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DOES YOUR CAR WAX GIVE YOU BETTER PROTECTION THAN YOUR CUT-RATE CAR INSURANCE? Don't trust just anyone to insure your car, see me: W ayne M cG ill 2345WyraottRd #21, Oakville 905-847-3671 An Oakville Beaver Automotive Feature · To advertise in this section call 905-845-3824 or Fax 905-337-5568 \VH1 >NHSI )AY. O C T O B K R iiO . 2 (X )2 · BEST WHEELS W\'A< S ee m e before you purchase or lease your next vehicle G lenleven C hrysler CHRYSLER · DODGE · JEEP 2388 Royal Windsor D t, 905^45-7575 Chrysler's 300M "Special" offers big car room with a sporty look The 300M has been a great success for Chrysler since its launch in M ay 1998 as a 1999 model. It is one o f the four large sedans based on the 'LH' platform and pro duced in Bramalea, Ont. Along with the Intrepid, Concorde, and LHS, the 300M was introduced with much (in fact some thought too much) ballyhoo. The 300M was to be one o f the socalled '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 let ter and more power. With Ram Hemi engines first and monstrous 413 cu. in. V8s, these were very, very fast cars - big boy m uscle in every sense o f the word. But in 1998, m uscle was still something carm ak ers didn't go Jim Robinson bandying about especially in family cars. Lined up against the Ford Crown Victoria and Chevrolet Lumina, big power wasn't as important as lots o f room for the aging buyer who was interested in this segment. So, the 300M seemed like a nice idea to round out the LH offerings to a nice, even four. With clipped tail and bobbed nose, the 300M was also advertised as being just under five metres in length to make it more sal able in Europe. At the time, I thought the 300M would be a limited success to add a lit tle lustre to the bread-and-butter Intrepid. Once again (some call me Seldom-Right-Robinson) I was out of step w ith the buying public who snapped up 300Ms like they were going out o f style. M aybe because they stand out so well, 300Ms seem to be everywhere including in my next door neighbour's garage. But this is 2002 and 'performance' is definitely in the air. Cars produced for decades with four-cylinder engines now have V6s and even W-8s. Some makers are bringing 12- and even 10cylinder cars to market in the next two years. Not to be left behind, Chrysler is offering the 300M `Special' in order to offer something a little hotter for those wanting big car room but sports sedan attributes. The first thing Chrysler does is low er the ride height and insert a stiffer, performance tuned suspension using firmer shock damping. At the rear, taller jounce bum pers and steering with a firmer 'feel' take away most o f the deadon-centre feel associated with front-drive cars. The most noticeable differ ence visually are very, very handsom e 18-inch alloy wheels. To these are fitted Michelin Pilot 'ultra high per formance' tires. Also dialed in are higher performance brakes with hard er brake pads. Another part o f the package are ground effects skirts done in a charcoal grey. Grey was chosen to compliment the five colours (black, blue, silver, light green and 'light almond'). I think the mouldings should have been done in body colour to give the car that deeper side look that is so chic on the BMW 7451 and the new EClass M ercedes-Benz. A nice touch are the twin, silver-tipped exhausts that peak out o f the rear skirt. Power is the LH 3.5-litre DOHC V6 w ith four-speed autom atic A utoStick 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 of pow er can be heard, and enjoyed. The 2002 Chrysler 300M Special sits lower and looks meaner with a more aggressive stance. Available is a tire pressure monitor ing system. Low speed traction control and an engine immobilizer are also welcome features. I also like the turn signal repeater signals built into both outside remote mirrors. Inside the 300M Special, passenger space (2,976 litres/105.1 cu. ft.) is gar gantuan while the trunk (476 litres/16.8 cu. ft.) should take every piece o f luggage you have in your home. When you get into the 300M, the swooping roofline seems to intrude on space until you get seated 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 minivan. The big 3.5-litre puts out a lot of torque, more than enough to get the nearly two ton (3,650 lb/1,656 kg) Special off 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 per formance car with racy tires, you might want to think about a second set of all-season or mud and snow tires for the kind o f conditions we are getting right now in early spring. It has been awhile since I drove a 300M, but this vehicle seemed swift indeed. With the AutoStick in sequen tial 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 off the road to hunt around the dash or transmission tunnel for a light to tell me what gear I'm in. I was also impressed by the gaso line consumption which was about one-eighth of a tank a day to and from work, which I usually get from econo cars. The fuel tank is 14.3 gallons (65 litres) w hich is a norm al size. Transport Canada lists consumption of the 300M at 13.1L/100 km (22 mpg) city, and 8.3L/100 km (34 mpg) high way. As always with any car made in Ontario, I did a walk around o f the panels to check for even alignment. 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 proving once again the CAW assemblers 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 passenger volume, the 300M Special's list price o f $43,305 seems almost meagre. If you compare it against the exceptional mid-size lux ury sedans on the market today, the 300M is still less, but it offers much more room. Take it from the vantage o f price or from the vantage of volume, the 300M Special is specially positioned to keep on being one of Chrysler's big sedan successes. MUD A U TO P A R K LU XU R Y V E H IC LE S to ch o o s e from including Lincoln, Cadillac, Buick, Jaguar, Acura, BMW, Volvo 283 PRE-OWNED VEHICLES ON DISPLAY - ALL MAKES & MODELS 1 2 SPO R TS V E H IC LE S 1999 Cadillac Seville STS and Saab Automatic, 8 cyl, tinted windows, cruise, CD, quad buckets, power tilt/telescope, PL, power drive seat, auto climate control, PW, chrome wheels, dual air bags, 66,720 kms. Stk#9-38894. refused. reasonable offer to c h o o s e from including Mustang, Camaro and Corvette $ 27,900 74 C O M PA C T V E H IC LE S to ch o o s e from including Cavalier, Focus, Saturn, Sunfire, Civic and Accent A 1999 Ford Mustang Convertible Automatic, 6 cyl., spoiler, PL, air, PW, 2 dr, dual air bags, CD, PM, alloy wheels, cruise, leather interior, power drive seat, 68,688 kms. Stk#9-48839 .9 $ 19,900 M IN I VANS to c h o o s e from including Windstar, Caravan, Astro, Montana, Venture and MPV 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier Automatic, 4 cyl., dual air bags, CD, 2.2L, cruise, PL, 4 dr, tilt, air, intermitent wipers, 23,356 kms. Stk#0-56607 2000 Pontiac Montana Luxury Automatic, 6 cyl., alloy wheels, dual zone air, PM, 3.4L, dual air bags, CD, quad buckets, dual sliding doors, tinted windows, cruise, PL, power driver seat, extended, PW, TV/VCR, 76,368 kms. Stk#0-97263. *9,900 down S U V 's to c h o o s e fro m including Jimmy, Blazer, Explorer, Yukon, Expedition *19,900 1 4 P IC K U P 'S to c h o o s e from Including GMC, Dodge, Ford, Chevrolet, 4x4`s and 2WD's 1999 GMC Jimmy SLT 4X4 Automatic, 4.3L 6 cyl, tinted windows, power moonroof, leather interior, heated seats, 64,079 kms. Stk#9-55656 payments* April 2 0 0 3 · t i l * 0 2000 Ford F150 XLT Automatic, 8 cyl., alloy wheels, cruise, PL, tunnel cover, 4.6L, tinted windows, PW, extended cab, air, PM, 3 dr, dual air bags, CD, box liner, 86,470'kms. Stk#0-24295. *19,900 p P E automotive u perstore *19,900 4315 N. Service Road in Burlington 9 0 5 -3 3 1 -8 5 0 0 Off the QEW in Burlington Between Appleby and Walkers Line *N o paym ents 'til A p ril 2 0 0 3 O .A.C . Exam ple: 1998 C h e v ro le t M alibu, Sale P rice $ 1 0 ,9 0 0 + adm in, and taxes = $ 1 2 ,7 6 3 .8 5 am ount borrow ed, $26 5/m o. for 60 m os. @ 7.7% A P R . Total o f p a ym ents $15 ,912 .60 . In te re st blended o ver te rm o f finan ce. Total c ost o f borrow ing is $ 3 ,148.75 o r $ 62 9.75 per year. **5.9 % fina n cin g on m axim um te rm o f 36 m onths, m a xim um a m o u n t finan ced is $ 1 5 ,0 0 0 O .A .C . C all de a le r fo r details. A AUTOPARK MITSUBISHI Email: info@autoparksuperstore.com Sale ends Nov. 2/02 www.autoparksuperstore.com "Th e driving force, w here selection is everything!"