Re: [Chrysler300] 300M Special & Horsepower <LONG RANT>

["Thomas Miller" <tfm@xxxx>]

All right, I can't stay out of this one any longer.....

I'm 42 years old, and currently own a nice 300C, a 300M that's logged 50,000 miles, an all original 1970 440+6 'Cuda, an '89 Maserati TC, and a DodgeRAM pickup truck. I've also had the good fortune in the last 27 years to have been in and out all of the following and some more that I can't seem to remember right now:


'49 Dodge Wayfarer Roadster (D30 Flathead 6)
'62 Imperial Southampton
'62 Dodge Dart 330 (My first car!) (Polyshperical 318)
'64 Ponitac Catalina (389 4 bbl)
'66 Imperial Crown (Originally owned by TV Evangelist Rex Humbard......)
'67 Chrysler 300 Convertible (440 4bbl.)
'67 Plymouth Fury III convertible (318 2 bbl.)
'68 Dodge Dart GTS (383 4 bbl.)
'68 Pontiac Firebird (326 2bbl.)
'68 Chevrolet Biscayne Station Wagon (307 2bbl.)
'69 Mercury Marauder X100 (429 4bbl.)
'69 Plymouth GTX Convertible (440 4bbl.)
'69 Dodge Charger Daytona (440 4bbl.)
'70 Plymouth Superbird 440+6
'70 Plymouth Sport Fury GT (Distant relative to the Chrysler 300 Hurst)
'70 Plymouth Duster Slant Six
'70 AMC Gremlin (no laughing please)
'70 Plymouth Roadrunner Convertible (a 383 4bbl. in Plum Crazy Purple no less!) 
'71 DeTomaso Pantera (351Cleveland ZF 5spd)
'71 Plymouth 'Cuda (383 4 bbl. 4 spd.)
'74 Dodge Charger SE (318 2bbl.)
'79 Chrysler Cordoba (a real stripper, but w/ a 360 2bbl.)
'79 Dodge Magnum (360 2bbl.)
'81 Chrysler Imperial (318 f.i.)
'85 Dodge Daytona (2.2l turbocharged)
'85 Chrysler New Yorker 5th Avenue (318 2bbl.)
'87 Shelby Lancer (2.2l intercooled turbocharged)
'87 Chrysler New Yorker 5th Avenue (318 2bbl.)
'88 DeTomaso Pantera GT5s (Nitrous Oxide Injected 351 Cleveland ZF 5spd.)
'94 Dodge RAM Pickup (318 f.i.)
'95 Chrysler LHS (3.5l f.i.)
'96 Dodge RAM Quad Cab Pickup (360 f.i.)
'97 Eagle Vision TSi (3.5l f.i. Autostick)
'01 Chrysler PT Cruiser

Ok, ok, I know it's a long list and it looks like I'm bragging. Well, I sort of am, but not about the cars. I've been fortunate enough over the years to have been able to live automotive history practically a year at a timein some cases. I've thoroughly enjoyed every one of these cars (yes, eventhe Gremlin!) I listed them here in chronological order, not in order of my possession; to point out the amazing differences you see in cars that are even just 5 years apart. Take the Dodge Wayfarer for instance. It was a true roadster with pop-out Plexiglas side curtains, a manual drop top and no back seat. I think Dodge only sold about 300 of them before they switched to roll up windows. It was an absolute dog by today's standards. The flat 6 and fluid drive trans were a horrid combination. But just 6 years later, the C300 came along. What a different car! Right? I dearly loved the Imperials I had. The late 60s muscle cars were a blast too. Even the Charger Daytona and the Plymouth Superbird had their subtle differences (I owned both of these cars at the same time.... It was fun to compare and contrast the same aero ideas cropped onto a Roadrunner and a Charger, sort of thesame but still very different!)

Ok, so where am I going with this? Here goes. A '57 300C cost around $5000.00 new. My 440+6 'Cuda stickered for around $5000.00. The stripped down '79 Cordoba, yep around $5000. How much did cars change from '57, to '70 to '79? Loads. In lots of ways. The sheer volume of automobiles sold in the United States has gone up exponentially from the "old days" till now. 300C production was less than 3000 cars total. I think Chrysler sold around30,000 'Cudas and Challengers in 1970. Cordobas in '79? I don't rememberbut it was a bunch. I think Chrysler met their goal of selling 160,000 PTCruisers in the '01 model year. (Where the hell did they all go?!) So, the point here, LARGE differences in the number of cars sold.

The way cars are sold has changed significantly. I remember as a kid in the small Eastern Ohio town of 5000 that I grew up in, we had a Ford/Mercury agency, a Dodge agency, a Chevrolet Dealer, and a Chrysler- Plymouth Dealer. What's the difference? The "agencies" were lucky to have 10 cars in stock. The "dealers" easily had 30 or 40 cars in stock. Remember when the new model year always started around September and the dealer showrooms wouldbe cordoned off with cars covered until announcement day? It sure isn't like that today is it?!

Ok, so what's my point? The point is, you can't really compare a 300C to a300M. They're two different cars, for two different times. I love 'em both. The C puts as much of a grin on my face as the M does. You also can'tcompare production numbers from the different eras directly. Frankly, I think Chrysler was lucky to unload 3000 300Cs in the '57 model year. To me,that car was sort of a Dodge Viper in its day (both in price and performance). So, is 8000 M Specials a "limited" run? Well, it sure is compared to160,000 PT Cruisers, and I think in perspective it's in the same boat as 3000 300Cs when you consider overall production and how the demand for cars has changed in 45 years.  

I go to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit every year. In Jan. of '98, my wife and I poked and prodded every large sedan there was, foreign & domestic. Yes even the Cadillacs and Lincolns, Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Infiniti, Acura,etc. Hmmm. another point. There's a whale of a lotmore to choose from these days than there was back in the 50s. But again,I emphasize, nothing came close to the 300M in overall room, performance and style in that price range. We bought the 300M later that year. Is there any other car that comes close to the M in the $25,000 - $55,000 price range. I can categorically say no. Nothing touches that car today in that price range. BTW, I'm seeing 2002 300Ms going for around $26,000 here in Columbus Ohio. That's a bargain in my book.  

By the way Karl, the Jaguar XK8 convertible starts at around $75,000 and goes to about $95,000. (See : http://www.edmunds.com/new/2001/jaguar/xkseries/xk82drconvertible40l8cyl5a/prices.html ) It better turn low 14s at that price. Hmmmm..... How much does a Viper cost? Yeah, there we go. Another winner from the Chrysler camp! <grin>

All right, the caboose to this train of thought is that cars, people and our country have drastically changed since World War II. I know I was just as proud of my 300M the day it came home as the guy who first brought my 300C home in June of 1957 and the suave debonair dude that first cruised the streets in that '49 Wayfarer I once had. I know we all satisfied an urge for something special, with cars that involve sort of the same spirit, but are three totally different cars for three totally different times. It was abig moment for me.  

I'm just as proud of my M as I am my C and all of the other cars that I nowand have had the good fortune of owning. Can I pick just one of them out as my favorite? No. I liked them all for various reasons (and again YES even the Gremlin!) I don't think we can compare the old with the new. They're just different! I appreciate them for what they were in history, and know that I'm making today's history!

Best Regards to all,


Thomas F. Miller

tfm@xxxx
614.975.4164 voice/page
707.667.2601 eFax

>>> "Magik Draggin'" <longrammopar@xxxx> 11/01/01 09:04PM >>>
I've said this before and just to be redundant, I'll say it again. I had 
the opportunity to firsthand see just what the 300M could do when the driver 
of one decided to get bushy-tailed with me and my "G" one fine afternoon.

With a 1/4 tank of pure 110 octane camII fuel in the tank, this fellow 
pulled up next to me at a country highway traffic light and stomped on it 
when the light turned green. Even with the advantage of that jump off the 
line, I caught him at about 50mph and pulled him by better than 2 car 
lengths at 70 before he backed off.

At the next light, I was waiting for him and nailed it as soon as the light 
turned green. Sorry, but he didn't have a chance and backed off well before 
60 mph. We pulled off at a convenience store up the road a bit and once he 
took a gander at the ram inducted 413 and those twin fours, he just shook 
his head and said, "no wonder".

There certainly wasn't any "drivers skill" factor here are both cars were 
automatics and all one had to do was "punch it" and point the nose forward 
down the boulevard. Maybe some factory prepared "M" could be made to outrun 
my "G", but THAT one couldn't.

For 35 grand, I am not impressed, even if it IS a Chrysler. Now, I was 
impressed at that Jag out at the Keystone drag strip, that for the same 
amount of money as the "M", was turning low 14's and 101 mph at the lights.

Karl



From: Russ Vaughan <russ@xxxx>
Jeff,

What pulls the vehicle around is TORQUE - NOT
horsepower!

A 300M is about three seconds faster in the quarter than a C300. With
47 LESS horsepower, hows it do that?

300ly

Russ Vaughan


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