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BA R G A IN R A T E CAR IN SURAN CE WITH BARGAIN-RATE SERV ICE IS NO B ARGAIN l>on^ Injst |U*I H i m lo wwurc >wir car. «ce me W ayne McGill 2345 Wreuofi Ud. "2 1. CXtkviUc 905-847-5671 BEST WHEELS An Oakville Beaver Automotive Feature · To advertise in this section call 905-845-3824 or Fax 905-337-5568 including in my next door neigh bour's garage. But this is 2002 and 'perform ance' is d efin itely in the air. Cars produced for decades w ith fourcylin d er engines now have V6s and even W-8s. Som e makers are bringing 12- and even 10-cylinder cars to market in the next two years. Not to be left behind, C hrysler is offering the 300M 'Sp e cia l' for 2002 in order to offer something a little hotter for those wanting big car room but sports sedan attrib utes. The first thing C hrysler does is low er the ride height and insert a stiffer, perform ance tuned suspen sion using firm er shock damping. A t the rear, taller jounce bumpers and steering with a firm er 'feel' take aw ay most o f the dcad-oncentre feel associated w ith frontdrive cars. The most noticeable difference visu ally are very, very handsome 18-inch allo y w heels. To these are fitted M ich elin Pilo t 'ultra high perform ance' tires. A lso dialed in are higher perform ance brakes with harder brake pads. Another part o f the package are ground effects skirts done in a charcoal grey. G rey was chosen to com plim ent the fiv e colours (black, blue, silver, light green and 'light alm ond'). I think the m ouldings should have been done in body colour to give the car that deeper side look that is so chic on the B M W 7451 and the new E-Class MercedesBenz. A nice touch are the tw in, silver-tipped exhausts that peak out o f the rear skirt. Po w er is the L H 3.5-litre D O H C V 6 with four-speed auto matic A u to Stick transm ission. For the 300M . power is increased to 255 hp from 250 hp and the torque is up to 258 ft/lb. The exhaust has been given a nice little 'rasp' so that a hint o f power can be heard, and enjoyed. A vailab le is a tire pressure mon itoring system. Lo w speed traction control and an engine im m obilizer Sex- m e before you puncha.se or lease vour next vehicle G u m e v e n C h r ysler C H RYSLER · DODGE · J t E P 2388 Rnjol'Wmd'or IX. 905-345-7575 Something a little hotter for 300M fans The 300M has been a great suc cess for C hrysler since its launch in M ay 1998 as a 1999 model. It is one o f the four large sedans based on the 'L E I' platform and produced in Bram alea, Ont. Along with the Intrepid, Concorde, and L H S , the 300M was introduced with much (in fact some thought too much) ballyhoo. The 300M was to be one o f the so-called 'letter series' sedans that Chrysler produced in the 1950s and into the 1970s. Starting with the 'C ' in 1955 each year would bring a new letter and more power. W ith Ram Hem i engines first and monstrous 413 cu. in. V8s, these were very, very fast cars - big boy m u s c le in every sense of t h e word. B u t in 1998, m u s c le was still some thing carm ak ers did Jim Robinson n't go bandy ing about especially in fam ily cars. Lined up against the Ford Crown V icto ria and C hevrolet Lum ina, big power wasn't as important as lots o f room for the aging buyer who was interested in this seg ment. So, the 300M seemed like a nice idea to round out the L H offerings to a nice, even four. W ith clipped tail and bobbed nose, the 300M was also advertised as being just under five metres in length to make it more salable in Europe. A t the time. I thought the 300M would be a lim ited success to add a little lustre to the bread-and-butter Intrepid. Once again (som e call me Seldom -Right-Robinson) I was out of step with the buying public who snapped up 30()M s like they were going out o f style. M aybe because they stand out so w ell, 300M s seem to be everyw here are also welcom e features. I also like the turn signal repeater signals built into both outside remote m ir rors. Inside the 300M Sp ecial, pas senger space (2,976 litres/105.1 cu. ft.) is gargantuan w hile the trunk (476 litres/16.8 cu. ft.) should take every piece o f luggage you have in your home. W hen you get into the 300M , the swooping roofline seems to intrude on space until you get seat ed and realize just how far away your passenger is sitting. On a recently luncheon trip. Freddy The Flashbulb rode in the back seat and commented on the room, and this from someone with a m inivan. The big 3.5-litre puts out a lot o f torque, more than enough to get the nearly two ton (3,650 lb/1,656 kg) Sp ecial o ff the line. If you hit the gas from rest you can lay rubber.but what a waste o f a great set o f tires like these Pilots. Incidently. the owner's manual has a huge orange sticker on the back warning drivers not to use these tires in ice or snow. If you have a high perform ance car with racy tires, you might want to think about a second set o f all-season or mud and snow tires for the kind o f (Above) The 2002 Chrysler 300M Special sits lower and looks meaner with a more aggressive stance. (Right) The C hrysler 330M Special is equipped with ultra high perform ance M ichelin tires and this very sim ple, yet elegant 18-inch alloy wheels. conditions we are getting right now in early spring. It has been aw hile since I drove a 300M , but this vehicle seemed sw ift indeed. W ith the A u toStick in sequential mode, you can extract even more straight-line speed. I just leave these things in 'D ' because I don't like to take my concentration o ff the road to hunt around the dash or transm ission tunnel for a light to tell me what gear I'm in. I was also impressed by the gasoline consum ption which was about one-eighth o f a tank a day to and from work, w hich I usually get from econocars. The fuel tank is 14.3 gallons (65 litres) w hich is a norm al size. Transport Canada lists consum ption o f the 300M at 13.1 L / 100 km (22 mpg) city, and 8.3L/IOO km (34 mpg) highway. A s alw ays with any car made in O ntario, I did a w alk around o f the panels to check for even align ment. The make-it or break-it area are the shut lines around the trunk lid or the engine cover. On my tester, they were near perfect prov ing once again the C A W assem blers are among the best in the world at their job. There is currently a nice crop of high-lux, high-bucks luxury sedans on the market. If you look at the 300M in terms o f its German or Japanese com petitors for pas senger volum e, the 300M Special's list price o f $43,305 seems almost meagre. If you compare it against the exceptional mid-size luxury sedans on the market today, the 300M is still less, but it offers much more room. Take it from the vantage of price or from the vantage o f vo l ume, the 300M Special is special ly positioned to keep on being one o f C hrysler's big sedan successes. 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