Autoblog

JB @ Jun 22nd 2006 3:08PM

I'm not impressed. It's not like the Airflite was good looking to begin with. It's too busy of a design, like it was done with a photoshop program and the designers dragged a bunch of design elements onto the car. This looks good, drag-n-click, etc.

Why can't they design a rear door without that stupid little piece of glass in the rear portion, near the door handle? That'll be so easy to knock out and gain entry to the vehicle. Of course, Chryslers seem to be easiest to steal anyway - must be for parts.

I agree with earlier posts - it looks like a Maxima and an Ion with a sprinkling of Crossfire. Since the Crossfire is doing so well, it took a year off - the inventory is so high, it must be a good idea to take from that popular design.

The interior's not bad, but it looks Japanese, especially the center stack. Chrysler must run out money by the time they get to the back end, the taillights are as generic as they are on the 300, Charger, and Magnum. Hello? LEDs anyone? Interesting lighting designs anyone? Who says that the taillights should mimic the headlights? It's not necessary, just do something UNIQUE.

I hope that trunk swings past 90 degrees, the decklid looks super short to me. Good luck getting boxes into this thing. Overall, the design is too cluttered, therefore not clean, and will age badly. It will have Grand Am disease, I'm afraid.

I also hope that Chrysler has addressed the narrow oil passages on their engines, especially the 2.7. There is a massive webpage about horror stories on the internet regarding oil starvation due to clogged passages. The original 2.7 was designed completely on the computer. Maybe the fluid dynamics software wasn't up to snuff, but sometimes you need to do things in real life to validate them before letting them loose on the market.

Bottom line, the Sebring will be popular around airports, especially as Ford is out of Hertz. Those with discounts will buy, as they always do.

I'm not a fan of the new Camry at all, in case you're wondering. I don't like the droopy nose, it's out of proportion. I still look appreciatively at the last gen BMW 5 series. It still looks great, and will do so for years. Clean lines, good proportions. This new Sebring ain't got that.