to replace it.
That Turducken is something tentatively called the Portal. It will be everything the 300 isn’t – and that is going to be a problem for Chrysler.
What’s left of it.
The brand that used to sell with Lincoln and Cadillac now sells a minivan . . . and (once the 300’s gone) no more sedans at all.
Just a minivan – the Pacifica – and (soon) an electric van.
This Portal thing.
Good luck selling 3,000 of these a month. And good luck making a buck on any of those sales.
We’re still about two years out from the launch of the Portal but we can ballpark what it will cost because we know what current electric cars cost. The least costly being the compact-sized Nissan Leaf, which is $30,000 to start. Expect the Portal – which is bigger – to sticker closer to $40k.
And Nissan only sells about half as many Leafs as Chrysler sells 300s (see here).
Keep in mind that the 2018 Leaf is “all new” – and the 300 (reviewed here) is basically a 15-year-old car at this point.
Keep in mind, also, that Nissan loses money on each Leaf “sale” – the car (as is true of all electric cars) has to be discounted and subsidized and even then, only about 1,500 marks (whoops, buyers) are willing to step up.
Chrysler makes money on the 300. Which makes it worth making the 300. A simple economic syllogism that is lost on the EV-addled.
The profit margin is probably excellent, too – because the tooling and R&D has likely already been amortized. In any event, the point is that Chrysler doesn’t have to discount the 300 – and no government subsidies or bayonets are required to nudge otherwise reluctant people to buy them.
They buy 300s because they are appealing.
And because they are affordable.
Two qualities electric cars lack.
The current 300’s base price is less than the Leaf’s – $28,995 – and for that you take home a full-size American sedan with a brawny V6 – instead of a compact-sized FWD electric shitbox (Brock Yates’ eternally scintillating term) that’s useless except as a short-range City Car because it can’t go very far. Nissan touts the Leaf’s 150 mile range as if it were a miracle on par with finding the image of Jesus burned into your waffles. And for an electric car, it almost is.
But 150 miles isn’t very far – if you expect your car to be capable of more than just commuting.
Most people not only expect it – they need it. Otherwise, they need two cars. Which is what most EV buyers end up having to do, but let’s not talk about that.
Well, the 300 can go between 351 and 555 miles – depending on whether your driving is city or highway. Either way, it’s more than twice as far as the Leaf or other EVs can go before they go no more.
Which would you rather drive?
Which begs the question: Why is Chrysler cancelling a car for which there is clearly a market, in favor of a car for which there is clearly no market? Or at least, a much smaller market?
And the answer is as simple as it is discouraging. Also angering.
Car companies no longer build cars for the market; they build them to satisfy the government.
The 300 is viable on the market in spite of its years precisely because it spites the government’s obnoxious nudging-at-bayonet-point toward cars that are everything the market doesn’t want.
Twice as many people want a full-size/RWD/V8-available sedan – even if it is “ancient” – than want a car like the Leaf. The 300 is not only full-size/RWD and V8-available, it’s the last such car that is available to Americans who can’t afford a six-figure BMW or Mercedes – which are the only other places you can find full-size/RWD and V8, but probably not for much longer, either.
The problem for Chrysler – for Fiat, which owns Chrysler – is that the government doesn’t want people (ordinary people) to drive cars like the 300. It uses “too much” gas – as defined by the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) fatwas hurled out by the regulatory ayatollahs.
And it has too large a “carbon footprint.”
EVs like the Poltroon (whoops, Portal) solve this artificially created problem because they burn no gas and their “footprint” is smaller (if you don’t factor in the carbon emitted by the utility plants which generate the electricity upon which EVs sup). By adding the Portal to the lineup – and retiring the 300 – FiatChrysler can probably double its CAFE average (which will be an average of the gas-engined Pacifica’s mileage and the electric Poltroon’s – whoops, Portal’s – mileage vs. the current averaging of the gas-engined 300’s mileage and the gas-engined Pacifica’s mileage)
And that is the only reason for the demise of the 300.
RIP, ol’ buddy. You were great while you lasted.
. . .
Got a question about cars – or anything else? Click on the “ask Eric” link and send ’em in!
If you like what you’ve found here please consider supporting EPautos. This is a free publication; no firewalls or “pay” areas.
We depend on you to keep the wheels turning!
Our donate button ishere.
If you prefer not to use PayPal, our mailing address is:
EPautos
721 Hummingbird Lane SE
Copper Hill, VA 24079
PS: EPautos magnets are free to those who send in $20 or more. My latest eBook is also available for your favorite price – free! Click here. If you find it useful, consider contributing a couple of bucks! 
Hey Nunz, I sold my Hyundai Elantra for a grand, and it had around 230k miles. The only major job I did was to change the timing chain and gears. It’s recommended every 60k miles if driving in dust, or 100k miles under normal conditions. I changed it around 150k miles, or rather took it to my mechanic. Other than that, oil changes, filters; that’s it. That car ran just as good as it did the day I bought it. The only reason I sold it was because it didn’t have enough lumbar support for long trips. I’ve got a Toyota as well, and the quality is equivalent imo.
Now that IS impressive, Shnark! Glad to hear that they are giving Toyota a little competition! We need more like that! So many brands have gone to crap….it’s good to know that there is still some sanity out there! Was yours a stick or automatic? (If automatic, even more impressive…..’cause automatics are usually the weak point)
Both of my Hyundais were/are manual transmissions. I think the best cars out there now are Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Subaru, Kia, Acura, Lexus, Infinity. For value and reliability, I can’t think of anything better.
I’m a scoundrel when it comes to abusing cars, and neglecting maintenance. I beat my last Hyundai mercilessly, and with the exception of having the timing chain done, I hardly ever did an oil change on time. One time I checked the oil, and it didn’t have anything on the stick. I’m taking better care of this one because I know it will probably last me the rest of my life.
Shnark,
Subaru though? Have they gotten their act together with the head gaskets, trannies and electrical issues?
Hah! Yeah….any car is better with a stick (and more durable!)
I don’t know anything about Subaru other than I have a few friends that have them, and haven’t had any issues. I’ve heard Dai Woo (sp?) are pretty good cars as well.
Oh, now you’re just pulling my leg!
Hi eric, About 15 or 20 years ago there was a guy who went to the three big American auto makers. He was some sort of consultant. He placed before them the rods and pistons from their engines along with the rods and pistons of Toyotas, Hondas, etc. The difference in craftmanship was striking. The big three’s examples were rough, bulky, and didn’t look like they were a finished product. The Toyota, Honda examples appeared to be works of art by comparison. They were polished, and honed down to only what was necessary. The big three tossed the guy out with contempt. We know what happened after that.
Hyundai started making the Genesis coupe in a 2 liter turbo as well as a six cylinder. They took the same 2 liter turbo and put it into their Sonata as well. The cars were big sellers for years. I noticed that Ford decided to follow their example by putting a similar turbo engine into their Mustangs as well as a six cylinder and the same turbo into their Ford fusion. They seem to have developed a learning curve.
For the price, reliability, and comfort, the Genesis sedans are an incredible value. People think Hyundai, and immediately think cheap foreign crap, but a test drive will eradicate those silly ideas. When I’m sitting in traffic and see one, I have to scan the body work for logos or badges to make I’ve properly identified it. The Mercedes is the higher priced version. They have an Equis as well which are quite nice and expensive too.
The latest rumors as of Oct. 19 is that these cars, Charger, Challenger, 300, are staying till 2023.
I hope so.
Their latest quarterly numbers are very good.
I think they would sell more 300’s if the dealers had a least a few on the lot. The most I’ve seen is one, surrounded by 50-100 CUV’s. And not many more Chargers/Challengers, about 3-5 per lot, but they are selling better (combined) than in a long time.
Must be “creative accounting”- Who the hell’s buyin’ ’em? Everything Chrysler makes now, falls apart faster than a Chinese motorcycle.
Just got off the phone with a friend. He’s bought nothing but new Jeeps since 1996. His latest- 4 years old, is at the stealership getting a new computer. I mentioned “You’re lucky that’s all it is; Chrysler products just fall apart now…” He said “Yeah, I noticed; I’ve had it; I’ll never buy another one.”
Nunz is just jealous he can’t afford a 1996 chrysler computer, let alone a Chinese motorcycle.
Oh, you’ll be sorry, Brandon, when ya see me sitting in one’a them Corinthian leather seats, giving Retardo Mentalblock a lift! (Aww, yer too young to have seen those commercials!)
Wait…wait…here, ya young whippersnapper!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfKHBB4vt4c
(When they peddle that much bull, ya know it’s gotta be a pile of crap!)
my first ever FCA now has 23K miles and zero troubles. i really don’t care anyway cause i have a factory warranty till 75K miles.
My first vehicle in 25+ that makes me happy to drive.
As Eric has said, one of last v8-rwd sedans left. or should i say, affordable v8-rwd sedans left. mine was $42K pretty loaded up.
If you like performance and comfort, adn are currently driving a FWD vehicle, you should test drive one. fun.
They can be had pretty cheap CPO as well.
I’m really hoping FCA does a tribute 300 SRT before it goes away. I might buy two.
Chris, CPO is a scam- they (all companies, not just Cruddler) don’t even inspect ’em- they just chargfe ya more. Go look at some of the CPO cars carefully some day- many have obvious flaws, like worn tires….not to mention the things you can’t see superficially).
They just charge ya more for ’em; often you can get a brand new one cheaper, after promotions and rebates, etc.
Good luck with yours, but believe me,, as someone who has made my living in the automotive trades for a good part of my life….they fall apart; the transmissions are crap; the electronics are unreliable; they depreciate like dog poop in Las Vegas in the summer….. usually right around the time the warranty starts running out.
You may be right Nunz. But again, I don’t really care. I have peace of mind with a factory warranty as long as I own them. I am enjoying it soooo much more than anything I’ve owned in 20+ years, that even if it does fall apart, I will just go get a new one and start over. That’s why I want these cars to hopefully stay around longer than they are expected too.
My experience with CPO cars is different than yours. I have bought many, and the biggie for me is that they extend the factory warranty. Plus, they have always, again always, been mechanically sound.
Now I agree that I may have spent more money on factory warranties than I have gotten back, but it’s not by much.
My perspective is you have to pay to drive. And pay more if you want something nicer than a eco-box. The average cost is simple, 55c a mile. Unless you want to make cars a job.
To each his own.
Depends too, Chris- If ya don’t keep cars too long, then just about anything’ll do. (Sounds like you get rid of ’em by the time the warranty runs out?). In which case, if ya enjoy ’em, and as you say, are willing to pay…it’ll work for ya.
Trick is, just don’t keep ’em too long. I guess I’m kinda the opposite; I buy all my vehicles when they are older and have a lot of miles on ’em- My last three vehicles cost $4500 each- and I keep ’em a long time (Longer than you keep new ‘uns)….so getting something that doesn’t fall apart after 100K miles, and that is capable of going hundreds of thousands of miles is quite important to me- as is not paying a lot/being in debt for transportation.
As for the CPO’s….yeah, I’m not saying that they are all damaged; many of them are in fact good cars; I’m just telling ya that “CPO” means absolutely nothing, except a higher price- Since most CPO cars are fairly new, most are in decent shape- but there are plenty of cases where they are not…because they are treated no differently in the dealership than any other used car- If it’s only a year or two old and low miles, and looks clean…they’ll make it CPO- Just means more money for them. Believe me, being in many aspects of the auto trades, and knowing dealership mechanics etc. I can tell you that I’ve never heard of a dealership that actually does “the 300 point [or whatever] inspection”.
The reality of CPO is that it is just a late-model used car with an extended warranty- only instead of paying separately for the warranty, it is rolled into the price of the car. Not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with a CPO- but you still have to do your due diligence and HAVE IT INSPECTED by a good independent mechanic….and of course, the price will be higher.
Always check the figures after everything is said and done- as I said earlier, considering the promotions and all, it’s often possible to get a brand new ‘un CHEAPER than a CPO, when all is said and done.
I agree with you Nunz. Just different ways of approaching car ownership. I think both of our methods are relatively smart. I will add this though, I think soon, if it’s not here already, that a $5K car could cost $3-5K to repair with the current trend of e-mechanical devices doing almost everything in cars today.
In my younger days I used to buy $5-6K cars with 80-100K miles on them, but I also knew that a trans was X, engine X. I looked for young cars with above average miles, which to me meant it was likely all highway miles. My favorite back then was Park Ave’s with the blower. Had many of them, paid $5-8K for them with tons of miles, and put more tons of miles on them with little to no repairs. I don’t think this is possible anymore with the current crop of crap.
Oh, you are 100% right on that, Chris! It’s pretty much to the point already, where once a car is out of warranty, it is effectively economically non-viable, as they have become so complex with delicate mechanical systems (like VVT, and auto trannies with a million speeds) and so over-burdened with electronics, that they soon end up needing multi-thousand dollar repairs on a regular basis.
Once the older vehicles (90’s/early 00’s) are gone, there are essentially going to be no cheap reliable used cars.
I guess that’s why my current vehicles are 20 years old.
I still regret selling my ’98 Econoline van! I bought it when it was 3 years old and had 240K miles on it. Drove it from NY to KY when I moved down here, and continued to drive it for 15 years….and other than normal maintenance, only ever had to replace a fuel pump and heater core. Sure got my $4500 worth out of that van!
Guy who bought it hopped in and drove it from here in southern KY to Indianapolis.
Didn’t even surprise me though (The use I got from it)- I mean, ya buy vehicles that the big fleet users buy….they buy ’em ’cause those are the ones that last.
Chris, when you talk about those extended factory warranties, are you referring to the ones that are advertised in the mail that tell you that if you don’t contact them immediately you may have to pay more etc.?
I called a few of those guys, and they were all telling me that it was something like $2k a year Is that what you’re paying? or is this something you get from the dealer directly?
Hey Shnark!
I think Chris is talking about the legit extended factory warranties- they usually come with the “Certified Pre-Owned” cars…… (You pay thousands more for the car, for it- which is usually young enough to have a few years of the original factory warranty still on it anyway.)
Yeah, those third-party warranties (even the ones the dealerships sell) are a joke. The dealers LOVE to sell them, ’cause at least half the price of ’em goes directly to the dealer (usually more) and the salesmen make more commission selling them than they do the car.
The actual manufacturer-branded warranties are really the only ones that are legit- but they cost THOUSANDS. I mean, if your car’s gonna need repairs in excess of what ya have to pay for that warranty…maybe they should be buying a more reliable car, eh?!
Hey Nunz, I bought a brand new Hyundai from the dealer back in 2000. It had the 10 year bumper to bumper, and the six year power train warranty. After about a year I noticed that there was a buzzing sound coming from the front of the car somewhere. I took it to the dealer and the mechanic and I took it for a spin. He determined that it was coming from the rear view mirror, and replaced it, and then they washed and detailed the car. The next time I took it in for a maintenance check, I took it in covered with mud. They did the same wash and detail. That car was practically indestructible, and when I decided to get another one back in 2010, I bought a used one for about the same price, but I’m not worried about anything because these cars are unbelievably tough. They have rev limiters so people can’t over rev the engines too. I think they’re up there with Toyota, and Honda for reliability. There’s a dealer up north of here who offers a 200k 20 year warrantee. He knows he’ll sell more cars, and doesn’t have to worry about working on them because they’re that reliable. The guys who call to sell me their extended warranties are trying to sell snow to Eskimos.
Hi Schnarkle,
I can amen your experiences in re Hyundai. My ex-mother-in-law (we’re still friends) bought a new Sonata about eight years ago on my recommend and hasn’t regretted it. In particular, she’s been very pleased with the dealership, which practically champs at the bit to wash the car for her. Hyundai has followed the Toyota/Honda example of building very solid cars and remembering the customer.
PS: Anyone interested in a deal on a new luxury car should check out Hyundai’s Genesis line!
Hey Shnark and Eric!
Hyundai has come a long way from what they were when they had first started importing them here. Glad to hear that their dealers are being conscientious too. (Compare that, to back in the early 90’s, when I accompanied an 84 year-old man to test-drive a new Hyundai; The dash on the car he was test driving was opened up, as it was apparently in the middle of having been repaired- maybe they were waiting for parts or something, to finish the job- I think IIRC that that used to be an issue with them)
As to them being up there with Toyota…..I’ll have to wrap my head around that. When I start seeing ’em with 250-300K miles with no major repairs….. (I’m not saying that they’re not doing that- I just don’t know, ’cause I’m not in a position to see ’em these days. Considering that Kia’s/Hyundais cost almost as much as Toyotas now-a-days, I hope they do live long. I know I have heard that they do very well now into the low 100K’s)
Nunz, the wife rented a Charger and I was helping her load it when a blinding light hit me. I couldn’t imagine what sort of light in a car could produce that amount of light. I go around to the other side, open the door and look for an interior light…..nothing. I looked the door over really well, not a light nor anything else on it so I shut it, walked back around to the other side and it’s still blinding me. I crawl across the car keeping my eyes on the light or trying to. Then I found the source, old Sol shining between the door and the body. Too many times I’ve found crap like that on Chrysler products.
I loved the old Wagoneers but going down dirt roads really fine dust would come in and choke you out. At first I thought it was just the one my buddy had but then I rode in others and they had that same leak. I believe I could have caught that if I had anything to do with the testing of them.
Ha! 8, I saw that one coming….I kept saying to myself “I’ll bet it was the sun!”.
The Wagoneers were good, ’cause Chrysler left ’em alone till, what, 89? Pretty much kept ’em as AMC had made ’em….which I guess aiun’t sayin’ much, ’cause AMC was even sloppier than Chrysler….but I guess they just got lucky once in a while.
My friend with the 4 year-old Jeep called me back with the full story: He had vrought it in because the tranny was overheating. Insteada FIXING the tranny or cooling system, they installed a tranny cooler! He gets home, and finds erl in his driveway- tranny fluid. Turns out one of the new cooler lines done did blewed already! Brings it back….they fix that problem, and pressure wursh his engine and everything….gets home and tries to go to work next day….nothing. The computer’s dead (Wonder why?! 😉 )- Brings it back…they replace the ‘puter. Now it’s ready to go another 1000 miles before breaking down again to be fixed by the crack mechanics [They must use a lot of crack].
Tells me he has a lifetime warranty [I restrained my laughter]…then tells me the above repairs costed him $1700, ’cause the4 first wasn’t covered…and the second costedid $100 for the deduckbill.
Nice guy, but he’s not too bright….. I told him next time to go to private mechanic and just pay for a real repair. Said he will (I know him…he won’t! Even though I recommended a super guy I’ve known for 20 years who has a shop about 20 minutes from my friend).
Ya like that though? Tranny overheats in normal driving in a 4 year-old vehicle; what to do? Why of course, install a tranny cooler!
Gee Nunz, I can say the same with Fords here in Australia. Fix or repair daily, having to dismantle the whole car to get at one part. And everyone who drives a ford goes 20 k under the speed limit, has a car that looks like it is falling apart, wanders all over the road. I loathe fords and refuse to buy any or even work on one. My nephew bought a Ford Ranger and sold it after a few months because he had too many problems with it.
to, De Boss Garage on YT has a thing against Ford’s, the same thing I have against them. They are a bitch to repair and they only recently made a decent transmission and other than “some” diesels they’ve used, I’m still waiting for them to make a lasting V 8….with some power.
Back in the 60’s nobody with a Ford would run me in my Malibu. The Mopar guys were up for it and would nearly cry when I spanked them really hard. As one guy said nearly in tears “There’s just no way a 327 will outrun my 440” right after I’d smoked him. Pay me and tell it to your daddy.
To5, I’m no fan of late model Ford products; and I think many of the ones ya have down down there in ‘Straya are different than the ones we have here, and even worse.
Into the early 2000’s they made some decent stuff. Some… Their full-size pick-ups and vans, with the 7.3 diesels or any V-8 gas; their Lincoln Town Cars and Mercury Marquis and Ford Crown Vics…..they could all go well over half a million miles with reasonable maintenance.
Their cars? Meh…a few good ‘uns here and there, but nothing spectacular; and even the older ones…..some pretty sorry stuff.
Today? I don’t see anything Ford is making that’s good. Their diesels went to hell after the 7.3; and the V-8’s when VVT came in. Now they have aluminum body trucks? Yeah…good luck with that!
Even Toyota’s newest stuff…not what it used to be. Slim pickings out there for new stuff, unless ya plan on being in debt perpetually or working for your car, and buying a new one before the warranty expires.
My 20 year-old Ford trucks keep on going though- but then again, they’re low-mileage- only 159K on one and 183K on the other. Just getting broken in.
I don’t really even keep up to date on the new stuff though- doesn’t interest me. Stopped being good a long, long time ago. Pay your money, and they force a bunch of crap on ya (Like VVT, ASS, touchscreens, etc.) that ya’d never ask for or want; but that’s the way they make ’em…so ya gotta buy it…..
I own a 2001 Camry V6 auto and a Holden Statesman WH. Both year 2000 vintage with 220K and 253K kilos on the dials. I have no interest in the new push button gozmos and will keep these cars as long as I can.
This is back in the news. Tick tock. I’m looking at 300s right now.
A few additional thoughts about REAL cars vs. electric cars:
1. The United States will soon be the world’s largest oil producer. So our government (with some nudging from the enviro-wacko crowd) decides we shouldn’t use oil for transportation anymore;
2. The amount of Turduckens demanded by the government will result in the need for a change in focus of raw materials–namely, to lithium, copper, and cobalt. Most of the large quantities of these minerals come from foreign nations, some of which are AK-47 nations (Democratic Republic of Congo, for example).
3. One of the major complaints by the anti-oil factions was that it required extensive military obligations for the United States to ensure the supply.
4. The requirements for grid build-up and maintenance will cause plenty of spending just to support the amount of extra electricity needed, unless everyone has a roof-top array to power their own generator.
I could probably come up with a few more, but it’s just 8 in the morning as I type.
I can already see the future nudges coming from this:
1. People will need to be relocated from rural areas to urban areas close to where they work on a grand scale, such that it may soon become illegal to live a semi-rural lifestyle.
2. Or people will be required to live where they work, so they don’t have to use roads to get there.
3. The United States is going to have to expend much more treasure to develop and secure reliable sources of Li, Cu, and Co. Just the opposite of what the anti-war crowd wanted.
4. Governments can never be satisfied with success; they always have to find a way to muck things up. If we find enough recoverable oil under our soil, they’ll look for a way to outlaw its recovery and use. Instead, they’ll decide we need to starve until we can perfect some other, less reliable source of energy.
I could go further, but my head is starting to hurt from complaining about government follies.
Amen, Travis… and, me too.
I have been feeling exhausted and overwhelmed lately – to the point of becoming too tired to write and wanting to just sleep for a week, Elvis style…
I know what you mean, Eric.
If it weren’t for the prospect of being able to get out of here, I’d be the same- as life in the gulag is pointless; as all roads lead to the state- and who, but a statist, could have any ambition or motivation when all organic life has been crushed, and there is no prospect of things here getting any better- but rather, only worse, as the tyranny is multiplied every single day, and all around us become more compliant and less intelligent and less human?
I wouldn’t be able to bear the thought of living the rest of my life under such circumstances. Imsgine how it will be 10 years from now?!
Travis says:
” People will need to be relocated from rural areas to urban areas close to where they work on a grand scale, such that it may soon become illegal to live a semi-rural lifestyle.”
That is indeed the plan- I forget what it’s called, but there are even maps online showing how it has already been mapped out to designate most rural areas as “eco-something”, where no dwelling will be allowed. The plan was drawn-up more than a decade. What you describe sounds like a perfect way to help them achieve their nefarious goals, and explains perfectly why EVs are being pushed so hard, despite the fact that they are neither “green”, nor practical, nor economical.
BINGO! You nailed it!
PS: Travis,
This too is why in places like California, they harass people who live out in the middle of nowhere in the desert- telling people it is illegal to live on their own land, because they don’t have municipal water and their little 50 year-old trailer will need to be put on a permanent foundation which will cost $70K, IF they could “get the permit”, which they can’t.
Or that “their neighbor” complained that their chicken coop or old car was an eyesore….even though there are no neighbors in any direction for as far as the eye can see to the horizon…..
NO ONE in this country will be allowed to live independently apart from the system.
This is why, when I left the Northeast, I did so with the understanding that my sojourn in this rural area would only be a temporary stop- because there is no possibility of living free here in the future- and that future is coming upon us.
That is indeed the plan- I forget what it’s called”
Agenda 21, perhaps?
It’s part of the overall Agenda 21 thingie….but I believe the actual specifics here in the US are being implemented by FEMA or the DEC/EPA (Hmmmm….(*cough*CARS!*cough*) or both, under some environmental program with it’s own name- and IIRC, the map I was refering to was published by FEMA?
I’m sure either BrentP or Jason Flinders here knows what I’m talking about…..(Young whippersnappers!) 🙂
It’s “The Wildlands Project” with the Gang Green droids paired up with the United Nations. It isn’t Agenda 21, but it springs from the same cesspool. https://www.exposingtruth.com/mistake-wildlands-project-map-for-agenda-21/
That’s it Bil! And it shows the map I was making reference to! Thanks!
I like the way that website plays down the whole thing though! I mean, of course they’re not going to come out and say “The Plan To Force People Into Cities & Densely Populated Areas & Outlaw Self-Sufficiency To Make People Easier To Control Etc.”- Of course they’re going to couch everything in terms that make it sound like something good and positive, so that there will be little resistance and people will comply- even if grudgingly- while those who don’t, and who must be met with coercion and violence, will be deemed by most as “Getting what they deserved” for “Not going along with something that is for the common good“.
“Sustainability” and “biodiversity”- the very buzzwords of Agenda21.
It’s called agenda 42 …
1. That means Chrysler is dead, followed by Dodge.
2. The Portal is hideous, with design stolen from the AMC Pacer.
Stay tuned for the next generation Wrangler, Grand Cherokee, and Ram 1500. Now in a fuel-efficient Front Wheel Drive, unibody layout. Great in wet weather too! Standard engine is an exciting 1.4L Turbo 4 making 153 hp at 7000RPM, paired with a brand new, reliable CVT. Or, for $15000 you can upgrade to the Limited trim, where you’ll get a 2.0L Turbo making an exhilarating 188 hp*, a 14-speed dual-clutch automatic, and the option to add AWD for $3000, making the total vehicle weight ~6000 pounds. Est. MPG: 12 city, 19 highway. Financing available for qualified lessees: 1.9% APR for 120 months.
Plug-in hybrid coming soon this spring.
*Estimate based on European model.
Hilarious, but scary.
All we can really do is try to laugh at things like this. The things we can’t control. What else can ya do when we live in times where brands must cancel their best selling model and are offered the choice, commit suicide or else.
153HP @ 7000RPM is slightly inaccurate; most modern engines hit fuel cutoff somewhere between 6000-7000RPM because that’s where the valvetrain starts to become a major (and expensive) limiting factor. It might be more accurate to say 145 lb-ft @ 1500-4500 RPM, because you know how common those ridiculous flattened torque curves (usually via electronic wastegate) are becoming.
Americans scream that people should be moral and obey the law, but then they shrug when told that Trump broke the law when he cheated on his wife by illegally using a prostitute.
WTF?
Yeah, Lib,
Talk about hypocrisy- where adultery isn’t a crime, but anyone (including a single person) caught using a prostitute [ewww] can be locked up, and the whore too. Or, where adultery isn’t a crime, but to “assault” one’s spouse and or the person they’re adulterating with, is a “crime”.
It’s just all so sick.
The absurdities of government.
I don’t recall people being told that Trump broke the law for banging a porn star, but the issue had to do with the campaign finance issues around paying her hush money. Most people understood Trump’s flaws, I certainly did, and realized warts and all it was still a better choice than H.C.
Being a Mopar guy for a long time this news isn’t surprising. In my opinion after the Germans bought them they ceased really being Chrysler anymore, in spite of what few decent cars might have come out of them, it was still just like a long slow cancer until the dirt nap finally arrived. Look at poor Plymouth, their very last model being a “Breeze”, pretty sickening. I’m almost hoping this planned EV turd they’re planning kills them off even quicker and spares me anymore pain.
Hi Paul,
I feel the same. Cars like the 300 and Charger/Challenger date back to the Benz acquisition and are the last gasp of Chrysler (and Dodge) as they were. They are at least magnificent bookends and if Chrysler and Dodge end up taking that dirt nap, these cars will be remembered as high water marks.
For the same reason, I often wish GM had turned off the lights at Pontiac before it became not much more than a marketing arm for rebadged Chevys.
They did at least get the Solstice GXP out before the dirt nap. Yes, I know it is just a ‘GM’ and not a real Pontiac. But it was a not bad last effort.
BTW, GXPs are cheap now and a future classic for the collectors. Going to park one beside my ’88 Fiero one day, hopefully soon. Seems the good Fieros are starting to get noticed by collectors. Probably because most other (as new) 30+ year old stuff is $50K+ now.
Of course soon the only place you will be allowed to use these is at a track, after paying your ‘ecological terrorist tax’ because they are ICE powered.
Hi Cold,
I’ve had intermittent Fiero thoughts for years… always thought they were good-looking cars with huge potential. The Indy package especially.
To remember hw much we’ve lost, all I have to do is go out the garage and look at my Trans-Am….
The Fiero is good looking but with crap outward visibility, on par with the new Camaro. They were also badly gimped by GM so as not to compete with (read out-perform) the Corvette. SBC will fit because it was designed for it before corporate tried to kill it in the crib, compromising on a 4 banger commuter car, 2m4.
I bought mine with the intention of a 3.8sc series 2 swap. Have the parts, can’t bring myself to cut up a near-mint ’88 though. Though it is dropped 1.5″ to stop the front end lift at high speed.
I now want a Solstice GXP with the factory upgrade pack. 2900lbs, 290hp-340lb/ft, RWD, manual, no roof. Yes please. There is one a few hours away and they are asking $16,000 for it. Trying very hard to resist as I don’t need it, but weakening.
And if anyone can find a Solstice 2010 model, BUY IT! They only made 20. The last Pontiacs produced, other than the hideous Vibe.
Eric, here’s a movie that you might like:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6499752/
The opening scene sets the tone, a Smokey and the Bandit type T/A in the garage being restored and the guy’s wife pulls up in her self driving, solar powered car that talks to her incessantly.
A car that talks as much as a woman?!
I KNEW those EVs are evil!!!
eric, I really liked the Cuda the first year. It was small and had a performance stance with a good looking front end and the body bulge that accentuated the smallness of the front. Of course they couldn’t leave well enough alone so it had to grow.
We were watching a movie recently that had a ’67 Impala 2 door coupe in it. It had been restored and was really nice. I was reminded in the scenes taken from inside how roomy the cars were with bench seats front and rear and how much smaller it was than the behemoths being made today.
I know back then I thought of it as being a big car. Even Chevelles would seat 6 back then and nobody was crowded. A TBI engine and an OD transmission and they’d be 30 mpg cars these days.
Hi Eric, I agree and feel your pain. Being a Mopar guy first I still love anything old and it’s truly sad what happened to a great brand like Pontiac. I have some fond memories of some crazy rides in my friend’s 70’s T/A’s. Well, they can’t kill our memories and we can still drive and enjoy our classic toys for the time being at least.
Ditto, Paul…
I had this dark feeling the Hellcat – when it came out – was a kind of silent Last Hurrah; that the people inside knew what was around the bend and decided to fire a last salvo before the ship went under…
Own 2 300Cs: Wife’s 2010 and my 2016. I call them Autobahn cars, reminiscent of my time driving BMWs in Germany during the 1970s. On a recent trip using back roads (US highways in Kansas), I was driving the 2016 5.7L with the wife relaxing in her seat, reading her iPad, when I told her to look at the speedometer. She gasped and said, “You’re doing a hundred!” MPH, not KPH. We’d been doing that for at about 10 minutes and the car was barely breaking 2000 rpm. The 2016’s paddle shifters, sport mode, and whatever they’ve done to improve the brakes and steering (although the 2010 model’s were excellent) just make this an ideal highway car. I had planned to buy an SRT but when that was dropped, but had to settle for the regular Hemi, which is still the best car I’ve ever owned.
Terrible news about the 300. My wife and I have been driving two of these since 2011. Mine is the V-8 Hemi. I was looking for one again locally and found almost none of the V-8s for sale, new ones. I rented a new 300S recently for a NW mountain driving trip, which was V-6 like my wife’s car, and the 300S was very nice. Excellent acceleration and seemed much lighter and easier to drive than mine. Probably is. But still very roomy, huge even. Handled better than the V-8.
I’m considering trading my old one in (32K miles only!) just to get something newer. Very few maintenance problems. I live along I-10 in Texas in near what is the most dangerous stretch of freeway in Texas. Many huge semis and tanker trucks, oil field/wind turbine haulers, etc. I feel much safer in a large heavy sedan than in some econobox. Out of town my V-8 hums along very quietly and smoothly. Decent mileage too.
We’ll see if this “Portal” makes it (horrible name, sounds like a customer software website). I hope Chrysler still continues the Dodge Challenger/Charger, which are similar to the 300s. As for hybrids, we’ll see. The US is now exporting gasoline and is self sufficient. Prices are stable. Tesla is going down since Elon Musk has gone off the rails. He may be fired or even locked up for being crazy. That’s who you want as captain of the automobile version of the Titanic, for sure… If Tesla goes Chapter 11, the electric car fad might just die.
Thanks for mentioning the great Brock Yates. Anyone old enough to remember ‘Car & Driver’ in its glory years would agree with my use of the word ‘great.’ Not only were Brock and the better of his colleagues genuinely passionate about cars and the joy of driving, their magazine in those days was fun to read, due partly to its bold and appealing disrespect for civil authority, referring to the police – especially those who spent their lives chasing speeders – as mere “revenue agents.” When the book was taken over by another, it lost its anti-establishment edge – and eventually fired its best writer. I hope that the old former readers of ‘Car & Driver’ have found Eric Peters.
Wilhelm, I began taking Hot Rod when I was 10 but soon found Sports Car Graphic, then Road and Track and finally, Car and Driver. I took them all concurrently for a while. I guess i didn’t realize how good my parents were to me but back then mags of all sorts were pretty cheap.
The old glory days of C&D were the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s for me with Pat Bedard and Brock Yates among others. Things began to fade with the hiring of Csabe Csere, esp, since it took me years to figure out how to “pronounce” his name.
They used to do the most irreverent stuff that had no technical merit but was hugely entertaining to car nuts like myself.
One of the funniest was when MADD paid them to do a test about driving under the influence. So they assembled some of the greatest race car drivers, put each into his own race car and timed them for several laps yielding an average for each and then began to feed them 1.5 Oz. of booze, waiting so many minutes and then having them run their lap under time once more. They all did better and better as the test went on up to about 6 drinks or so in a space of an hour or so. It was hilarious and it wasn’t printed since MADD got….well…..MADD about the results. Something like a year later they published the story in full. It was one of those cackling, laughing type of articles they did really well.
On one similar test, and it may have been the end of this same one, they gave everybody a hit of pot every few laps and times began to dwindle rapidly although everybody was laughing so hard they didn’t really care. Boy, were those ever the “good ol days”. I dare say it would be possible to do same now for many and varied reasons with PC and insurance being the preeminent ones.
Drunk test: Dr. Johnny Fever had the same results.
This makes no sense to me either. The tooling for the 300 is paid for by now, so all those fixed-cost payments now go to the bottom line. The supply line has surely been optimized for cost & efficiency – the benefit of a long production life.
I’m sure they already have a partnership with a battery maker for their hybrid minivans. But one thing that Elon got right was to have his own supply (via the Nevada Gigafactory) so he’s not dependent on someone else for a critical component. FCA doesn’t have that, and they’ll be competing for battery production capacity with everyone else suddenly wanting to build an EV.
The other thing is the styling on the Portal. Futuristic, sure. Polarizing, yep. Attractive to buyers for years in the future? Probably not. They’ll have to redesign it from the ground-up after 5-6 years to either give it a more timeless look, or make styling it’s main selling feature.
I recall the Pontiac Trans-Sport, which when it actually arrived on showroom floors, had been neutered by the necessities of making it build-able and repairable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Trans_Sport
LOL! The 300 has been fugly from day one. Chrysler’s design teams would take the worst traits from competing models and exaggerate them.
It’s hilarious: Any time anyone tries to make something “futuristic looking”, it ALWAYS ends up being the very thing that looks the most dated the soonest.
futuristic always screams the era it was created in. It’s why scifi sets and the like don’t age well. If the writing isn’t there in some way it will be forgotten.
The revival of Dr. Who made fun of this when K9 showed up. The line was ‘why does it look so disco?’ K9 was the robot dog from the late 1970s Dr. Who.
Brent, I think the classic illustration of this, are the cars of the lates 50’s, with their “futuristic fighter jet space-age” styling! …which screams nothing but “late 50’s fad”.
Being a child with a good imagination I tried to get my dad to find a replacement for the “missiles” in the hood of our 57 Chevy. It seemed a no-brainer to me to use them on cops and roadhogs.
Probably I’d been just a satisfied with a compressor, tank and a locomotive horn.
This is no surprise to me … Chrysler has a fairly rich heritage of dumping a vehicle while it’s STILL popular.
Take for instance when everyone else was gearing up for SUV’s and refrigerator vehicles, Chrysler dumped the Ramcharger.
When everyone was selling small pickups, they dumped the Ram 50 and Dakota …
So what else is new ??
I am starting the think the strategy to get us out of ICE cars is simply becoming this: Just stop making them.
Just like how they got us out of what was considered (pre 1975) a full size car. Just don’t make them anymore, even if they sell well.
Government won’t even need to ban them completely. GM’s CEO basically has said she wants GM to be 100% electric. I won’t be surprised if there are very few new gas or diesel vehicles by 2030. That’s only 12 years from now folks.
It’s likely to work since it seems every existing automaker is on board, and you know how easy it is to start a new auto company now a days…….
I agree, Rich.
It amounts to the same thing.
And with olds cars which are simple and sturdy enough to be economically feasible to daily drive or restore being already so scarce that the prices they command make them not really candidates for daily driving- the IC car will just die by attrition- and if itr doesn’t die fast enough, they’ll help it along with some ban or high tax on old cars (as has been proposed many times already), or establish some kind of odious national “safety and emissions” inspection standard, which no older IC cars can pass- as is the case in some countries already- where a mere small dent or spot of rust on even a non-structural component will render the car undrivable.
I have a large stash of old light bulbs, simply because da gubmint doesn’t allow them to be manufactured anymore.
I have a stash of real Coke Zero because Coke execs are idiots.
The whole thing about the light bulbs was an attack on domestic manufacturing. The equipment made the process entirely automated and it cost too much to move it or recreate it elsewhere. They couldn’t stop making them because no company wanted to lose the business. Nobody would go first. So the corporations had the government make the energy requirement to get rid of them so they could all sell higher margin CFL and LED stuff. A few months after it was all said and done someone came up with a filament treatment that could be done on the production line, completely automated, that reduced the energy consumption considerably. Too bad. All had been scrapped.
CAFE and other regulation is designed to do exactly that. To remove the cars from the market. That’s why they are so hideous compared to the rest of the world. The puritanical Yankees have to remove the choice the europeans, Japanese, and others simply tax them heavily.
“They know something we don’t.”
I think they see some of the battery tech in the pipeline and want to get established. Solid state batteries (the dielectric material is a polymer not a liquid) are now starting to enter the supply chain. They can handle a much faster charge rate than existing batteries. They are pretty safe in an accident. They’re able to have many more charge/discharge cycles. And they can handle a pretty big discharge curve.
The downside is that they still aren’t as quick to recharge as it is to fill a gas tank. They still don’t have the energy density of gasoline -in fact right now they’re worse than LiPO battery tech. And there’s a ton of patents on everything. That last point is probably the kicker. I’m sure the automakers have learned the lessons of the tech and pharmaceutical industry: patent everything you can, buy out small startups for their portfolio and take a posture of mutually assured destruction if anyone tries to sue for infringement.
https://electrek.co/2018/09/11/solid-state-battery-startup-bmw-hyundai-samsung-breakthrough-electric-vehicles/
There’s something going on here that we are not aware of.
Why would so many companies be seemingly committing suicide by ditching profitable vehicles for ones for which there is no demand, and which no profit can be made on?
The only thing I can figure, is that the big-wigs are “in” on something which we don’t know- something like a major war, which will make oil outrageously expensive or unobtainable; or a government dictate which will on some level outlaw IC cars- or prevent their manufacture.
Executives occasionally do some crazy things- but the fact that they [at least the ones in the auto industry] are ALL doing the SAME crazy thing, and that this seeming mental illness is infecting so many of them, leads me to believe that it has to be more than stupid business decisions or application of their greenie virtue-signaling that is behind these moves.
There is more to this than meets than eye.
Nunz,
Damn right. These CEOs may be many things, but they are not idiots.
My guess is the fix is in, that on a national or global level, ICE vehicles are going to be banned, outright.
AF, they’d need a pretext to do that though, ’cause even the average statist wouldn’t stand for that- so I think something involving oil- and thus probably a huge war or some “catastrophe” of that sort.
Nunz,
Brother, I think that is where you are wrong.
Never underestimate the willingness of your average AmeriKunt to accept tyranny as the “new normal”.
9/11 broke that dam, “theye” don’t need a pretext for anything anymore, theye just do it. If you don’t like it, and you have any sort of platform to raise a fuss about it and maybe push back, they turn you into an “unbanked” unperson.
It happened to Eric, it’s happening to Alex Jones right now, and it will happen to much larger “mainstream” opposition organizations, like NRA or GOA in the very near future.
A “policy” that de facto bans ICE vehicles is already in place, the new CAFE standards…and nobody cares, hell they are suing to stop those standards from being rescinded.
AmeriKunts WANT this.
Very true, AF- but with the caveats that:
a)The average work-a-day American is ignorant of these things for the most part- and won’t realize what it means/what’s happening, until it happens.
b)Two things (and only two things) would mobilize the masses: 1)Take away “their” Socialist Security”, and 2)Take away their ability to travel.
Maybe that’s the plan though: They’ll keep pushing and pushing as far as they can, until there is pandemonium.
Although, give it a few more years, and I’d say you are right- as the ability to travel far and freely at an affordable cost will be essentially bred out of the population- as we are indeed starting to see with the urban millenials.
Other than that, I fully agree- Americunts will accept virtually anything: Being groped at airports; being interfered with by armed goons for committing some trifling triviality; even sending their kids off to kill and be killed for the Jews and the Globalist agenda…
Then again, maybe you are right. And besides, what can they do? Nothing. (Might almost be worth it, to see some homie with 22″ rims and 400 lb. she-boon in a little electric buggy, stuck in the middle of nowhere, screaming: “They done tol’ me de sumbitch would go 200 miles, muffuggers!” after he didn’t calculate for the added load and 2000W stereo…)
I used to be a member of a Yahoo Group called something like Misc_Survivalism dot yahoo dot com. I unchecked the receive daily messages from this group box because the moderator/owner of it was excessively strict about what is considered on topic, and because some members made such stupid slavish comments that I felt compelled to respond to.
He had a second site for those of us who desired to exceed the limits of his primary site. In it around the year 2000 to 2002, I made the statement that Americans would comply to a law requiring them to stand daily outside of their homes bent over with their pants down for an anal examination by the local cops.
Nobody even bothered to challenge my outrageous claim, and I admit that my claim arose more from frustration than actual belief that such a thing would really happen.
I, as an ignorant teenager had at an earlier time enlisted in the Army fully believing the propaganda I had been taught about the heroic founding fathers and the constitution.
I also was among the first class of people who had to submit to piss tests, as were airline pilots and truck drivers. Even sheeple me back then knew that this was wrong, and I observed that the lions share of Americans did not care that our CONstitutional rights were being violated Even sheeple me knew that the practice would spread as a result of that lack of caring about the rights of citizens in general!
I was right! The pants down prediction was only half serious; but not really that far off in today’s society. Oh, but I was just a dumb hick hillbilly from Missouri…
Brian, I made a similar remark to my old college group. I said if Bush declared they should surrender their first born at curbside they’d all bust their ass to have them there. I was surprised when nobody seemed to be offended by it. They were all such Bush-suckers it was sickening. I guess they just wanted to prove I was right. It bothers me to this day.
Of course I was just the radical my cousin accused of being anti-Semitic when I pointed out Israel was NOT our ally, at least not the ally of the people of this country and they simply wanted to use the US up to the point they could take it over. I haven’t changed my opinion about that either. People in this country can’t see all Israeli’s aren’t like Netanyahu just like everyone in this country aren’t Bush-suckers.
One guy kept saying “Bush is gone, he’s not in office. What he did is not here nor there now, he’s gone. All the while, he’d rail and rail about Lincoln and the evil shit he did that was still with us. As far as I can tell, he still doesn’t see the hypocrisy of what he continues to say. Of course now, he’s a libertarian, well, Libertarian, because of his voting in one election. Of course now, all I ever hear is his dissing “the Democrats” as if they alone are to blame for all the horseshit that’s being played out in this country. Just recently the gov and AG of Tx. signed onto supporting “red laws”, the very heart of fascisism where a person is raided, has his guns taken along with his ammo and banned from having a gun…..because one person said they didn’t like him, they were afraid of him BECAUSE he has guns….and that being the only reason. I hate to think Tx. will become as backward and asshole state as Florida.. We’re getting there though, except for the huge amount of mail that made both of them back up and withdraw their support which lends credence to the old saw about the only thing a politician is concerned with is getting elected…and re-elected.
Nunzio, I think they can also see the writing on the walls with so many people sitting home out of work, working from home, and the fact that just about anything can be delivered now.
I’ve noticed that whenever “they” want you to do what they want, they always start some campaign telling us all how great their new plan/program etc. is.
What you’ll see is a bunch of smiling faces driving around in these electric things as well as a bunch of smiling faces who are so happy that they don’t have to move a muscle for the rest of their lives.
I can’t count how many times I’ve seen some ad with a bunch of smiling faces doing something I seriously don’t like. e.g. cashless transactions. tellerless bank transactions, etc. Isn’t it so convenient to use our new and improved automated banking menus? No, it sucks just a bit more than waiting in a bank while my local banker plays a few more hands of solitaire on their computer while I sit there with a file full of documents that need to be notarized. Perhaps these bankers know their jobs are about to go the way of the dodo as well so they’re just waiting for their notice to clean out their desks.
Nunz,
That last paragraph made me laugh so hard I hurt myself.
Thanks, AF- I always appreciate knowing that someone enjoys my humor. (Most statists, naturally, don’t “get” it.)
Hey nunz – you are totally right when you say they are basically breeding the desire to travel out of the urban millennial. When you look at the kids today, the really just dont think of getting out of cities. to “travel” means to go from one city to another via a plane. Nobody even desires to get out, hence driving is basically redundant. Had a real funny experience a couple months ago. A guy at works daughter unfortunately passed away and a couple of us who are close to him went out to the funeral, which was not really far, but a chapel just outside london kinda in the middle of nowhere (it was a protected forest or something). I had a greek guy with me, who was completely freaking out. How we will go, how we will come back, if he will make it back in time, are there trains, when do they close, what will happen if it gets dark, will he get dinner…… im like dude chill out. Ill get you home, its not a big deal – told him he can crash at my place if he wants, or i can even drive him home if he wants so he calmed down a little. On the way there he told me – in 15 years he had NEVER been outside of Zone 1 in London!!!
I think guys like the kind here are basically a dying breed….
The Great American Road Trip is pretty much a thing of the past now. Whole towns that were once hubs for exploring the countryside via automobile are dead because of cheap airfare and lack of interest in the novel experience. Those that remain have doubled down on nostalgia, becoming poorly rendered living museums of the 1950s.
The exception to that rule is if your local landmark gets traction on social media as a “must see” destination. But be prepared for that feature to be overwhelmed and destroyed by disrespectful, self-centered morons who aren’t really interested in the subject, more that they have to play out the reality TV that is what their lives have become. Sure, I take a lot of pictures too, but I’m almost never in them and for sure only a minor handful ever get “shared” with my friends and family. Oh and your town better have a Starbucks and a few chain restaurants* nearby or else…
*cookie cutter independents work too as long as they have the same basic food and flavors as everywhere else
Yeh, its happening across Europe two – only the major cities or tourist destinations are now surviving. Thanks mostly to the cheap airlines, most who get out leave one metropolis and land in another. But sad thing is whenever you land anywhere in Europe, its pretty much the same – same chains or same standard hipster cookie cutter independents selling overpriced shit with avocado…. The small / medium towns, particularly say those english coastal towns which were once thriving thanks to regional tourism have totally fallen apart now and are little hell holes infested with crime and drugs……
Ya know what’s killing the road trips too, RK?
Everything’s become homogenized. You’ve seen one big city, you’ve seen them all. You’ve one small town- you’ve seen them (Big box stores in a sea of parking lots on the perimeter; Downtown, if not dead, then just artificially existing for entertainment and tourism- with dime-a-dozen cafes and stupid festivals and shows…).
Used to be, you’d travel any distance, and the people were different. Now a days, no matter where you go in the US, it’s the same crap- they all talk the same; look the same; think the same; dress the same.
I used to love to get in the car and go exploring- even locally, years ago. Today? Pfffft! I hate leaving my own property, ’cause i don’t like anything i see elsewhere.
The prospect of finding some nice place that time forgot; that looks different; that doesn’t conform…..are over.
The last things I ever wanted to see were tourist attractions- because they are artificial- I always liked just observing local color; local life; building styles; scenery; businesses/industries.
Today, it’s all the freaking same. Not even any interesting roads. You either take the interstate…or a state highway, which have now all conformed to artificial federal standards and also all look and feel the same.
Yawn.
Want to duplicate the experience of taking a modern road trip? Just go to the plumbing section of the nearest Lowe’s or Home Dee-pot, and look at the toilets.
Nasir,
I’m used to seeing that behavior. Such has been de rigeur in NYC for generations. I had relatives back there who had never driven a car in their entire life (nor fired a gun) 🙁
They live in a totally artificial man-made environment. Living in the real world, or having any real autonomy, is completely foreign to them.
They live by proxy- and thus they become the perpetuators and enablers of the very ones who oppress us all, because they are the ones who advocate the power of government, on which their very lives depend.
As NYC and London go…so goes the whole first world- as we are now seeing.
Nasir, there are also quite a lot of this younger generation that still travel quite extensively around the world. For the most part, they do it without a car. They’re not going to take a car across the pond, or bother with the expense of renting one when they can just as easily just take the train, hitchhike, etc.
Morning, Nunz!
It could be what you suggest – that they are in on something coming. But I doubt it. The more likely explanation is the same one which accounts for the genuflection before the “diversity” gods – social (and legal) pressure. EVs are part of the “climate change” religion, which no one in corporate or even public life dares gainsay without risking their job if not their career. To be a “denier” is even worse than being an ass-grabber.
And keep in mind that we are talking about corporations and corporations are run by people who care about short-term quarterly profits only. Most of the current heads of major car companies won’t be five years from now – so what do they care? They’re making double-millions annually and when you have that kind of scratch, it doesn’t matter. You are insulated from the consequences of almost anything that goes wrong with the economy.
Hi Eric, Nunz. There is a possibility that its as you say Eric, that they are looking at the 5 year horizon where its probably better to just tow the line and get the 8 figure payout. Then you are set for life.
But there is a part of me which thinks the reason all western car executives are bending over and happily accepting all this is indirectly its a form of protectionism helping them. Make rules for car sales so complicated that manufacturers out in Asia cant manufacture them (or in a profitable way). Looking at Chinese local manufacturers, in the past 15 years they have come a very long way from poor copies of popular western cars to some who are really innovating in areas (for example one of the first to put FreeValve technology camless into a normal car is a Chinese company named Qoros). And this will create a lot of pressure on car the western car companies if they try to compete the old fashioned way.
So what does one do in the crony capitalist centrally planned state we now live in – Use the overly powerful state to protect your main markets (and try to sell as a luxury product in outside markets to create a little extra growth), cruise through your tenor at the top enjoy your 8 figure payout, retire and do ted talks about diversity and green-ness!! Life is good if if you get it!!!
Guten Morgen, Herr Peters!
Good points, Eric!
But contrast them with the fact that you’ve mentioned, of how Chrysler has spun-off Ram as a separate company; likely indicative that they foresee the demise of Chrysler- i.e. the suicide is planned and accepted.
In actuality, it’s probably ALL of the above (What you’ve said, plus what I’ve said). Ditto for companies like Cadillac which are now pursuing the car-subscription model of bidness (Can’t say that there’s political or social pressure on them to do that!).
What really amazes me, is how companies like Chrysler and Caddy have managed to stay in business this long, considering that they have made nothing but junk for several decades.
The Chrysler 2.7 V6 has to bne THE WORST modern engine of recent times. And have you seen GM’s Eco-whatever diesel? Holy crap!
I dunno- maybe it’s just the collective craziness of current Western society. One thing is for sure: We have passed the point of no return. The pinnacle of useful, reliable technology was reached, and now we’re on the steep downside- in every respect- politically; culturally; philosophically; technologically; logistically…. It’s like the corruption of every facet of endeavor was timed to just start imploding simultaneously- and this is it.
Interesting times to be alive.
****Hi, Nasir!****
Average tenure of a CEO is up to 7.4 years (post from 2016):
https://www.equilar.com/blogs/59-ceo-tenure.html
I still don’t believe it. Automotive News is ‘claiming’ it is being eliminated.
https://www.leftlanenews.com/fca-to-retire-chrysler-300-101397.html
I know a little about manufacturing, and the 300 is made right alongside the Charger and Challenger, at the same plant on the same line. Shares almost everything with Charger/Challenger except sheetmetal and a different dashboard. IF they are killing the 300 then that leaves a 50K/year unit hole in the plants numbers. not gonna happen.
Now if they say Charger/Challenger are moving to somewhere else, or changing to something else, then I can believe the 300 is done.
Or, if I hear the Charger/Challenger are dead, then I will believe it. The plants union has a contract to ’20 or ’21. So who knows what the future of that plant holds. Someone knows.
I will be buying another one very soon because my wife loves driving my 300, and wants it. So it opens up my chance to possibly get a slightly better version, the Charger Scat Pack 6.4. I just need to drive it first to see how it rides compared to my 300. If it doesn’t ride as good as my 300 then I’ll order another 300 V8 RWD only, My favorite vehicle I have ever owned, since the 80’s.
I can hear it now at the dealership ‘sorry Mr. xx, we don’t offer a warranty to 300K miles’, haha
Hi Chris,
I hope (wish) you’re right. But I’ve expected this for some time. Despite the fact that the 300 is still selling well, the PC and CAFE pressures are becoming severe and now that Sergio’s gone…
They are going to sell about two of those piece of crap. My God. I guess Chrysler is done.
The Chrysler Port-Hole. Isn’t that the thing that will sink an ocean liner if you leave too many open in a storm?
Sounds about right, only in will probably end up being a “sink hole” at best. What a waste of energy and materials; I wonder why that’s never a consideration when bragging about “saving the environment” or “wasting natural resources”?
I don’t think CAFE is calculated by ‘brand’ but rather corporately. Either way the 300 is a drag on it.
If you don’t make the CAFE standards, you pay a fine to the feds. What Chrysler is doing, rather than paying the fines and adding them into the MSRP, makes no fucking sense.
Hi Jim,
I think there are two factors at work. The first is political correctness, the factor which is driving the whole EV juggernaut. It’s a kind of collective mania, like the Stakhanovite thing in Stalin’s Soviet Union.
Second, it’s harder for Chrysler to just bump the MSRP of the 300 (and Dodge the Charger) because these are not BMWs, et al. The buyer demographic is generally middle class and if the price goes up $1,000 let’s say, it makes it a harder sell.
The whole thing is vile, though.
And I think it presages the end of Chrysler certainly and probably Dodge, too.
Chrysler isn’t going to last long as the seller of a minivan and an electric Poltroon.
Without the Charger and the Challenger, what has Dodge got?
Take note that FCA already put the trucks under the Ram brand.
What’s really left of Chrysler anyways? Didn’t they file for bankruptcy a few years ago? Didn’t part of it get bought up by Daimler Benz, and then the rest by Fiat?
Five years from now the people who can afford to buy a big powerful fast car are going to be buying Mercedes, BMW’s etc. while the rest will be walking, biking or doing repairs to the car they already own.
Whoever designed the Portal must have used the Aztec as their inspiration. Why do they do that? Well, I think I know why. But let’s come back to that.
Consider if you will, the big Tesla. For all of it’s terminal faults, it is quite good looking….fast too. Enough to give it real appeal, if you don’t look too closely. One wonders why other manufactures don’t use these obvious methods to make their electrical offerings attractive to more buyers.
The Portal is “supposed” to be ugly. Probably slow too, and as unappealing to drive and ride in as possible. Should be close to the perfect Anti-Car. People will think “private transportation is such a bad experience that I might as well go Mass Transit All The Way!” Don’t cry for FCA. THey’ll make plenty of money selling autonomous people pods, in every size you can imagine.
Clearly, this steaming pile is intended to be the “Portal to oblivion” for privately owned and controlled automobiles.
Nothing other than the Aztec could have ever been the chosen transportation for Walter White.
If the car companies were smart, they’d go into business making replacement parts for their real cars. Make a few electrics to satisfy the government, and make a ton of everything they made in the last 20 years as parts.
Oh, and just parts have no fuel efficiency rating. None. They can entirely sidestep CAFE ratings that way. Real cars can stay on the market for decades if the car manufacturers convert to parts manufacturers.
Parts aren’t the problem in keeping old cars on the road as daily drivers labor is. Time is.
There will be car remanufacturers at some point. Then the government will make that business illegal or economically non-viable.
Exactly, Brent, he part being produced- will be the tipping point of keeping old cars on the road. Makng biidness illegal with be the culminating point. I like all sorts of cars and would buy them as i saw fit. The problem being govt.
As was said in Rodio Pirate, That’s the great thing about being the govt. If there’s something you don’t like, You just make it illegal. No truer words have ever been spoken.
Already happening in the truck world. Bill Hewitt takes older pre-emissions Ford Powerstrokes and restores them for re-sale.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEIHU50bMw4
http://powerstrokehelp.com/
I can see a need for the same thing with cars and SUVs.
God that thing is ugly too. RIP Chrysler.
These idiots could have kept the 300 going for another 5 years if they wanted to. Trump froze the gas mileage limits at 37 mpg by 2026. That’s only 1.5 mpg higher than they are today at 35.5. Even if a Demoshithead was to take over after 2020, they would be met the reality of having to fool with designs in a middle of a product cycle. These idiots at chrysler need to be canned.
Hi Swamp,
It’s not Chrysler… it’s Fiat… and Sergio’s gone now. It’s not a coincidence.
So this cancels the earlier announcement that the 300 was staying around in its current form until 2022?
Looks killing the 300 was something that was planned while Sergio was still alive (link below). Also, I would like to think that Sergio would have had someone like him (a car guy) lined up to take over in case he were to leave or, in this case, pass away.
They are most likely replacing it with the electric potato just so that they can rack up a few CAFE credits in the long run. That way when the Leftists take over again, FCA can continue making V8 trucks, SUVs, and muscle cars, at least for a little while.
https://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1117014_chrysler-likely-to-kill-off-300-but-division-will-stick-around
Hi Josh,
Sergio’s death was unexpected; an operation went badly. He should be alive. It sucks that he’s not.
Thanks for the reply Eric! I’ve been lurking on your blog for a while. You can thank David Knight for this reader 🙂
The challenger and charger are close to my heart; my current ride is a charger. I really hope you are wrong about FCA planning on killing those two. I know there is a high likelyhood that you are correct though.
Welcome, Josh!
I hope there is a stay of execution as well. If the 300 goes, it is very likely the Charger/Challenger will go, too.
Does Chrysler – on its own – have the resources to keep these cars going, or to update them to meet the next round of saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafety and emissions folderol? Keep in mind how old these cars are. It’s frankly amazing that FCA has been able to maintain “compliance” with a decade-old (plus) design and not just the car(s) but also the engines. If Fiat bails – and that seems quite possible – then Chrysler (and Dodge) are sunk unless they find a buyer with deep pockets.
Ram and Jeep will definitely continue. But the rest… I have my doubts.
It’s all of the car companies. It’s sad that Sergio is gone. I think he was put out;.
what will SRT be able to modify after this? Looks like we will have that hellcat pacifica out of necessity. Just make it awd and i’ll be happy.
Hi Mooeing,
SRT is kaput.
Take away the RWD/V8 layouts and that’s it. I’ve seen this coming. And it explains the Hellcat. Last hurrah…
Cue the scene from Mad Max: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bQzkdK2ha0
Assuming the Charger Challenger duo are history too then?
Hi Rich,
No word… yet. But I expect it. For the same reasons. Charger and Challenger sell, but they are old and drag down FCA’s CAFE numbers and are most politically incorrect. Now that Sergio’s gone, I would bet on the cancellation of both.