Well, as you may or may not know, some kamikaze pilot driver cracked into the Envoy, so that's back at the body shop.... nice.
So, I get a rental car... they show up en masse from Mayfair Rent a Car, this body shop is so busy.... and the way people are driving, I'm not surprised... gives new meaning to the term "reckless disregard". So look idiots, if you're gonna strap on the white headband with the rising sun on it, pleeeze stay the f*** away from me on the road, okay?? But anyway, they show up with a Neon, some minivan pos, and a Chrysler 300. So, in a very odd, almost out of body experience, I'm sitting there HOPING the Chrysler 300 IS FOR ME?!?!? Yes, I kid you not. And it was! lol!
Yeah, so, let's run down the Chrysler 300:
Thumbs Up: 1. Decent looking sedan, for a 4 door.
2. Drives nice, and actually isn't a complete death machine in the snow, despite being rear wheel drive.
3. Seat has a humongous range of adjustment... if you can't get this thing set comfortably, start taking the bus... could use seat memory though.
4. Lights and wipers work reasonably nice.
Thumbs down: 1. I've heard it said that Chrysler wants to move upscale, to compete with Cadillac and Lincoln, and this is the flagship. Uhhh, you're not there yet. This 2007 300 falls well short of a 1997 Eldorado Touring Coupe in many areas.
2. This complicated gate deal on the automatic transmission, is that necessary?? Is that supposed to seem sporty?? It seems like I gotta look at it and play with it a lot to find the gear I want, to be honest...
3. A 2.7 Liter V6?? Utterly inadequate. At WOT, it gets louder, but not much happens. When you floor a Northstar-powered Cadillac, you better have a LOT of open road ahead of you, because you will be going 100 real soon...
4. You go to rear-wheel drive, and then you make the numbest steering setup I've ever seen. May as well have a joystick in it... zero road feel. If you're gonna have zero road feel, you may as well have front wheel drive...
5. Complex hood opening... and the owners manual is full of helpful tidbits like "If you have any problems, take it to the dealer." I'm real annoyed with that whole thing, from car makers... do you mind if I check the oil?? Battery is nowhere in sight. Basic stuff like oil changes, battery, air filter... that stuff should be accessible so that the owner can do it... That's part of good engineering, that has been totally ripped out of the process by accountants, dealer people, marketing, whoever.... make the damn thing so I can do the basics myself. Would that kill ya??
6. Touchiest brakes I have ever experienced, ever. Ultra touchy. I mean, I thought my C5 Corvette with a complete West Coast Corvettes caliper and rotor set on it was touchy... and it was... but it was nothing compared to this thing. You breathe on the brake pedal, and the sensation is just like, if you chained the car to a building, and the slack ran out, and the car just snapped to a stop...
Summary: it's actually not that far away from being an okay car. In a way, I wonder if I might be happy with a DeVille... this 4-door doesn't seem that bad. Now, with a V8, and loaded with amenities, it might be nice. I suppose this thing is a stripped rental deal, to be fair. Loaded up, it might have merit, in some ways.
So, I pick this thing up yesterday, and head off to work. On the way there, 2 idiots almost crack into me big time, in the snow... I tell ya, I'm on a roll.
More playoff action tomorrow. I'm psyched. I'm plotting the huge bacon cheeseburger I'm gonna put away during the game.... ahhh! The Doc made me chocolate chip cookies, too... nice.
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