[DeTomaso] NPC - Any thoughts about SRT-6 Crossfires

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/28/09 22 47 48, knottsj at galstar.com writes:


> Am thinking about a SRT-6 Crossfire and was wondering if anyone had info
> about long term ownership of the car.
> Any problems?  Other than the business is sick and the car was a short 
> lived
> offering.
> 

The reviews of that car were universally negative--in fact it was one of 
the few cars I can remember recently that was considered to be somewhat of a 
'bad' car.   (That is, assuming you're talking about the Crossfire SRT6 
coupe; I believe the convertible was received a bit more positively?)

The underpinnings are excellent (it's nothing but a reskinned Mercedes SLK, 
which is a wonderful machine), but the suspension was recalibrated by 
people who had no idea what they were doing (apparently) and the result was a 
dynamic disaster.

Here's what Car & Driver had to say about the suspension:

{snip}  
We love cars that handle, but so much suspension resistance on such a short 
wheelbase means trouble. The SRT-6 hops its way up sectioned concrete 
freeways like a malfunctioning lowrider. It crashes heavily on railroad grades 
and fraying pavement. It shivers over the minutest cuts and crevices, the 
stout tire sidewalls transmitting all their energy through the stiff springs and 
into the rigid body. What works on track day makes life miserable every 
other day. {snip}

This was their overall conclusion:

And there the SRT-6 creates a conundrum. No doubt Chrysler's hot-rod group 
has extracted a serious performance car from a fashion accessory. But with 
no manual transmission available and a reputation as a too-cute coupe, the 
Crossfire may never appeal to hard-cores who live for the next apex, 
especially when it's priced in Corvette and BMW M3 territory. And the Crossfire's 
current constituency may never put up with having their pompadours viciously 
rattled with every trip down the driveway.
Car magazines may howl, but Chrysler—having fixed the power deficit and 
added better brakes and styling—should rethink the SRT-6's suspension and relax 
it for easier boulevard work. True, the company expects to build only a 
couple thousand SRT-6s a year. But the corporate crossfire may be a little less 
deadly if this model actually sells.

====

Autoweek hated it too.   Here's their tester's comments:

WILSON: If you really love the styling, you could like this car a lot. You 
might call it a Chrysler TT, but then it’s not TT money. It’s Corvette 
money for a stiff ride and okay performance.I wasn’t an SLK/CLK fan when those 
cars had this drivetrain. It’s got power, but without a manual gearbox it 
comes more at the car’s whim than your command. This feels like a "numbers" car 
that will look good in the road-test-results panel, but it isn’t a pleasant 
companion on the road. It does have the performance element that the base 
car lacks, but at a high enough price in ride quality, noise and sticker that 
I don’t think this is going to fix the Crossfire’s lackluster sales.



MORRISON: Wilson is 100 percent right. This is a strange car, or rather, a 
car that provides a strange experience. Look at its specs and it sounds like 
a recipe for madness, but for some reason it delivers only mild thrills. I 
think the lack of a manual has a great deal to do with this, as Wilson says; 
I feel like I’m just along for the ride rather than involved in any serious 
way. But that alone doesn’t necessarily explain the sterile feel. Even 
though the giant tires provide serious grip, the engine delivers plenty of whomp 
and the suspension is much stiffer than the standard, the car just doesn’t 
engage you enough. It feels like a GT car in a sports car-sized package (not 
a good thing in my book, especially at this price). I have no idea why you 
would choose this over, say, a C6 Corvette.



VAUGHN: We have no one to blame but ourselves. We asked for more sportiness 
from the Crossfire and we got more—way more.The SRT-6 has plenty of good 
stuff, most notably cornering ability and power. But it also has a brutally 
stiff suspension that is not helped in the slightest by the way-low-profile 
tires.I merged from an asphalt on-ramp to the concrete Santa Monica Freeway, 
and the raised concrete freeway edge—which I’ve traversed for the last 12 
years without incident in every car made—sliced open a one- or two-inch gash 
in the sidewall of the left-front tire. The fashionable proportions mean 
there is no room for a spare, and the cigarette lighter-powered air compressor, 
screwed into the can of Seal ’N’ Air goo, was nowhere near enough to patch 
the hole. Chrysler’s roadside assistance wouldn’t send a flatbed, either, 
because no one there could figure out the VIN of our press car. AAA hauled 
the car away and that was the last I saw of it.For SRT-6 money I could get an 
Audi TT, BMW M3, Chevy Corvette, Honda S2000, most of two Mazda RX-8s or 
Nissan 350Zs, almost three Mini Coopers or the back half of a Porsche 911, any 
of which would be preferable.

======

Pretty damning stuff.

My old roommate had a Mercedes 320 SLK roadster (upon which the Crossfire 
is based), and that was a wonderful car (albeit very much a chick's car).   
Given a choice between an SLK and a Crossfire roadster, there would be no 
contest in my view.

Mike


**************
Big savings on Dell XPS Laptops and 
Desktops!(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1220631276x1201390200/aol?redir=http:%2F%2Fad.do
ubleclick.net%2Fclk%3B214101948%3B35952020%3Bv)