Chrysler 300M is First Produced

The Chrysler 300M is a sports sedan produced by Chrysler from 1999 to 2004. Chrysler Corporation revived the 300 name on the 300M. This time it was a front-wheel drive, 255hp V6 engined car using the Chrysler LH platform. While not technically part of the famous "letter series" of the 1950s and 1960s, Chrysler did use the next letter after the last of the series, the 300L. It was 10 inches (250 mm) shorter than the Chrysler Concorde to make it exportable to Europe as a sports sedan, and was priced above the Concorde. The 300M was a luxury car as opposed to the mainstream status on the Concorde, and during its production was Chrysler's flagship vehicle.

When Chrysler redesigned the LH-cars in 1998, the Eagle Vision was discontinued. In order to fill the "import-fighter" gap, a position held by the Vision, Chrysler brought back the 300 name. Chrysler once stated that if the Eagle brand had not been dropped, the 300M would instead be sold as a redesigned Vision. Indeed, design images surfaced on the Internet showing a 300M with an Eagle badge on the grille. The 300M was similar in exterior and almost identical in the interior as the Concorde. The 300M also fit the European "5 metre" (16.4 foot) size class for export, unlike the substantially similar, yet larger LHS. It had the same wheelbase as the Dodge Intrepid, Eagle Vision, and pre-2002 Chrysler Concorde, reducing its length by cutting front and rear overhangs.
Only one engine was available, the Chrysler-engineered 3.5 L V6, initially created for first-generation LH vehicles and revamped for the newer LH line. It was shared with the Plymouth Prowler and a limited edition R/T variant of the second-generation Dodge Intrepid. It was not used on another vehicle until the arrival of the Chrysler Pacifica in 2004. For 1999, it was rated at 253 horsepower (189 kW), and 255 pound-feet (346 N·m) of torque. It was connected to the 42LE, a four-speed automatic transmission with Autostick, which allowed manual selection...

Some have criticized Chrysler's introduction of the 300M, because its engine is not rated at 300 hp, it is not rear wheel drive, and it does not clobber the competition as well as the early 300 series did. Our considered opinion: this engine is probably at least 300 hp according to gross horsepower, which was used when the original 300s were made; and it does clobber the competition, though in handling, elegance, and interior space rather than in straight-line acceleration. In short, we think it follows the 300 tradition quite well. Based on a standard body, shortened to save weight (and to fit into European parking places), and tuned for maximum performance, it is just as much a 300 as any other; it just has different proportions of handling, luxury, and performance.

riginally slotted to be second-generation Eagle Vision), the 300M was benchmarked not against GM, Ford, and Toyota, but against the BMW 5-series.

Based on the same platform as the $20,000 Intrepid and Concorde, the $30,000 300M is smaller (though you'd never know it from the interior), faster, firmer-riding, and better-handling. Though it still fails the Eurotest in some ways (no turbo option, no diesel option, no five-speed), it will certainly give automatic-transmission-and-gas-V6-equipped Eurosedans a run for their money.

Though the 300M has a standard 250 hp V6 that runs on regular gas and has both manners and teeth, in some ways it does not feel as powerful as the earlier 300 series, because it is smoother in operation. Matched up to the electronic automatic transmission, this engine is deceptively fast: it takes almost no time to reach illegal speeds, but it doesn't seem to be working very hard to do it. Under normal acceleration, shifts are practically undetectable. Likewise, the engine itself is very quiet and well-mannered except near redline - a place most drivers will rarely be, since it makes good power at low engine speeds. It is not a thrilling engine like the Jeep Cherokee's ...