Chrysler 300 SRT-8

Steve Levin said:
I think the shape makes it seem bigger than it is..it's the same as an E class Merc...so not particular huge. The interior definitely sucks, though.

Steve
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Size is relative: I find the 300C huge but I live in smallcar land :lol:
90% of cars are little hatches, so if there's a 300C among them, it looks humongous.
 
watto said:
Oh, interesting comment there. May I ask, if the interior "definitely sucks", then why did you buy it? I mean, sure, the performance is impressive and I like the looks of it but the interior is where you spend all your time and you're constantly looking at it!
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Because the market for 4 door, full sized sedans that can comfortable seat 4 people is limited, especially if one wants good performance. I could have gotten a four-six year old E55 for the same money, but then it'd be four years old out the gate. So getting close to some seriously expensive service intervals. Perhaps not seriously expensive by Ferrari standards, but definitely eye openers. And it'd be outside warranty, and no matter how much you inspect, you can still get burned.

So I basically purchased the same car, new with a 6 year, 100,000 mile warranty, and traded off for a more plasticy interior. I suppose it's not as bad as I've made it out to be; it's certainly nicer than a bargain basement Aveo, or even my wife's Scion, for example. But it's not as nice as a Merc E55/E63/CLS63

Steve
 
Very VERY nice..

I'm jealous, hahaha
 
Steve Levin said:
Because the market for 4 door, full sized sedans that can comfortable seat 4 people is limited, especially if one wants good performance. I could have gotten a four-six year old E55 for the same money, but then it'd be four years old out the gate. So getting close to some seriously expensive service intervals. Perhaps not seriously expensive by Ferrari standards, but definitely eye openers. And it'd be outside warranty, and no matter how much you inspect, you can still get burned.

So I basically purchased the same car, new with a 6 year, 100,000 mile warranty, and traded off for a more plasticy interior. I suppose it's not as bad as I've made it out to be; it's certainly nicer than a bargain basement Aveo, or even my wife's Scion, for example. But it's not as nice as a Merc E55/E63/CLS63

Steve
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Pontiac G8 to the rescue :p
 
We'll have to see it first...honestly, the previous GTO/Monaro wasn't anything to shout about either. I honestly doubt that it will be a dramatic improvement, although hey, one can hope.

I'm not sure when/what I'm going to replace the SRT with. I typically only keep cars about 2 years (and I've had the 300 for almost 18 months now). A non-trivial part of me wants to get a pure track car. Panoz is actually selling their ex-school GT-RA's right now.

320hp, 2500 pounds, full tube frame car. $22,000. Hard to argue with the speed and fun for the money that would provide!

Steve
 
Steve Levin said:
We'll have to see it first...honestly, the previous GTO/Monaro wasn't anything to shout about either. I honestly doubt that it will be a dramatic improvement, although hey, one can hope.
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It's a totally different platform, by the time the states got the GTO/Monaro it was the last iteration of that platform.
 
Hidden_Hunter said:
It's a totally different platform, by the time the states got the GTO/Monaro it was the last iteration of that platform.
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Oh, I understand that, but the question is -- has the interior quality changed? I'm not sure GM's fundamental target has shifted much. After all, if one could build a Mercedes for half the cost, I suspect they'd be at that price already! :)

Steve
 
^The reports from Australian magazines is that, yes, the interior quality has changed quite a bit, for the better of course. Higher quality plastics, better layout, better feel and so on.
 
Steve Levin said:
Oh, I understand that, but the question is -- has the interior quality changed? I'm not sure GM's fundamental target has shifted much. After all, if one could build a Mercedes for half the cost, I suspect they'd be at that price already! :)

Steve
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The G8 is supposed to be cheaper than the SRT-8 anyway. And unless the interior in your SRT-8 makes you break into tears in the middle of the night, you won't mind the G8's. Plus you can get a manual and take it to the track as well.
 
Elmo187 said:
362hp, not 400hp.
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Simple tune can get that over 400hp easily.

Trailblazer SS stock, comes with 390hp. The Corvette HAD 400hp, the GTO has 400, and the CTS-V also had 400hp.

So im going to assume, you can get a G8 to well over 400hp easily.

And GM is REALLY doing a good job on their interiors. Check out the new Malibu. This is a MALIBU! Not even a good car, but check out the interior.
2008_Chevrolet_Malibu_interior.jpg


And also see the new Buick Enclave
034714.1-lg.jpg


Gm is really upping their anty.
 
Judging by the two VEs I've driven (a Calais and an Omega), yes, the interior is a lt nicer than the old VZ. The plastic on the bottom half of the dash is still a bit nasty and hard, but overall, the texture, the panel gaps and quality is right up there.

Sure, it's not German, but not a lot of cars actually are.

https://pic.armedcats.net/2007/11/08/PIC0030.jpg
 
Magnet said:
Judging by the two VEs I've driven (a Calais and an Omega), yes, the interior is a lt nicer than the old VZ. The plastic on the bottom half of the dash is still a bit nasty and hard, but overall, the texture, the panel gaps and quality is right up there.

Sure, it's not German, but not a lot of cars actually are.
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What I found is that Holden was relatively smart where they put the nastier plastic to keep the price down, eg it's places you wouldn't often touch or see (eg you might touch it when adjusting the steering wheel)
Wouldn't be surprised if they replaced it with better plastic in the next revision of the car anyway.
 
bartboy9891 said:
The G8 is supposed to be cheaper than the SRT-8 anyway. And unless the interior in your SRT-8 makes you break into tears in the middle of the night, you won't mind the G8's. Plus you can get a manual and take it to the track as well.
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I've had the 300 on the track 10 times in the last 6 months, so trust me, you don't need a manual to take the car to the track. How much shifting do you really think you'd be doing, anyways? With the kind of torque these engines have, there are few tracks where you'd be shifting more than 5 or 6 times anyway.

Heck, I can run most tracks in third gear in the 300 now. 2nd can be useful exiting the very slow corners, and 4th at the very ends of the straights, but you have to remember to be very judicious in trying to get the last bits of speed from a big car.

I've found that the better I get, the fewer corners get so slow as to need 2nd gear, and going up into 4th on the staight just means typically pounding your brakes that much more at the end of the straight.

As far as interior quality of the G8, keep in mind (from the Aussie review) that the GTO sold in America already had an upgraded interior compared to the Austalian Monaro; so we may be comparing apples and oranges.

Steve
 
Steve Levin said:
I've had the 300 on the track 10 times in the last 6 months, so trust me, you don't need a manual to take the car to the track. How much shifting do you really think you'd be doing, anyways? With the kind of torque these engines have, there are few tracks where you'd be shifting more than 5 or 6 times anyway.

Heck, I can run most tracks in third gear in the 300 now. 2nd can be useful exiting the very slow corners, and 4th at the very ends of the straights, but you have to remember to be very judicious in trying to get the last bits of speed from a big car.

I've found that the better I get, the fewer corners get so slow as to need 2nd gear, and going up into 4th on the staight just means typically pounding your brakes that much more at the end of the straight.

As far as interior quality of the G8, keep in mind (from the Aussie review) that the GTO sold in America already had an upgraded interior compared to the Austalian Monaro; so we may be comparing apples and oranges.

Steve
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Oh I was saying that you can take the G8 to the track just as often as you take your SRT-8. I just assumed you'd prefer to have a manual over an automatic.
 
bartboy9891 said:
Oh I was saying that you can take the G8 to the track just as often as you take your SRT-8. I just assumed you'd prefer to have a manual over an automatic.
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My bad. :)

As I think I've mentioned before, if I replace the SRT-8 it'll be for something significantly lighter for track days. There's really only so much performance you can get from a big car, and the jump to smaller/lighter cars is much bigger.

Then again, I'm going to Thunderhill to do a day in an Ariel Atom on Monday, so who knows?

I'll post that in a general thread once I get home :)

Steve
 
Steve Levin said:
Then again, I'm going to Thunderhill to do a day in an Ariel Atom on Monday, so who knows?

I'll post that in a general thread once I get home :)
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Oh you lucky bastard! Yes, do let us know how that turns out.
 
Since you seem do trackdays a lot. Do you have a favourite car to race against ? I know you mentioned a few cars in this topic but anyway which cars do you find are approx. as fast around a track as your srt ?
Is it possible to rent a track for a day with a few friends and then race ? You ever do that ? I imagine it would be a lot of fun seeing the differences in handling and acceleration first hand when racing a car more or less as fast as yours (in a Best Motoring manner).
 
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