Long-Term Road Test
In the August 1959 issue of Sports Cars Illustrated (which you history experts recall became Car and Driver in April 1961), we wrote of the Chrysler 300E: "Dimensionally, it is huge, yet an aggressive driver finds it has the agility of a 1500cc sports car. Truly, a Porsche Carrera with an overactive thyroid."
Funny how that road test of the 1959 300E reflects our feelings about our long-term 1999 300M. Since it was introduced in '98, we've named the 300M to our 10Best list two times for well-deserved reasons. First off, packaging efficiency is excellent. Even though the 300M, at 197.8 inches, is two inches shorter than a 2000 Mercury Sable, it has 50 cubic feet of room in the back seat, three more than in the Sable.
We also like the 300M's 253-horsepower, 3.5-liter, 24-valve V-6 engine. "Great power" and "plenty of power in reserve for passing" were typical comments in the 300M's logbook. On smooth highways, the 300M is stable and solid. All this, combined with its price of slightly more than $30,000, makes the 300M one of our favorite sedans. We were eager to see how these impressions would hold up after 40,000 miles.
Our Deep Slate Pearl Coat (black) 300M arrived with 91 miles on its odometer. On top of its base price of $29,295, we added a sunroof ($795); a performance package that includes firmer struts, taller rear jounce bumpers, slightly stiffer steering, brakes with high-friction lining, 16-inch wheels, and P225/60VR-16 Michelin tires ($400). An 11-speaker, 360-watt cassette/CD player and a full-size spare tire each set us back $215, and $20 for ashtrays and lighters and $30 for engine-block heaters rounded out the tag to $30,970.
After a month-long break-in period, we took the 300M to the track, where it accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds and ran the quarter-mile drill in 15.9 seconds at 89 mph. An Acura 3.2TL, which last month upset the 300M in a comparison test, accelerates from 0 to 60 in 7.4 seconds and runs the quarter-mile in 15.9 seconds at 90 mph.
The 300M requires a stop for service every 7500 miles. The ever-efficient Brock Yates pitted early at 6798 miles at South Bay Chrysler Plymouth/Jeep in Torrance, California, because he was about to trek cross-country back home to New York. He paid $53 for new engine oil and a tire rotation. On his way home, Yates wrote: "Two thousand miles into a long cross-country trip, and the 300M is a joy. It's stable, silent, powerful, and abundantly comfortable. The car was flawless and perhaps the best long-distance cruiser in memory."
Yates would spend the next 7500 miles with the 300M, during which time the few gripes he did find were high-beam headlights that didn't illuminate the road as brightly as he would like and a gearshift lever that didn't quite agree with what gear the transmission was in. When the transmission is in reverse, the gear lever actually rests between the letters R and N on the console (the dash display is accurate).
At 14,429 miles, Yates paid $40 for new engine oil, a new engine oil filter, and a tire rotation from McClurg Chrysler-Plymouth in Perry, New York. The lower price for the same 7500-mile service, plus a new filter, proves that small-town dealerships can and do charge less than those in big cities.
In March, Brock Yates Jr. piloted the 300M on a 5000-mile prerun for the 1999 One Lap of America. On the way, he reported the hazard lights coming on by themselves --a curious event that occurred four more times near the end of the 300M's stay. "It took two miles' worth of driving and me pushing on the button to get it to finally shut off," reported Patrick Bedard. All occurrences were in the desert Southwest, so maybe it was an alien Roswell/Area 51 thing.
Upon its return to Ann Arbor, John Phillips noted a ride harshness that "gets a little tiring on Ohio and Michigan interstates." Comments about the 300M's ride seemed to depend on where it was driven. On the sectioned, pot-hole-ridden concrete interstates common in the Midwest, it garnered some criticism. "Great cruiser, but the ride is a bit stiff-legged over broken concrete," noted Frank Markus. But when the 300M was driven out West on smooth asphalt roads, the ride comments were almost unanimously positive.
