Chrysler 300C 2012 News

Manufacturers including BMW, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Peugeot and Citroen have issued recalls via the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Only a fraction of the 1.2 million cars on Australia roads with airbags that can spray shrapnel have been fixed, new figures show.

The American brand is claiming a record result for the 12 months to the end of May, thanks to the best Jeep performance since the 1990s.Chrysler is also about to light a showroom afterburner with the long-overdue return of its flagship 300C - which has been missing from the lineup for more than a year - and the addition of new SRT8 performance versions of the C-car and Grand Cherokee.The bottom-line number from June 2011 to May 2012 is 15,528 vehicles, a 30 per cent increase over the same period a year earlier. “We are delighted with the group’s sales to date, which show a very strong, consistent rate of growth,” says Clyde Campbell, managing director of the Fiat Chrysler Group.He is one of the keys to the change, taking over the reigns just as Chrysler Jeep Australia was rolled into the global Fiat Chrysler Group and driving everything from a wider model lineup to the shift to a new inner-city corporate headquarters in Melbourne.There is sill a lot of change to come, with doubts over the local future of the Dodge nameplate and a massive expansion of the Fiat family with backing from Europe, but Campbell is optimistic. "The rest of the year looks to be an absolute stand out for the Chrysler and Jeep brands," he says.Reviewing the results for the past year, Campbell says Chrysler Jeep deliveries of 11,931 vehicles in the 2011 calendar year was the best bottom line since 1994 - when the brand was still in the hands of a private importer, Astre Automotive.The arrival of the all-new Grand Cherokee, which is finally a Carsguide recommended vehicle thanks to a new approach to quality and comfort, powered it to the top of the Jeep chart with 5590 deliveries. But Campbell says the introduction of two-wheel drive versions of the Jeep Compass and Cherokee also made a significant contribution to the local growth. 

The souped-up version that will pace the Iveco Australian MotoGP field this weekend even managed to blow its own lights out during a test run at Calder Park. The roof-mounted light pack couldn't cope with 160km/h and parted company with the big V8 on its first flying lap. A few "technical adjustments" and it should be ready for more serious duty keeping Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo in line on Sunday. The Chrysler Group is the official supplier of vehicles for the Phillip Island event and will have 16 cars on duty - six SRT8s, three Jeep Grand Voyagers, six Grand Cherokees and a Wrangler. The regular SRT8 doesn't need much motivation - its 6.1 litre V8 produces 317kW and 569Nm. The two course cars, though, have been "Mopar-vated", with the Chrysler Group's performance arm catalogue raided to fit more than $7000 in upgrades. The kit includes a Mopar exhaust, cold-air intake, coil overs and front sway bar. Jeep spokesman Dean Bonthorne says the upgrades give the course cars the handling and the sound to head the MotoGP field. "A 300C sounds pretty good anyway but the Mopar exhaust really makes it bark. It's a must-have for the SRT8," he says. A back-to-back run in a regular car and the tricked-up version around Calder Park shows the Mopar model hangs on like a tired two-year-old. It turns in to corners at speeds the standard SRT8 wanted to go straight ahead for and then copes with more throttle coming through the corner. Power isn't hugely up on the standard car but there's enough difference to steadily gain ground on the straights. Turn the traction control off on either model, though, and it doesn't take much effort for the torque to wring the traction out the tyres. MOPAR MOJO The Mopar aftermarket parts sales are huge in the US and have a small but staunch group of supporters Down Under, especially those who import North American vehicles. Items range from interior trim upgrades and weathershields to specialist kits for drag and off-road racing. Chrysler's motorport involvement is limited to Greg Crick driving a Dodge Viper in the Australian GT Championship and Lee Bektash in the Team Mopar drag racer. Bektash watched bemused as the SRT8 ran around Calder Park, then offered some advice on how to experience the ultimate in Mopar-enhanced speed. "There's nothing like this, mate," he says, patting his carbon-fibre and alloy Dodge Avenger pro stock racer. "Zero to 100(km/h) in 0.8 (second), I'll change gears five times the first 4.3 seconds of the (quarter-mile) run and we're pulling more than 300 (km/h) at the end. I don't care what else you do - you can't beat that." Bektash set a 7.03 second pass at this year's Winternationals in Queensland.

And if the predictions are correct, this time the Caliber will have a bit more gunpowder to back up its name. Thanks to the ownership by Fiat, the Chrysler family-owned Dodge Caliber will sit on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta "Wide C" platform and make its appearance at the 2012 Detroit motor show in January. The "Wide C" platform will also provide the underpinnings for the 2013 Alfa SUV and possibly the later Jeep Compass and Patriot. Caliber may get access to the Giulietta's 173kW/340Nm 1.75-lire turbo-petrol engine to create a hot SRT4 version, though most will either retain Chrysler's tired 2.4-litre petrol engine or gradually move into the hi-tech Fiat Group MultiAir engine range.

It's the make-or-break Chrysler 300C that cost the bankrupt corporation more than $1 billion and must work to give Chrysler some much-needed leverage in its global partnership with Fiat.The 300C will eventually also wear Lancia badges in some countries but, as it is revealed today in Detroit, is a new hero for Chrysler.  It looks good and tough, is suitably lightweighted and technologically loaded, and is promised at value prices.The bad news for Australia is that right-hand drive production is a low priority and the new 300C will not land until 2012. Until then, Chrysler Australia has 12-months' stock of the outgoing car.Chrysler has a totally new take on the 300C, which retains some of its gangsta impact but is more modern in everything from the front-end styling to slimmer pillars and windscreens that drop away much more dramatically than the upright glass of the current car.It retains rear-wheel drive but has much-improved suspension and steering, the key engine is the new-generation Pentastar V6 already fitted to the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and pricing in the USA starts as low as $27,995.  Chrysler has done a lot of work on touchy-feeling stuff, from better shaping in the seats to heated-and-cooled seats and cupholders, a 20cm touch-screen infotainment system and a dual-plane sunroof.The new 300C can roll on 20-inch alloys and there is more than two metres of acustic insulation and underbody paneling to smooth airflow and cut drag and fuel economy.The new 300C is displayed at Detroit alongside a revamped Voyager minivan and massively-updated 200 sedan that both reflect the new styling direction from Chrysler's hero car.

The second-generation 300C is Chrysler's hero car for the 2011 North  American International Motor Show in Detroit, promising updated  styling together with the cabin quality and general refinement missing from the original car. But there is a giant 'but' for Australia. Right-hand production is not scheduled for at least six months and that means the first supplies of the updated car will not land until 2012. Chrysler Australia says the delay is normal on an all-new model and it has over-stocked with the existing 300C to take it through 2011. "Historically we've always had a six to nine-month window to get right- hand drive. We're actually loooking at a similar timeframe," says Chrysler spokesman, Dean Bonthorne. "The on-sale timing is quarter one of 2011 in North America. The  current plan is very early in 2012 for Australia." Chrysler knew about the delay in the final quarter of last year and that's when it started to stockpile the existing 300C. Around 400 cars were landed before the end of the year, but supplies of the $39,990  model - with a 3.5-litre V6 - are already running short. "There are still a handful of the 3.5-litre V6 petrol cars. We also have the 5.7-litre Hemi V8 and the 6.1-litre SRT V8. The Touring was discontinued some time ago," says Bonthorne. "We allowed to maintain a planned sales volume through the major part  of 2011. And we've got some great deals on those models until the 2012  version arrives." Chrysler is promising big things with the 300C, its first major model since the American company began a new partnership with Fiat of Italy. The basic body is similar to the existing car, although the windscreen is swept back by around six centimetres with slimmer door pillars to improve visibility. It is also fitted with daytime LED running lamps  to emphasise the new front-end look. Bonthorne makes no apology for the long wait on the 300C, which is essential to ensure the car gets a fast start in the USA. "They have pushed ahead to get the North American car ready." He promises the drought of new models in 2011 will be broken early in 2012. "Come 2012 and 2013 we have a huge number of new models coming," Bonthorne says. A new direction for Chrysler The new direction at Chrysler Australia is obvious from the top down. Clyde Campbell, formerly a senior staffer at Mercedes-Benz Australia, is the new managing director and occupies a desk in Dandenong. The new office site is part of the Iveco trucks' facility and reflects  Chrysler's move out of the Daimler family and into its new relationship with Fiat. Chrysler and Fiat operate totally separately in Australia, partly because the Italian brand is represented by Ateco Automotive as it independent importer. Chrysler is headed for a relatively quiet showroom year in 2011, with just three models on sale - the soon-to-be superseded 300C, the Grand Voyager people mover and Sebring Cabrio. But it does have the strength of Jeep, including the all-new Grand Cherokee.

All the signs are positive after a strong run through 2010 on everything from new models and new technology to the price of cars and petrol and even motorsport.Last year produced a million-plus result in showrooms, only the third on record and a huge turnover in a country with a population of just over 22 million people. And the sales total for 2011 is likely to be even bigger.The fuel for the sales growth will come, as usual, from the importance of cars in Australia and the incredible number of new models that his showrooms each year. No-one can underestimate the sense of freedom that Australians tap with their cars, or the genuine needs of people who rely on cars for everything from day-to-day commuting to long-distance nomadic work.Car companies are currently doing all they can to clear their backlog of 2010 stock in readiness for the first arrivals of 2011, which means great buying for at least another month. Cars are like horses, because they all get a year older on the same day, and anything in a showroom now with a 2010 build date is out-of-date.But there is nothing out-of-date about the lineup for the first major motoring event of the year, the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It opens next week with the unveiling of everything from a Hyundai Veloster and the next Honda Civic to a new Porsche supercar.There will be lots of news from Detroit, perhaps including Holden's plans to revive Commodore exports to the USA and the potential future of the Ford Falcon. Chrysler will show its new 300C, which will take more than a year to reach Australia, and Chinese brands are promising another new wave of technology and small cars.Chinese cars will be one of the big stories in Australia in 2011, with Chery, Geely and Great Wall all planning to start passenger car sales down under. Great Wall is already doing well with its value-priced utes and SUVs but it's Chery that is looking for the big breakthrough with baby cars that undercut the Korean price leaders.On the motorsport front, the Dakar Rally is already blazing through South America - with Bruce Garland doing his best for Australia in an Isuzu D-Max - the V8 Supercar championship will be another boomer, and Mark Webber will be looking to improve on his 2011 season in another year with Red Bull Racing.Melbourne will be motoring central again this year, not just because it is home to the three local carmakers - Holden, which has the local Cruze this year; Ford, which is about to go with the updated Territory; and Toyota, which has an all-new Camry for 2011 - but also thanks to everything from the Australian Grand Prix to the latest running of the Australian International Motor Show.The organisers of the show have confirmed this year's dates as July 1-10, with the promise of a truly world-class event. Moving the date is planning to bring more people indoors to look at the shiny new metal and, more importantly, open up a new position on the global motoring calendar to allow the Australian show to become a major Asian motoring event each year.

The renewal work makes it more elegant and stylish, including a considerable quality tweak in the cabin, but it still has the chunky body and hunkered-down look which has made it a global winner for Chrysler. But don't expect the all-new 300C in Australia any time soon, even though Carparazzi has caught three production-ready cars with its cameras.  A production switch for the new 300C means there will be no right-hand drive cars until 2012. Chrysler Australia has stocked-up on the existing model, with around 400 cars in the pipeline, to carry it through the drought but is not making any promises on the sales start for the new model.  It could have trouble clearing the backlog, based on the latest Carparazzi pictures. They show a car which looks a little shorter than the current 300C with styling taken from the 200C motor show concept car.  The shape of the new-look headlamps is obvious and so is the front fascia, including LED daytime running lamps. Cut-outs in the Chrysler camouflage along the front bumper and mudguard reveal a new sensor that Carparazzi sources say is for a frontal-collision warning system, adaptive cruise control and a blind spot/side assist system. On the sides, the 300C shows new rocker panels, a body crease that sweeps downwards toward the nose and new chrome-capped side mirrors.  The rear doors have also had the black plastic square at the rear swapped out in favor of more glass. In the rear there are LED tail lamps and a bumper with integrated chrome exhaust tips.  There are huge changes inside, with the test cars revealing a solid, leather-stitched dash top similar to the one in the all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee now in production. There is also a large analogue clock for a bit more class and a massive navigation and entertainment screen. Carparazzi sources say there will be lots of LED lighting and a 500- watt Alpine premium audio system.  The new 300C rides on an updated version of Chrysler's LX chassis and comes with the new Pentastar 3.6-litre V6, also fitted to the new Grand Cherokee. There are also 5.7-litre and 6.4-litre Hemi petrol V8s and a diesel engine. Chrysler is aiming to start production at it's Canadian factory in Ontario during the last week of December, 2010, pointing to an official unveiling at the Los Angeles Auto Show in late November.

The wholesale restructuring of the US car industry has yielded some little gems of information, some of them from Chrysler.