Originally Posted by BlazingSaddle
I can't recall if the Maserati came first or the Lebaron. Either way, the Lebaron should have never entered the picture. Maserati was a brand -- with a long colorful history. Chrysler should have never mixed them up.
Mercedes and Chrysler marriage was also problematic from the start. It would have taken a really fantastic product with just as fantastic marketing to make the marriage result in anything good for either of them.
Take a look at Pacifica Vs the R class. Have you looked at them? What a difference a brand makes. The Crossfire, for me, isn't about Chrysler or Mercedes. It's about the cool design of the car that harks back to the Bugatti and other classic sport cars. I wish it's interior was more "classic." Another is what appears to be high reliability ratings -- even better than SLKs.
For the record, the Lebaron came first. The Maserati was an attempt to add spice. It was a mix of garlic and cinnamon but for some, not that much of a b*st*rd.
At the time nobody on this side of the pond had anything, not even the Corvette was worth much attention. Just my opinion.
But Chrysler was at least, trying to make cool cars.
I'm damm glad they didn't stop. The 94/95 truck turned Detroit upside down, The LHS and cab forward was copied(as much as they could with skin changes) by the competition. Unless you were still in love with GM boxes with different labels or the Ford old engineering repackaged time and time again, you bought one of these truly new machines.
My son still has his 95 LHS and it still looks, runs and drives well. Sumptuous interior and all.
In the late 80's Chrysler had a lot of ideas, but not a lot of money. Chrysler tried a lot of ideas to get attention, this was one. New york was full of "K" car limos for a while. Still see one on Ebay from time to time.
The Maserati was a lot like the "K" limo. Not a great product perhaps, but it got a lot of attention. In the end it sold a lot of cars for Chrysler. I must add this, the Maserati /lebaron was more unique and more reliable than the Cadillac Allante'. Now there is a mutt car from late 80's early nineties with a story to tell.
roadster with a stick