Latter Day Letter Car

[@shaboom8787]

Ohhh...memories. Had a 300m HO 1999. Kept it for 12 years and 300 000 km. Loved it!

[@Welcometofacsistube]

Mine has 300000km on it and I'll drive it till she just won't go anymore

[@davidgalinat4257]

I'm surprised Steve didn't mention this but, the reason the 300M existed in the first place was it was originally supposed to be the second-gen Eagle Vision, but when Chrysler axed that division in '98 they remade it into the 300M, giving the Chrysler division three LH cars (Concorde, LHS, 300M).

[@Mr_57ChargerRT]

Very true. Chrysler never intended for the second-gen Eagle Vision to have 300hp.

[@MrBozeman]

I drive a 02 300M Chrysler and I still love it, great performance even for this day.

[@martyniner8893]

Always loved the look of the LH cars. It was a breath of fresh air from Chrysler coming out of the dark days as you mentioned. The 3.5 was a great engine for its time!

[@djhaloeight]

I had a 2002 300M Special. One of the best cars I ever owned. HID headlights, lower body cladding, 1” lower ride height, faux carbon fiber interior trim, dual exhaust which sounded amazing, special “waterfall” leather seat stitching, different trans tuning, 3.89 gearing (same as 2.7L cars), 150mph speedo, and 255hp as opposed to standard 250/253hp on regular 300M cars. amazing car! drove like a dream

[@afoolandhismoneychannel]

Steve: "... no redline" Cameraman: Zooms in on 6500rpm redline on tach 😀

[@Welcometofacsistube]

I own and daily drive a 2001 300m. It just turned over 300000km on. It. It has been tye best damn car I've ever owned

[@05milmachine90]

We has a Chrysler Concord back in the day. It kept blowing the main fuse that ran AC, radio, and pretty much everything but the engine. Our Dodge dealer failed us many times, but it turns out the hood light was shorting out causing all of it. It really put a damper on Chrysler for me. Fast forward, my 300C has 202K miles and still runs strong. Love it.

[@TrashcanGarage]

Nice. My v6 2011 Mustang daily driver (number 1000 off the assembly line in April 2010) has 336k now. And still a FUN car to drive.

[@bad74maverick1]

@@TrashcanGarage I just hit 100K on my 74' Maverick Grabber. I sneer at the new maverick trucks haha!

[@michelletaylor5691]

@@bad74maverick1 they are ridiculous....

[@Mr.Death101]

And there was a lot of slack on those wirings harnesses and sometimes when the engine got really hot if the slack wasn't tightened up it would cause melting of the wire and that's probably why it shorted.

[@WinkelManBearPig]

My 08 300c rwd has 284k

[@Fleetwoodjohn]

Turn signal mirrors, charcoal lower cladding, larger wheels, seat pleating, HID headlamps and dual tip exhaust are more features of the Special Package

[@stephenandloriyoung5716]

Yes, I noticed the seats are more generously bolstered, too, than the base 2001 300M ones I have. And the spare wheel Steve shows us is way nicer than the base 300M ones, which are the same as the ones on my 97 LHS. (Meh) I liked the looks of other LH cars better than the 300M.

[@adamtrombino106]

The Special could make 260hp on premium fuel, was almost 1/2 inch lower due to suspension mods as well, even with 18s. Steve mentioned the added gear ratio at least...

[@mcnudde]

Rented one of these to go cross-country for a job interview. I'd been upgraded so I didn't know what to expected. I loved the thing. Lots of power on the highway. And when I pulled into the small town where I was interview, in my dark suit and big black car, I must've looked like one of the Men in Black to the locals. Didn't get the job, but fun times.

[@jamesplotkin4674]

A glaring flaw was in rain, when you opened the trunk, it dumped water into the compartment, soaking any documents you may have in boxes back there. I knew a legal courier who got in big trouble because she delivered a soaking wet box of court case docs files. Small tarp saved her future.

[@ecw13pi]

We had an Itrepid R/T with the same engine and we loved that car. Decent power for what it was but the ride was awesome. We called it our Road Trippin car. The wife still misses that car.

[@wangonguy62]

I've always liked the 300m special, good looking cars and still look good.

[@kevinjaekel4986]

Good times with the Chrysler LH (we called it “last hope”) As a freshly minted tool and die apprentice at a stamping plant north of Bramelea Assembly, we worked day and night to get our 70 or so parts and welded assemblies for these cars ready for pilot and launch. A lot was riding on this program for Chrysler and it’s tier one suppliers in Canada. I would say it was a great success.

[@timdowen76]

I liked those cars

[@artjones2498]

I had a 2000 intrepid with a 3.2....i really liked the way the car drove at speed...(above 100 mph)it was 10yrs old at the time....it was a solid feeling car

[@dstrau7987]

Agreed - the 3.2 was a nice engine. We had a 2000 Concorde in the family with a 3.2 and it was a great car.

[@pauljohnson7723]

I worked at the Bramalea assembly plant in the summer of ‘91 where these were built. We were installing three presses for the upcoming LH platform. Best summer job ever at 15 years old.

[@scoobyroorogers]

Dang, 15 ? Very Cool !!!

[@gulfy09]

Where in Brampton Ontario??

[@scoobyroorogers]

Thanks for covering this one Steve. The in-laws had a Concorde back then and I always thought it was sort of an odd duck. It ran ok and rode good but was not a fan of the cab forward design. So thanks again for going in depth on this one.

[@ccg1171]

Love your vids. Makes you remember cars like this existed. Good work.

[@SteveMagnante]

Thanks! 👍

[@1967davethewave]

Cool story about the test mules. Back in about 1985 or so I was in H.S. and I was driving down a city street when I was passed by a brand new Fiero GT. But as it passed me I noticed the undeniable sound of a V8. As he got completely around me I noticed two little air cleaners sticking up, through the rear deck lid, just behind the back window. He turned at the next intersection or I would have tried to race him. I told my brother in law about it a couple of days later. He as a little older and worked at a muffler shop in town. He said that GM had them built to test the viability of production V8's in the Fiero. According to him they had built 3 cars, one with a stock 305/2bbl, one with a 350/4bbl sourced from the Trans Am/Z28 and a 3rd one with a hopped up 400 with 2X4bbls. He also said that no matter which engine they had the axles were the weak link. He said he got his info from his boss who in turn got it from an acquaintance that worked as a GM engineer so take this with about as much confidence as Cassidy Hutchinson testimony, but it is a great story if true and I can tell you I did see a new Fiero with a V8 and 2X4bbls of some sort way back in the day.

[@twisted2291]

I had a '97 Intrepid. It was a decent car. Drove it cross country a few times. Got decent fuel mileage, and comfortable.

[@klwthe3rd]

Their transmissions were a known weak point if i'm not mistaken.

[@a2r7n6]

I like the Zaino ad in that issue of Mopar Action, We need those kinds of ads again. 😍😍😍

[@dspain0214]

My '02 model Pro Am edition is still a daily driver. Still comfortable. No sunburned paint. And living in the mid-south....no rust.😁 Wish I could find out how many Pro-Am edition were built. They were the only LH that had 2-tone seats, and came with a set of golf clubs.

[@scoobyroorogers]

No kidding? That's pretty wild. Oh yeah, thanks for requesting that Steve cover this Mopar.

[@budlanctot3060]

Wow. That's fascinating. I've never heard of such a special model. I'd love to see pics of that.

[@michaelatkins9780]

Mopar prophet of hope Steve, thanks for being here.

[@lb9gta307]

None of these later LH cars had the pushrod 3.3L. The engine between the 3.5L SOHC and 2.7L DOHC was a 3.2L SOHC.

[@mexicanspec]

I had the salesman at the Chrysler dealer bring to my house a new 2005 Chrysler 300C to test. I lived in a small neighborhood so I didn't notice a problem until I took it out on the main road. It wouldn't shift out of first gear. I look down and the speedometer had been disconnected. The salesman said they did that so as to not rack up miles until they sell it. I told him if I buy one, I didn't want that one.

[@brunoroberge900]

For the record, the 5.7 Hemi was available in pick-up Truck in 2004

[@reedostiguy9502]

I was working at Spencer Chrysler/ Plymouth back then when these cars were new. They were a beautiful car back then very luxurious. Thanks for the video Steve, Keep up the good work 👍

[@The_sinner_Jim_Whitney]

My mom had a 300M. I can remember it being a pretty shockingly good-handling, reasonably quick car, not much slower than my supercharged 3800 Regal at the time. Really nice, comfortable car, too. It had HVAC and stereo problems all the time, as I believe was very common in that era of Chrysler, but I was impressed with it just the same. The 3.5L V6 seemed to be a damn good engine, ran great, never gave us a bit of trouble, didn't use a drop of oil, even sounded kinda alright for a V6, impressive engine. I think I remember the 2.7s being garbage for some reason, but I'm not certain.

[@williamwigfield7296]

Had an 85 Regal Limited and an Eagle Vision TSI. Loved them both. Perfect for what they were. Amenity laden, fairly fast, ruggedly built sporty luxo cars. Miss them bad. Now in the Caravan/Forester phase of life for quite some time now...

[@PeterBellefleur]

Yeah 2.7 had a lot of issues. The 3.5 was quite soild, needed a water pump and timing belt every 100k, and keep an eye on the oil pressure when it hits about 180k, as the oil pump likes to die around then, and they run great for a long time.

[@colinschmitz8297]

The 3.5s were awesome engines having great power, great reliability, and decent fuel economy on regular gas. The 2.7 was a dud with oil sludge, timing chain driven water pump, inadequate torque curve for the weight of the LH cars. The biggest mistake Chrysler made was building the 2.7 and refusing to discontinue it when it was proven to be a dud. The 3.3 should have never been dropped from the LH cars and should have been used in the LX and cloud cars. If they had used the 3.3 instead, Chrysler's reputation would not be quite as bad.

[@The_sinner_Jim_Whitney]

@@williamwigfield7296 I had an '83 Regal with a 307 (which actually don't run too bad in a G-body if you lose all of the smog stuff and put a decent 4-barrel on them) and an '86 Regal T-type with the turbo 3.8, both awesome cars. The regal I was talking about was my 2003 Regal GS with the supercharged 3800 Series II, which was quicker than either of the older cars by a relatively wide margin. I'm sort of a Buick guy, they're always nice, reliable cars that drive well and no one wants them so they're cheap. I've also had an '89 LeSabre and a 2004 Park Avenue Ultra. My work car (2005 Focus ST) just rotted to the point of not being drivable, so I'm in the market for another 3800 Buick to replace it. I now have a small, fun, manual-transmission car in the form of my NC Miata convertible hardtop, so it's back to Buick for my daily driver again. I'd love to find another Supercharged Regal, but they're getting pretty rare with low miles for a reasonable price, so I'll likely get a 3800 Series III Lacrosse. I might try to get a 5.3L V8 Lacrosse Super one day, but not for a daily driver.

[@davidgalinat4257]

I remember trying to get my Dad to buy one of these when they came out. He ended up getting a Grand Prix GTP S/C 4 dr instead.

[@kevinpatrick8788]

I had a 96 concorde with the 3.5 litre 6 and i got alot of miles out of it until the water pump seized up while clipping along on the highway and nuked the motor . I then bought a 2002 concorde lxi also with the 3.5 v6 . i made sure i got the water pump replaced before the warranty expired and i never had a problem with it . It was a very reliable and comfortable car which i owned for years .

[@terribelbliss9646]

Hi Steve, I had one of these 300 M Sports. It was a really good car and could blow the doors off the old letter series 300s.

[@Splagnate]

I used to have an early Dodge Intrepid. Honestly it was one of the best cars I’ve owned. Roomy, comfortable, never had an issue with it. Did have the optional V6.

[@CamaroAmx]

My friend’s father had a 300 M special dealer version. It came with unique options not found on any other 300M, special or not. They only made 1 or 2 per dealer. The easiest way to tell it was a 300M special with a gold trimmed center clock. All other 300Ms had a silver trim around the clock. Sadly he traded it for a SAAB 93 turbo years later, which he had nothing but problems with. The LX platform is a modified LH platform. And the LC platform is a modified LX platform. Interesting enough, the LH platform is a tweaked version of the Eagle Premier platform that was originally built and designed by AMC with its debut in 1987, before Chrysler bought AMC. So in a roundabout way the current Challenger, Charger and 300C have their roots in AMC. In fact many former AMC designers went on to work for Chrysler and had a big hand in the Viper, Cloud cars, the neon and the PT Cruiser, among others. So in a way, if it wasn’t for Chrysler buying AMC, then we would of never had the Cloud cars or the Charger/Challenger/300C of today.

[@Slimtc1]

I had a 04’ 300m that I bought in 05’. It was a sharp looking car. Some people liked it and others thought I had an old man car until they sat in it and then they were like “oh this is nice”. More nickel and dime issues on it compared to my other cars but I liked it.

[@gideondingle9363]

There was a 300 series car in between the 2 U mentioned.The 1970 Chrysler Imperial Hurst Edition.It was made only that 1 year and they were all white with gold trim.

[@charlesdalton985]

I very rarely remember my dreams. Last night I dreamt Mr Magnante posted new content. We're still out here pulling and praying for you and your loved ones sir. ~ Chuck P.S. And for the car - a neighbor bought one new, what a car!

[@VegardMinde]

It´s so nice to see a real passionate car-guy and "the good old days are now" really made my day!

[@maineiacman]

I'm surprised whoever got the 4 wheels that originally came with it forgot to get the one in the trunk. I guess they didn't even bother to see if it had a full size spare.

[@b.j.hawkinsmurica8145]

I had a 94 New Yorker with that body style, crocodile green, leather interior, cd changer. I gave 400 bucks for it and put a radiator on it, and a heater core, and drove it until my ole lady at the time ran it outta oil, used quite a bit in the city

[@kylec3869]

Those Chrysler Concords we're awesome my dad's his mother had one thing had lots of power aluminum v6 it would move really quickly.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Yep remember seeing a few of those back in the day. But Mostly the entrepids and the Concords.

[@danlaur7973]

Steve, you have an unbelievable knowledge for Detroit iron, keep up the good work1

[@Mr1965impala]

Had a 99 Concorde and then a 2000 300M, loved both cars!

[@ccpgmike620]

Parents had first gen LHS. Very elegant looking car. A little under powered. We had 2000 300M. Great road car might of been Only 252 hp but also 1000 lb lighter than the original letter cars

[@chriss5010]

I had a 94' Intrepid for a short time,best riding car i ever drove. Sadly the transmission went out...

[@klwthe3rd]

Transmissions were the weak point on these cars.

[@joehorecny7835]

You focus too much on going in a straight line, and one thing you left out was the 300 special was like an inch lower to the ground as well. My 300 special had toyo proxies on it, and the salesmen were all drooling around it when I bought it. The special had a lot of little differences, bigger brakes, lower height, different suspension, thats also why it had 18" wheels. That car stuck to the road like smell sticks to sh*t it was incredible. I had 2 Dodge chargers, and by far this was the most fun car I ever owned. I wish I had it today. Yeah, it wasn't super fast, but where can you use that power without getting into trouble except the track, a winding road and and this thing just zipped along. I liked my 300M SE more than my motorcycle :D

[@budlanctot3060]

I have a had more than a few Police Intrepids. I really liked them. It would have been nice if it had more compression and more aggressive cams, and a floor shifter, but they still were a very comfortable, nice driving car. What really killed them was that damn (internal)water pump on the 2.7L v6. That soured a lot of people on the Chrysler FWD. I also have an 09 Charger PP. There are certain styling cues, that I see in the LH cars that I see in the later LX cars. Is there any chance I could buy some parts off of that 300m Special in the video?

[@MrFaithlex]

Driving Intrepid right now. Love this car, so soft and comfortable like mommy hugs) Greetings from Belarus!

[@pl5624]

Cab forward is thanks to Chrysler's purchase of amc.the renault based premier/medallion cars were cab forward and chrysler adopted that as it's own.

[@klwthe3rd]

Absolute correct! Important to give credit to AMC on that one.

[@jack8box]

When these first came out, Chrysler had a deal offering test drives at the ACD festival in Auburn IN. Me and a couple of my buddies took one of these for the test drive. When we were finished with it the brakes were smoking! We really wrung this car out. I had the car over 110 mph and tested the abs to the fullest, as did my buddies. It was a blast!

[@GreyRockOne]

Thanks Steve! I had a feeling you'd do a segment on this 300 when we saw it during the Mercedes segment. Looks like it just needs a battery to start driving it. I assume it's there due to high mileage or a engine and/or trans issue. I had a 02 Intrepid ES that I kept for 13 years with 345K on the odometer! I kept it maintained. Thank you Sir!

[@stephenandloriyoung5716]

Another Achilles heel that may have retired it is electronic wizardry, combined with lighter gage wiring. Not a great combination, I've found. One of the 72, 565.4 tiny wires corrodes, and Pfft! Dead car. (Guess how I know, and how long it takes to find the corroded one.)

[@chrislemaster2695]

The 1976-1980 AMC Pacer was one of the first cab forward design. Again AMC was ahead of their time.

[@vintage76vipergreenBeetle]

AMC shouldn't have sold Jeep to Chrysler. Big mistake.

[@Slowgroovin]

My mother rented a Chrysler LHS back in the 90's to travel in. They were nice cars.

[@zenoslayer9618]

Owned a 1996 intrepid really enjoyed that car drove and ran great

[@gregkellow4723]

Those cars were a leap forward from their predecessors. The last generation Monaco comes to mind... Especially when you said "crimes" of the past. The Monaco was a serious black eye. A fella that I worked with at a Dodge dealership always said they should have given everybody their money back for that car.

[@BillLaBrie]

It was a rebadged Renault 25. Explains a lot, don’t it?

[@Fevebblefester]

The worst car I ever owned was a 1988 Eagle Premier which was the car that the Monaco was the Dodge version of. A Biblical level of junk. Last Chrysler I ever owned.

[@gregkellow4723]

@@Fevebblefester I think that car line holds some kind of record for the most recalls on a model.

[@BillLaBrie]

@Malaise Biscays You mean the ones they crashed on Duke of Hazzard? I think they crashed them all.

[@jasonz7788]

Great work Sir thank you

[@calidronelife1572]

@2:43 He's right , because There's a video on youtube i seen of a RWD V8 Dodge Intrepid conversion.

[@Mr_57ChargerRT]

I just seen the video. It is rwd . He's doing burnouts👍👍it's a 2nd gen Dodge Intrepid.

[@elijahnelson3185]

I had a 2004 300m. I actually loved that car.

[@johnnyedify]

I had an 02 M . It was a very comfortable, nice car. Engine was mounted longitude. The sad part is the LX successor does not have the interior volume of these LH cars.

[@User0000000000000004]

I went to Barrett Jackson back in the mid to late 90s when it was sponsored by Chrysler and they had cars like the pre-production Prowler and a couple concepts like a full size Charger with cameras instead of rear view mirrors. Chrysler was SO COOL in those days! It's nothing but another car company today.

[@o.c.smithiii2626]

I’ve become a quick fan of the junkyard crawl videos. Well researched, and lots of interesting back, side and after story detail. Keep ‘em coming! Two tiny requests - one on the cars that look like they were simply parked after a daily commute, and abandoned, ( like the Gas Mercedes’ sedan, the custom Mopar B-van conversion, and this one, if you can tell, could you speculate on the cause of death? And second, I have tried replaying your intros, on several videos, over and over- you spied through your last name so fast, I really can’t understand how it’s pronounced- and the closed captions come up with something like Yenkp - which I know isn’t right.

[@SteveMagnante]

Hello O.C. Smith, III. THANKS for writing. My last name is "MAGNANTE" which is pronounced "mon-yawn-tea". But more importantly, the junkyard is Bernardston Auto Wrecking in Bernardston, Massachusetts. The owner is Dale Hastings and the phone number is 413/648-9300 (if you ever wish to see if anything in a video is available for sale). I do speed through the intro sometimes but "Ber-Nard-Ston" can come off in a few incorrect ways even if spoken more slowly. Anyhoo, I'll try to detect what any back-story might be with future cars we feature. Thanks again for watching, and writing. -Steve Magnante

[@o.c.smithiii2626]

Thanks for the pronunciation- I actually could understand the name of the yard.

[@Kingsoupturbo]

A really nice car to drive, tall gearing though. I saw a mint 300M special in Arizona last feb, they really look a lot different then the standard 300m, good looking car!

[@kevinwong6588]

The second gen LHS and 300M were introduced as early 1999 models in May 1998 and along with the '99 WJ Grand Cherokee in summer 1998 were the last new models introduced before the Daimler merger. The 300M Special introduced in 2002 had five additional HP (255 vs. 250). Its closest counterpart as a near-luxury sport sedan would probably be the Acura TL Type-S with 260 HP. The 3.5 liter V6 was also in the 2004-08 Pacifica.

[@tjw8t1]

This and the 11-14 Chrysler 200 are the only Mopar products I like. I remember watching a segment on these 300m specials back in the day on the speed channel when they came out. If I can find a halfway decent cheap one I'd love to get it.

[@FrankBullitt390]

They're being given away these days, just old cars now

[@dwilsonjr78]

I must admit, I actually liked the 300M when it first came out. I thought it was comfortable and spacious. Changing out the battery was a pain though because it was mounted behind the left fender liner which means you also had to remove the left front wheel to access it.

[@formula112967]

I remember these Steve....I was a Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth tech from 1995 to 2005 when the rear wheel drive 300C was released. The Plymouth Prowler got the same 3.5 liter motor which was a shame, because the very torquie 4.7 liter V8 could have been used in the Prowler. Thank you for these fantastic videos.

[@SteveMagnante]

Hello Formula 112967, I remember seeing a one-off Prowler called (I think) the Woodward Edition that had the 4.7 Intech V8 instead of the 3.5 V6. It was a "what if" but I wish they were mass produced. Oh well. THANKS again for writing, Steve Magnante

[@lb9gta307]

The 4.7 made less power and the transaxle used in the Prowler was the same as used in the LH cars and was completely unaltered, even in TCM logic. That, and the rest of the parts binning they did, allowed those ultra low production cars to be sold at a very attainable MSRP.

[@colinschmitz8297]

I always loved the styling both interior and exterior of the LH cars. I wish they would have kept at least one of them for or those of us who prefer FWD, rounded styling, the larger cabin and trunk vs the LX. The 300M was going to be the second generation Eagle Vision but once they concluded that Eagle was dead they thankfully moved it to Chrysler. It would have been neat to have a V8 version for those who wanted one thought I'm not sure what V8 they would have used as the 360 only produced 250hp.

[@budlanctot3060]

That was the first American 4dr that I thought was good looking.

[@christopherbero3388]

No intro? Thank God you dropped it!!! Steve “mags’ needs no intro! I do like your Outro though. Keep up the good work Steve and Shane!

[@79tazman]

I was in love with the 300C when it came out I was even going to go buy a 300 SRT8 at the time I went and took it for a test drive and everything then I saw Enterprise rentals had the 300C with a hemi so I went and rented one for a week anyway I did not get the SRT 300 but I did get a 300 with a hemi and it was a great car I was going to strip it down and turn it into a drag car until it was written off when some drunk smashed into it while it was parked outside my friends house and wrote it off.

[@jeremymurphy7320]

The running joke was that LH stood for Last Hope

[@re8672]

Thanks for talking about this one!! I remember getting my 2004 damn near new back in 2006 17k miles, sold it 2017 with 230k. My special was graphite ext. with tan seats, also had UHP which included the 18" painted wheels.

[@mmccready83]

I remember cussing out (in my head) whatever imagineer that put the sleeved tie rods on those… way up high & to the back of the front struts, who the heck puts a rack & pinion on the firewall? Inner tie rod bushings only lasted about as long as the warranty when new, finished my apprenticeship at a Pontiac, G.M.C. Dealership in 2001 & “steered” clear of C.D.J.R. Dealerships until 2018 because of those, & the PT losers I worked on a few of those as used vehicles & that was more than enough for this guy.

[@stevehenderson2571]

Such a cool car. An engineering success. Get well soon buddy.

[@marcstlaurent3719]

I had been a fan of your passion in Hot Rod since your start Steve , I had to have a laugh when my 24 year old son excitedly showed me your channel and said “ dad you should see this guy he sure knows a lot about cars “ . On another note a beef I have with Freiburger is his prejudices against all front drive cars all the time , I love my rear drive hot rods but as a daily driver I bought a new Impala SS with the front drive 5.3 and loved it as a daily driver kid hauler rather than a mini van like every new family seems to think is mandatory especially in the snow belt which is 95% of Canada . It was my first front driver in years and I forgot how much nicer it was in the back without a trans tunnel and how much bigger the trunk is and every car I own doesn’t need a killer 60 foot if it compromises daily driving .

[@runner3033]

Easy for Freiburger to have that bias (which is so 'basic' in the car enthusiast world) living in sunny California. You're right though, average people don't need to do doughnuts on every trip to the grocery store...

[@stevejohnson1321]

An interesting complement story was the U.S. ford contour, which got designed to accommodate rear-wheel drive. At some point designers swung the engine transverse, affixing removable plastic plugs in the wheel well to access engine parts. Tiny footwells remained because of the transmission hump. AWD could be ordered on the SE however. That was the strangest car I ever owned. It died due to rust -- still ran like new.

[@paulday6875]

Worked for Ford during that time. Biggest problem with the contour was it was an extension of the Mondeo and the British were responsible for the electrical. Bad idea! Tons of recalls for the wiring either falling apart or bursting into flames, or both! You got lucky. Most of them died quickly due to the wiring.

[@stevejohnson1321]

That must have gotten fixed by 1999, and I only had the four-cylinder with five-speed. Since then I've been careful not to buy abandonware. So few of these were sold, chassis parts were rare and very expensive. I sold the thing and got $840 -- let someone else deal with the rusted cradle..

[@ronkuzyk3836]

You forgot to mention the smaller grill. It was supposed to mimic a BMW for styling. I loved these cars, I loved the clock on the dash, but you did not seem to notice. These cars rode and handled very nicely, although some like the Concord were a bit harder to see out the back window. I was sad to see them go out of production, and Chrysler take a step backward back to rear wheel drive, V8 gas guzzlers.

[@lb9gta307]

The move to the LX definitely wasn't a step backwards

[@ronkuzyk3836]

@@lb9gta307 The Hemi used much more gas than the V6 in the previous cars. The RWD was not as good in snow either. That is a step backward in my book.

[@joelyons3713]

These things were everywhere!

[@cougariog8817]

The "cab forward " those were comfortable cars.

[@alitheretrokid]

I am a sucker for the smooth designs of the 90s and probably cut the LH way too much slack. Had a 1999 Concorde and I loved it, never had problems with it other than the AC compressor.

[@loslaynes]

Oh, I wrote this story... Like it's not a big thing... Well, that kind of thing is and good on ya for bringing it up

[@tony66au]

Great glimpse into the Dark days of Mopar leading up to the return RWD glory days and the Mercedes parts equipped Chrysler 300C :-) I had the use of a 1st gen 300C and apart from the high waist style I loved the vehicle and the 5.7 really had me excited for the future of Mopar again. Curious to see the LH platform in the flesh and having played with Mitsubishi V6 FWD and AWD (Quadtec) Mid sized in the Aussie Magna (Diamante) and 380 id have happily played with a 300M for its practicality in Maintenance (N/S Engine) and appointments as an interesting daily driver. Love these brief deep dives!

[@madmike2624]

Great video Steve!! Your passion is refreshing! Thanks for all you do!!!!

[@grumblyone3334]

Dad had a 90s Intrepid, got it totaled, & then his early 2000's Concord. He can't drive anymore, but the family still gets to use it as a backup car occasionally. Smooth ride. Although, yeah, would've loved it to have been a RWD car.

[@angingls656]

Great episode

[@trevorchambers1812]

I still drive a '95 LHS here in the UK - probably one of the few (if any) left on the road in this country. I never knew about the 300M - it sounds way quicker than my car!

[@runner3033]

Interesting you've never heard of the 300M - it was specifically designed to compete across the pond, the reason for the short trunk (compared to the Concorde) was to keep the dimensions under a certain size for that market! What engine does your LHS have? If it's the 3.5, you'll be running 214 horses vs 255 in a slightly bigger car, so the M special probably would have a bit more scoot. The thoughts of driving a large American car on UK roads is slightly terrifying. :D

[@trevorchambers1812]

@@runner3033 We never got any of the LH range here in the UK, my car was privately imported. It has the 3.5. The LHS is no problem here as it is no wider than many full-size English cars although it is a little longer than the average. The later C300s are of course very popular in the UK but not regarded as an American car as I think the Euro ones were actually built in Austria.

[@sporty196071]

Good imfo, I was never into world history but auto history is the best

[@harrysatin5110]

Had a 96 Burgundy Intrepid really a good looking car.

[@anthony1968]

Hey Steve I remember in the spring of 98 a friend of mine worked at Chrysler engineering up at Auburn Hills he often brought home cars once in awhile he honestly brought one of the mules back for the LX and it did have some kind of weird looking motor inside of it at the time and I never knew that it would that was actually the mule for the Hemi he workday engineering for The Lax platform then he worked on the Challenger pretty neat huh

[@ExilefromCrownHill]

I had a 1965 Chrysler 300-L convertible, in pale yellow and black interior. A man approached me, wanting to trade his low mileage '65 400-L hardtop. For even money!! I said no, and the next time I saw him, he was delivering that car to its new owner.... it had a factory 4-speed!! If I'd only known... I hadn't seen the car previously, and I found out later he didn't want to mention the 4-speed because he was afraid I wouldn't want it.

[@mangomcpoo475]

I love these weird car ones!!

[@kevinruble6858]

Had a 94 LHS that thing was a rocket

[@z978ady]

Would have thought 300 SRT hemi would have become collector's car by now.

[@Welcometofacsistube]

I hope so. I own one

[@esserdennis03]

Owned a 2004 sebring convertible as my first car, always wanted a 300m as my second car but there was no one in good condition left in germany, so i bought a 2005 300c with the 5.7(love that car too). After the 5.7 i need to own a 300m, love that car

[@butcher390]

I remember the Chrysler LH platform 🙋‍♂️ I was a mechanic in , Chrysler & Dodge dealerships , at the time ⚙🪛🔧🔩 The first generation LH , didn't have the best 😕 quality However the second generation LH , was a massive improvement The second generation 3.5 liter Was rated at 255 hp . Pretty impressive , for a V6 engine

[@brunoroberge900]

I have a 05 magnum 2.7, 195 HP which is kind of impressive, if we double the litres the HP would be just under 400 hp

[@lb9gta307]

Impressive power for sure given the fact that the Mustang GT's 4.6 made 260hp at the time

[@barryismygod]

I had a ‘95 intrepid I loved it quick for a sedan and comfy

[@jimmartin735]

Hello from weymouth! That 300m looks like a great car!(for harvesting bucket seats) then it could handle hub cap overflow from the yellow sedan delivery behind it

[@googleusergp]

Don’t forget the Chrysler variants such as the LHS and the New Yorker in those early LH body years. The reason that Chrysler bought AMC at the time in 1987 was in part to get the Eagle and Premier line of cars under the Chrysler design. That would be the original genesis for what would become the LH series vehicles that are discussed here. That along with Jeep were the main reasons why Chrysler purchased AMC. The LH series were mostly assembled in Brampton Ontario Canada. The rest of the AMC line were table scraps.

[@SteveMagnante]

Hello Google User GP, I appreciate your regular and IN DEPTH commentary. Maybe YOU need to start a KZbin Channel? I always say to people considering starting their own KZbin channel: "c'mon in, the water's fine". Anyhoo, yes the LH - and the Magnum upgrade on the 318 / 360 were certainly partly the efforts of AMC staff. I used to own a 1989 Chrysler New Yorker and marveled at how it was built on the Kenosha, Wisconsin AMC line that previously built Jeep Wagoneers. Another collaboration between the "new" Chrysler Corporation and the dried husk of AMC. Anyhoo, THANKS for watching and writing, Steve Magnante

[@googleusergp]

I thought about it. Possibly when I retire in a few years I will think about it, and others that comment on channels that I comment on I’ve also suggested the same. As I have always said when everybody contributes everybody wins. The details are often in the numbers, the VIN, the trim tags, and other details that are found. They tell the story like nothing else can.

[@TrashcanGarage]

Speaking of brand legacy, I snagged a (ultra low mileage) 2015 Challenger R/T in Feb 2020 just before the Covid shock hit, mainly because I give Chrysler a bit of credit for trying to do it right by the Challenger legacy and wanted to try one out for myself. And boy howdy is that six speed manual trans fun to shift through. And yes, I'm a sucker for the classic styling cues they used as well. Zoom. Zoom. 🤘😎

[@antoniovillanueva308]

I saw a ragged 79 Mirada CMX last week. I kinda wanted it.

[@forthwithtx5852]

Good thing you had that red arrow. I would have totally be looking at something else.

[@brianbeswick3646]

I owned 2 Chrysler Intrepids ( they were Chrysler not Dodge in Canada) I had a 1993 and later a 1997 both with the 3.3l engine and I found them fast enough . They were my favorite Chrysler cars. Compared to the Dynasty they replaced they were really radically different. The only thing was the seats were ery uncomfortable. I still wish I had my 1997 the last of the nice looking Intrepids in my opinion. But my wife had an accident in it and it was totaled.