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Should The 2019 Chrysler 300 Be FWD?

29418 Views 189 Replies 28 Participants Last post by  HotCarNut, 
james.mooney.
Should the 2019 Chrysler 300 (CY 2018) be FWD?

Arguments for RWD (Rear-Wheel-Drive).
*RWD is associated by many with performance and "luxury."
*The Chrysler 300 is the flagship of the Chrysler brand and the FCA US LLC group.
*Chrysler has a history of producing large, bold, brash, RWD sedans.
*One of the primary selling points of the Chrysler 300 since 2005 has been RWD.
*http://m.automobilemag.com/features...-chrysler-300-should-remain-rear-wheel-drive/

Arguments for FWD (Front-Wheel-Drive).
*Chrysler is not a "luxury" or performance brand. Even if it were a "luxury" brand, other automakers (Audi, Cadillac) have shown that "luxury" buyers will accept FWD and FWD-derived AWD vehicles.
*A Chrysler 300 FWD sedan would fit with its "mainstream" identity.
*Chrysler's LH FWD full-size sedans have been generally well-regarded by critics, customers, and enthusiasts.
*A FWD layout is preferable to many customers and could allow for a more spacious interior.
*Putting the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger on different platforms would reduce product overlap.
*If sold with a wide range of trims and therefore prices, a FWD Chrysler 300 could compete with both "mainstream" vehicles like the Chevrolet Impala and Ford Taurus as well as "luxury" vehicles like the Cadillac XTS and Lincoln MKS.

How the 300 could be designed on CUSW. Below are listed the dimensions (from Wikipedia) for the 2015 Chrysler 200 and the GM full-size FWD sedans (Cadillac XTS and Chevrolet Impala).

A FWD Chrysler 300, similar in size to the GM sedans, could be created by stretching the 200 by 10 inches or so in overall length, with 4-6 inches added to the wheelbase and the rest added behind the rear wheels to create a larger trunk.

The 200 is actually wider than the GM sedans by 0.6-0.7 inches, and it is only 0.2-0.4 inches or less shorter than them in height.

Chrysler 200.
Wheelbase: 108.0 in (2,742 mm)
Length: 192.3 in (4,884.7 mm)
Width: 73.7 in (1,871 mm)
Height: 58.7 in (1,491 mm)

Chevrolet Impala.
Wheelbase: 111.7 inches (2,840 mm)
Length: 201.3 inches (5,110 mm)
Width: 73 inches (1,900 mm)
Height: 58.9 in (1,496 mm)

Cadillac XTS.
Wheelbase: 111.7 in (2,837 mm)
Length: 202 in (5,131 mm)
Width: 72.9 in (1,852 mm)
Height: 59.1 in (1,501 mm)

If the wheelbase of the 200 is stretched by 4-6 inches, bringing the wheelbase of the 300 to 112-114 inches, it could also be the basis of the 2019 Chrysler D-CUV (also CY 2018), if the CUV is roughly the same size as the current Dodge Journey.

Dodge Journey.
Wheelbase: 113.8 in (2,891 mm)
Length: 192.4 in (4,887 mm)
Width: 72.2 in (1,834 mm)
Height: 66.6 in (1,692 mm)

While it seems odd that the Chrysler D-CUV is not coming until 2018, while the Jeep is already out and the Dodge is coming in 2016, it seems possible that the delay is due to it being co-developed with a CUSW Chrysler 300 sharing the same wheelbase.

Assembly plant utilization. A FWD CUSW Chrysler 300 and a Journey-sized Chrysler D-CUV would most likely be built at Sterling Heights alongside the Chrysler 200, possibly on the old currently unused assembly line. If CUSW and RU can be produced on the same assembly lines, any excess capacity at the Windsor minivan plant could also be utilized.

The Dodge Durango (if switched to the "Lx" full-size car platform) could take the Chrysler 300's place at Brampton, leaving the WK3/WL Grand Cherokee (CY 2017) and Grand Wagoneer (CY 2018) to be produced at Jefferson North.

Note: CY indicates "calendar year," the year in which SOP (start of production) for each vehicle is scheduled according to the May 6, 2014, FCA Product Plan.
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D
JMO.......very amusing comments. The absolute certainty of the superiority of your favorite drive wheels......

Personally, I like RWD. And yet I consider my Intrepid as the most comfortable car I ever owned. It did everything well.

So.....guess I could go either way, but think the 300 should stay RWD. That's where it is better known. Chrysler needs to quit throwing away it's heritage.
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V
Why did GM abandon the RWD market in 1996? For the same reason Chrysler did in 1989 and Ford did just recently. The product got old and stale and the only ones who bought the RWD car towards the end of their respective production cycles in any volume were fleets (specifically police). Had these RWD platforms not been neglected and properly updated the RWD products could have lived on. The LX platform is not selling 2/3 (or some horrid ratio like that) to fleets like the M bodies were at the end, the RWD GMs were and then Ford was all fleet once the Grand Marquis ended wasn't it?
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V
You are looking too much in the past. Which future sedan from which brand should compete with Tesla model S?

V
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james.mooney.
http://m.automobilemag.com/features/columns/1405-what-will-fiat-and-chrysler-be-in-2019/

A new Town & Country and a 75-mpg plug-in hybrid version come in 2016, followed by a full-size CUV and its PHEV version the following year. They’ll share a new big FWD/AWD platform. The bad news is that an all-new Chrysler 300/300C due in 2018 will probably be on that platform.

“The architecture choices we make for Dodge are going to be fundamentally different than the ones we make for Chrysler,” Marchionne said.

The big new Dodges coming in late ’18 “may” get the new RWD Alfa platform, while the big Chrysler most certainly will not, he said.
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Mopar392
Taking the above into consideration, 300SRT and 300S of the LX-platform will be keepers once FWD 300 hit the road..
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GuidoFL
For way to long the out dated and the heavy Daimler E platform have been used and now the Fiat platforms. My matter of thinking goes that instead of hand me down platforms perhaps it's time Chrysler developed a few of it's own, expensive as that may be ? Something like $10 billion from Chrysler went to bail out Fiat Europe, hey I saw that movie before.
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T
GuidoFL said:
For way to long the out dated and the heavy Daimler E platform have been used and now the Fiat platforms. My matter of thinking goes that instead of hand me down platforms perhaps it's time Chrysler developed a few of it's own, expensive as that may be ? Something like $10 billion from Chrysler went to bail out Fiat Europe, hey I saw that movie before.
Click to expand...
Still sticking to the Daimler story, eh?

To bad some people refuse to be educated. Instead, they rely on disproven old wives tales to form opinions and cling to them like Linus clings to his blanket.
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Dave Z
Most 300M owners are very loyal indeed. You can make a fine car with either set of drive wheels. If Dodge is the performance brand there is no need for a Chrysler to handle 400 horsepower.
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Mopar392
True... But if 300 goes to follow the rest of the full size offering and be FWD, How will it recapture its current market share (which I don't know what) and will it be just another grandpa vehicle?
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V
Chrysler is apparently going back to the idea it can build a better Toyota Camry (or Avalon). Hopefully they will soon change their mind yet again and go off in a different direction. Dodge will falter as a performance brand and Chrysler will flop as a mass market (generic car) brand. Just in time for the greatly anticipated European brands to expand and come to the rescue - Fiat from below and Alfa and Maserati from above.
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dana44
Then take the 200 up a notch in size for that larger FWD sedan, that fixes a good FWD and good RWD. Yes, the 300M et al, were good cars, no reason the 200 couldn't fit that position better.
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GasAxe
dana44 said:
So Dodge keeps RWD and Chrysler goes FWD? If ever Chrysler was to move upscale, going backwards to FWD would be the LAST thing they should do.

It took long enough just to get them back to RWD, not a good move no matter what anyone thinks.
Click to expand...
I hate to say this, but you've got to let go of Chrysler ever going upscale under FIAT. It's the company's people mover. So the question should be what can be most effective in the mass market. I still maintain it should be RWD/AWD since it differentiates the 300 from the rest of the market UNLESS going back to FWD can lead to a substantial improvement in another area like mpg's or cost.
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V
Why not RWD on minivan platform?

v
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MoparNorm
v.b. said:
Why not RWD on minivan platform?

v
Click to expand...
Because the tooling costs would be prohibitive. The minivan platform is set up for FWD architecture and not likely adaptable, without new tooling and robots.

However, the shutdown is extensive, so maybe.
Marchionne is prone to overspending on questionable processes, which often need to be reworked.
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V
So a gas engine would not work for a RWD RU. How fortunate that they did research on a rear-mounted electric motor on that same platform...

v
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Stratuscaster
v.b. said:
Why not RWD on minivan platform?
Click to expand...
As intended for a minivan, I'll just point to the original specs when they first arrived - flat floor, low step-in height, easy to park, garageable, etc. The space needed for the RWD hardware could be an issue. And I think you'd likely mount the engine and trans N-S - which could also be an issue.

Then again, anything is possible with enough time/effort/money. I see no need for a RWD minivan, personally.
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L
I read somewhere that the new minivan platform can support rwd, is this true? .
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dana44
GasAxe said:
I hate to say this, but you've got to let go of Chrysler ever going upscale under FIAT. It's the company's people mover. So the question should be what can be most effective in the mass market. I still maintain it should be RWD/AWD since it differentiates the 300 from the rest of the market UNLESS going back to FWD can lead to a substantial improvement in another area like mpg's or cost.
Click to expand...
Well, there are three models off the basic platform architecture, so it would be pretty stupid to simply say, no, gonna get rid of one of them and put it on its own (or shared) platform with one of the other Fiats. Besides, the 300 is still a pretty decent bread and butter seller and not moving upscale or not, not a smart move.
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tomaz
I would accept a FWD 300 if it wasn't called 300... Call it Fifth Ave.. A RWD 300 in my mind should be a Grand Tourer like it originally was. but even that would hurt the New 300 image.
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james.mooney.
http://www.worldcarfans.com/114112584940/2018-chrysler-300-could-lose-its-trademark-styling

http://www.ontariostreetcar.com/2014/05/14/2018-chrysler-300-to-go-fwd/
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