Re: [Chrysler300] How the K car is related to a current 300C

["rob kern" <robkern@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello 300'ly to all!
    The K-car brought my family back into the Chrysler fold big time! We bought an '85 Dodge Caravan LE and loved it (especially after driving Chevy Chevettes with two babies from New Bern, North Carolina to Florida in the early '80s.  Memories of pampers packed under the seats, floor to ceiling luggage, every nook and cranny stuffed with travel items for an 1800 mile round trip). 5 months later on a March Saturday, stopped at a light next to the Chrysler dealer enroute to a Cub Scout pagent I laid eyes on an "85 cream colored LeBaron Turbo convertible with tan interior and told the boys we'd be a little late to the scout show.  BeeLined it to the showroom, never asked for a deal, paid sticker ($15,200) and told them to have it ready by the time I came back from the scout show.  Traded Marnie's Chevette and came home with Cub Scouts in back seat with top down and radio blaring.  Supposed to be Marnie's car, after a month she swapped with me for the Caravan and I had the Turbo convertible.  Babied the heck out that sweet car until 1994.  Sold it in 5 minutes when RJ got his driver's license and I felt he needed to be driving a car with a solid roof and dual airbags. Loved every minute I owned that LeBaron convertible.  Got me back into the Chrysler styling theme.  Subsequently put on 104K miles on the '85 Caravan, traded it for a '90 Plymouth Voyager and put 124.5K miles on it and the traded it for a '96 Dodge Grand Caravan LE...light Iris metallic with gray cladding. After 18 years of Minivans we became empty nesters and went for an Escalade and then went crazy with a 2002 T-Bird...truly Marnie's, then Mopsy, then a PT Cruiser (bought one for RJ, day I ordered his as a college graduation present decided I HAD TO HAVE one for myself) and then traded it for a PT Cruiser GT Turbo in 2003, added a 2003 Buick Park Avenue Ultra, and then an '05 SSR. Now with 6 vehicles and finally loving each one!  So the K-cars got us out of the throw away car doldrums of the early '80s and gave us superb family minivans and a fun convertible. I feel the same way with supporting Chrysler now with future purchses of a 300HemiC (probable SRT-8) and maybe a Dodge Challenger.  We need to keep Chrysler up there because they truly are a fantastic car company with Lord knows a veritable heritage of performance vehicles we love!  ROB KERN
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: lettercars@xxxxxxx 
  To: rpjasin@xxxxxxxxxxx ; Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 6:00 AM
  Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] How the K car is related to a current 300C



  Hi All:
  Thank you Bob. Some seem to have forgotten the importance of the K car. I 
  worked in Product Engineering at the Jefferson plant at that time, and 
  believe me, we were all well aware of the importance of our efforts there to the 
  future of Chrysler. If the K car launch at Jeff was not successful, there 
  would likely be no Chrysler. Relients and Aries may not have been the best cars 
  on the planet, but they were far from the worst! We still have our '81 
  Relient SE 2 door with 4 speed. With gas prices as they are, maybe we should 
  think about reactivating it!
  Working in the plant that gave "Birth" to all our 300s was an added benefit 
  for me, of course. Some will recall I arranged a tour of the facility as one 
  activity at our 7th Fall meet in October of 1977. I felt strongly that 300 
  owners should get a look inside the facility while "C" bodies were still 
  being assembled there. (We switched to Ramchargers/Trail Dusters and Pickups for 
  the 1979 Model Year---not the best move ever!)
  300ly, Gil

  In a message dated 6/11/2007 10:37:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
  rpjasin@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:

  Rich, Louis, and list,

  K cars saved Chrysler Corp. They were the right concept at the right time.
  The K-car chassis pulled Chrysler out of debt, paid off loans sooner than
  expected and the US government never paid out a single red cent of
  taxpayers' dollars to save the company. Thanks to the K-car and Iacocca's
  leadership, Chrysler fans have a lot to be grateful for. Without the
  K-car, I doubt that there would be a Chrysler dealership for you to walk
  into today and order a new 300C Hemi powered sedan. The success of the first
  Minivan, based on the K chassis, goes unquestioned, It changed personal
  transportation in the mid '80s, and continues to, to this day. You've made a
  good choice Rich. Heming's Class car did a Dodge Mirada story recently,
  K-cars are coming into their own. The K car something to laugh at? They did
  that with fin cars too.

  Bob J

  ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

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