classic car

Amidst the confusing Chrysler/Maserati/Jeep/Fiat/Dodge/Ferrari display at Detroit, a Lancia hatchback stood out. It's not every day that a Lancia gets major attention at a U.S. auto show, but the reason this stood out was because of blatant badge engineering. As you get close to this automobile, you notice the lack of the middle Lancia strike of chrome down the grille and Chrysler logos on the wheels instead of Lancia. What...?

Leave it to the former, non-Italian Chrysler to try tell us they'll have a fully-functioning electric car company many years ago, and come out with a glorified golf cart that has huge insurance costs per lack of any safety features that supposedly cost billions to develop, called GEM. Top speed? 25 MPH. Range? 40 miles. By then, nobody wants them because of their final design, and Chrysler loses money. This is one reason why the brilliant management of Chrysler failed to work. I've seen one of these vehicles after many years on the market, and I've seen over ten Smart cars since March.

Okay, so Fiat has a deal with Chrysler for the bankrupt company to badge engineer the established Italian manufacturer's little microcar, the iconic 500. This tells us a few things.
One: Chrysler is so desperate that they've stepped down to the level of the failed Isuzu brand and many other tiny brands and gone to pure badge engineering. This tells us the company is so intent on pleasing the government that they don't care that the cars they're doing it with are little econobox Fiats. I'm not saying that Fiat doesn't make good cars and I wouldn't look forward to seeing 500s around town, this is just an observation on how low Chrysler has gone.
Two: I'm also glad Chrysler is taking these steps because some of the funding may go towards making homegrown Chryslers better. They could do a redesign of the Jeep Grand Cherokee that doesn't look exactly like the old one; they could improve the Viper and use high-quality materials in the 300 and other cars. So, in two ways, America would benefit.
And Three: If Chrysler gets enough money, they could start developing a whole new platform and technology, and do a K-car type thing and save their own bacon. Chrysler would be revitalized, and Fiat could launch itself as a full-model brand in the U.S. again once we see what Italy can cook up in economy cars. It's a win-win unless people like the Fiat cars better.
Photo of an imagined "Chrysler 500" is from www.rpmgo.com

We got back from North Carolina yesterday and turned in our rental, a Chrysler Sebring, after a week and a half of riding around in it. So I decided to do a review of the Sebring for you to help you make a decision if you're looking for a new sedan. So here's my review:
We picked up our Sebring at Richmond Airport, taking note of the good-sized trunk, which we managed to squeeze five bags of various sizes into. It wasn't as large some, but it was enough. so far, so good. But the first disappointment was very soon.
As we climbed into the interior, it was very apparent that the dash and surfaces were made from very cheap materials and not well-designed. The middle console was gray and way too look-at-me, and the entire setup glowed in the most ugly green color when you turned on the lights at night. For some reason Chrysler design had forgotten to put any air conditioning in the back, so everyone was sweating back there on hot days.
The interior had its merits, though. The cloth seats were well-fitting to the body and relatively high-quality for cloth. The car came with Sirius satellite radio (even though they are now part of the same company, I infinitely prefer XM to Sirius), which we enjoyed throughout the trip.
Our Sebring was pretty much a base machine, and had ugly circles where the optional fog lamps would be if so equipped. The ride was nothing to get excited about, but it wasn't bad, though there was no feel of acceleration like you get in the VW Jetta and other smallish sedans. The designers tried too hard to make the Sebring look like the now-dead Chrysler Crossfire, and the fake "intake" was exaggerated to the point of being laughable. At least it didn't have little fake chrome "sport" accents like the Ford Focus, but I wouldn't buy a car that looked like that.
In terms of economy, the Sebring performed well, though, returning nice MPG and showing some goodness. Overall, it's an average American car. Photo at automedia.com

Today, when searching for a project car on Craigslist, I spied a little car that I didn't know much about. Before you start questioning my actual knowledge of cars, I'll tell you why I didn't know much about it. It was a 1960 Hillman Husky, made by the tiny company of tiny cars. Basically, the Husky is a small two-door station wagon with a front end that looks kind of like a fusion of Morris Minor and some early Fifties American cars and a rear that was basically a less cluttered American rear that was smaller and had no tail fins.