Approaching the April 30 deadline in which Chrysler LLC must merge with Fiat Auto or perish, we must preface any new Mopar product with the caveat, "if the company is still around." If Chrysler makes it to next year, it will launch the next-generation full-size cars, still with rear-wheel-drive, six years after the 300 won our Car of the Year award and five years after the Charger went on-sale. Despite a change in designation from LX to LY, the platform is far from being all new. And that's a good thing. Chrysler is putting its money and effort into fresh sheetmetal (slightly retro in the case of the Chrysler, more retro for the Charger) and especially, much-improved interiors.
Early word on the new sheetmetal is that it resolves the design glitches you'll find in the current cars. They're much cleaner and better proportioned. Expect the Chrysler to go more upscale, widening the price gulf with the Dodge Charger. Newly anointed design chief Ralph Gilles, chief designer of the '05 300, fought for world-class interiors after years of atrophy under Trevor Creed. The Hemi V-8s will return (especially for police special Chargers), but the new ad campaign, in light of global warming and oil price concerns, will be "that thing got a Phoenix?" The new V-6 engines include a 280-horsepower, 3.6-liter gas direct-injection unveiled recently in the '11 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Bottom Line: Short-term rejuvination for Chrysler as it waits for smaller, Fiat-based models.
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