2004 Chrysler Pacifica on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Autoblog sell-it-yourself highlight: 2004 Chrysler Crossfire

Chrysler's Crossfire was the most fortuitous product of the Chrysler and Daimler-Benz merger when it launched, but also the most tormented. Clothed in Chrysler sheetmetal, the Crossfire sat atop a Mercedes platform and was propelled by an M-B drivetrain. The upscale vibe was obvious, while its outlier status on a Chrysler showroom dominated by minivans, was preordained. As Autoblog reported in May 2006, "production of the Crossfire [fell] from a peak of 35,700 in 2003 to just 12,500 last year. Introduced in 2003, the Crossfire managed about 28,000 sales in 2004, but less than 10,000 in 2005. Chrysler was so desperate to move Crossfires in late 2005 that it even engaged in a marketing stunt when it attempted to sell units on Overstock.com." Most specialized two-seaters (or 2+2 coupes) invariably run into marketing reality; once the novelty wears off, there is little sustained support for a small, impractical vehicle in modern America. Conversely, if looking for a recreational vehicle with a possible upside as an investment, you'll be hard pressed to find a more accessible example than the Crossfire. Our for-sale example, located in Randleman, NC, looks to be well maintained and has the preferred manual transmission. There are few credible guides for evaluating the price, but the $3,750 ask falls in line with a decent Miata of the same vintage and mileage. A buyer should remember that the Mercedes-sourced drivetrain of this era can be a financial swamp, but with a clean Carfax and pre-purchase inspection, Chrysler's Crossfire can provide real driving enjoyment. Related Video: Chrysler Car Buying Used Car Buying Ownership Coupe Luxury Performance chrysler crossfire

Chrysler Airflow EV concept gets new duds for New York

Chrysler's Airflow electric crossover returned to the stage in New York Wednesday in a new exterior finish as Chrysler's development engineers creep closer and closer to their goal of taking the brand all-electric by 2028. The brand's first electric vehicle is due by 2025, and some variant of this definitely-not-a-revived-Celine-Dion-era-Pacifica-crossover thing is likely to be it.  This version of the Airflow is dubbed "Graphite" and is the iteration Chrysler teased ahead of the show, but as we expected, not much of substance has really changed. Perhaps that's because this concept isn't yet particularly substantial. That's the beauty of an EV; once you have the basic design nailed down, the rest is really just an elaborate Lego project. Chrysler's builders are evidently still hard at work putting together a final product that lives up to the initial hype and range target of 400 miles on a charge.  In the meantime, the design team has been tweaking the looks. As we saw in the teaser, the updated Airflow gets a new grille design with a thin light bar at the Airflow's nose and acute beneath flanking the headlights forming a symmetrical pair of lightning bolts (gee, d'ya suppose it's electric?) aimed at the car's nose. The lower fascia appears a bit more sharply defined too, but it could just be the lighting.  The updates to the exterior are repeated inside on the wheel and dash, which have also had their colors inverted from the concept we saw at CES. Some of the interior details have also been tightened up from what we can see here. The selector dial on the center console appears to be more compact, as does the primary infotainment screen (though again, that could be a trick of the "photography"). The secondary display beneath the main infotainment screen has also been eliminated. We're guessing those controls have either been integrated into the main screen or as touch-sensitive elements hidden in the glossy plastic where the screen once was. The same was done to the steering wheel controls, it seems.

Move over Audi, now Chrysler has a beef with Tesla's claims

In the same week that Audi said "not so fast" to some claims from Tesla, Chrysler has responded to a new press release from the California-based EV-maker by saying "not exactly, Tesla." The statement, released through the company's blog, comes in response to Tesla claiming it was "the only American car company to have fully repaid the government." Chrysler notes that it, too, recently paid back Uncle Sam from its 2008 bailout. Similar to Audi's recent press release, which was eventually and mysteriously deleted from the German automaker's site, Chrysler is both right and wrong in its statement.
Tesla specifically said that it had paid back the Department of Energy loans that many automakers received - including Fisker and VPG Autos - while Chrysler's retort argues Tesla is "unmistakably incorrect" since it repaid the government in 2011 a full six years early. Technically, the statements from both automakers are correct, but Tesla's startup loan originated from the DoE, while Chrysler's loan came in bailout form from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Further, as The Detroit News notes, Chrysler's loan still cost taxpayers well over a billion dollars after all was said and done - those negative assets tied to "old Chrysler" in the bankruptcy did not require repayment.