Jim Banville

Anyone w/ C320 coupe consider the Chrysler Crossfire (SLK in disguise?)before buying? They're both built in Germany, priced about the same and use the same engine. Xfire uses 40% MB parts (?engine/drivetrain/chassis?). Personally, I think the Xfire has a much more masculine look. It would definitely turn alot more heads compared to the MB!

respdoc

The only Crossfire that looked half-way decent that I've seen was a SRT-6 I saw on a local dealers showroom floor. Nice package overall but spending $45k for a Chrysler product...

Jim Banville

Is the exterior of the SRT-6 different from the $29K base model? I admit I'm not crazy about the headlight/grille area on the Xfire, bu the rear end is damn sporty! "Chrysler" is just a nameplate as I think the car is built by a German company nameed Karmann. Then again, aren't all MB's, Chrysler products now?

ayilar

Nope -- not enough seats, and not enough space in the seats provided. The runner-up in my case was the Mazda RX-8.

respdoc

The SRT-6 (from what I can remember) has the perm. spoiler in the back and larger rims that come stock. The interior leather felt pretty high quality but the rest of it sure has a cheap plastic quality to it. The car also had a $5,000 "Market Adjustment" sticker on top of the $45k price they were asking and being that the C55 is in the mid-$50's range, its relatively a small price jump compared to the leaps and bounds your get with performance and quality in the C55 compared to the SRT-6.

Outland

Hey Jim, did you get stupid while you were away?

The Crossfire is a very american design. The SLK underpinnings were used to keep the development costs low- not because they were sooooo much better than anything Chrysler could do... Its too bad MB isn't paying attention to the Chrysler side of the technology....if they were, the crossfire wouldn't have that outdated 3.2LV6 that makes an rather ordinary 215HP, when they build there own 3.5L that makes 255HP, and probably costs half as much to build.

The car that I'd really like to see Chrysler build is the Airflite. Its a four seat version of the Crossfire. I'd dump my MB for that.

Outland

Several online articles(autoweek, wards) have commented that the C55 isn't able to better the times that the lighter C32 generated. Since the SRT's engine is the same as the SLK32 and C32, along with its small size, I think would make for a vehicle with the same performance.

Jim Banville

What did I say that was, ummm..errr... "stupid". I never said Xfire was not an American design. I said it was built in Germany by Karman, using 40% MB parts. And are not all MB's "Chrysler products"?

respdoc

Basic 0-60 times are pretty close to the same for both. (C55 vs. SRT-6) The C55 has around 30 more h.p. but of course, more weight then the SRT-6.

That being said the other major factors; handling, braking, etc. not to mention the quality of the MB over the SRT-6; if I was in the market to get a car between those two with such a small difference in price, I would not hesitate getting the C55.

Outland

As Jim pointed out, the SRT-6 is made by Karmann. Same as the SLK, and CLK too, IIRC. I can't see the C55 having any better quality. Handling? Supposedly, the SRT 6 handles better than the old SLK32- which wasn't a bad handling car to begin with. Braking? Hey, its got less mass, bet it out brakes the C55 too. And lets be honest....does anyone really believe the SRT motor makes 19 less HP than the C32? Hell no. Its just marketing. Can't have a Chrysler making 349HP, same as the mighty C32.

Give me some real reasons. Tell me you need four doors. Or four seats even. Tell me you don't like the idea of spending 50K on a Chrysler. But lets stop making the C55 sound worlds ahead for another 10k.

Outland

C'mon Jim. MB's are not Chrysler products. Name one MB product, designed, styled, engineered, or even BUILT by Chrysler. You can't.

Karmann is an assembler. Much like NUMMI. The engineering, and most of the components are supplied by the parent company. Its an arrangement that works good for the parent company during times of economic weakness- since they don't own the plant, or employ the workers, theres no plants to close, and no workers to lay off. For the independent assembler, it has advantages as well- they can build cars for anyone.

MB is calling the shots, and youre just trolling for comments.

Capt Nemo o2

When I was looking at cars, I looked at the base Crossfire against the C230. I decided against it because it was only two seats, which really wasnt that big of a deal, but it was also not that easy to get out of! And I'm not a big guy, I'm 5'10" and 185 lbs... The problem is I have big feet and long legs! I had to do a contorsion act to get out! I also looked at the RX-8, which was a really nice car, but I still dont trust the Wankle motors. The old ones needed to be rebuilt at around 60K miles, and the new ones are the same basic design with a few changes, mainly the ports are on the side instead of on top. And for a 1.3L displacement it got poor gas mileage, 20 mpg AVG. And another thing with these two cars... trunk space, I scuba dive and often need to carry three or four cylinders to the shop to get filled, or when I go to work and have to take those three tanks plus all my gear. Good luck getting all that into a Crossfire!!!

That is mostly correct. Karmann does provide design and engineering, as well as some parts. Think the VW Karmann Ghia... It was VW parts but designed and built by Karmann. VW gives them an idea and the money to make it in volume. Whether this was the case with the Crossfire, I don't know.

respdoc

We could go back and forth all day about 4 piston calipers compared to 2 , suspension setups, etc, but the real reason comes down to personal taste. I have drove a C55 and drove the Crossfire limited (not SRT-6) and like I already posted earlier their's easily a huge difference in quality of materals and fit and finish. This in itself is a deciding fact for me. If I'm going to deduct anything around $50k for a car I want better quality then what I can basically out of a Dodge Neon.

If you haven't yet drive both...try them, then I believe you will see what I mean. If not, that SRT-6 has been sitting in my local dealer's showroom for a while now and could probably get a pretty good deal on it :p

Outland

I appreciate you being honest and saying so. And hey, that's reason enough.

Not having been in a C55 yet, I can't speak to this. However, since my last ride in a C32 made it quite clear that the build quality in the C32 wasn't any higher than my Coupe, or any other C-Class Ive been in, I would tend to believe that the Karman built Crossfire would have similar build quality(build quality, just that- not design problems). And again, I haven't driven the SRT-6, but I have been in and driven the standard Crossfire.

Haven't been in a Neon in a while, have you . I know your just joking, but I can't even compare the low rent neon, because its not built by Karmann, nor is it comprised of MB components like the Crossfire is.

I'm not interested in either, so I can't see that happening anytime soon

Outland

Mileage is always awful with a rotary. And oil consumption. My friend used to race RX7's, but he got tired of rebuilding the motors so often, so he runs Corvettes now- the V8's last him all season, instead of having to have 3 motors for the RX.

Yeah, its an OK car. At anyrate, it wasn't available when I bought my car, but I think the Billy Big Mouth Bass front end would have turned me off, even if the cut lines for the four doors didn't. If Chysler ever builds the Aeroflite, I would definately consider the trade- if they don't ruin the looks and interior.

FrankW

whomever calls MB "Chrysler product" is an idiot. It wasn't a merger, DaimlerBenz bought Chrysler and in the agreement DaimlerBenz had to change their name to DaimlerChrysler. They just made it sound like an merger.

is there anything to compare between the Xfire between the C-coupe for god sake? NO!! The Xfire is a damn two seater based off the old SLK which was based off the w202. If you considering a Xfire SRT-6, then just buy the damn thing. You can only get a used SLK32 for that money and not nearly enough for the new SLK55.

and the C55 is will over $62k OTD.