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2015 Chrysler 300 First Drive [w/video]

When Chrysler last updated its 300 in 2011, the fullsize sedan market was a very different place than it is today. Ford's redesigned Taurus was in showrooms, sure, but segment stalwarts like the Toyota Avalon and Chevrolet Impala were languishing at the tail end of their model cycles. And still, the second-generation 300 (not counting the "letter series" cars from the 1950s and '60s, of course) failed to recapitulate the booming success of the model reboot in 2004. Something in the combination of the down economy, higher gas prices and great product from front-wheel-drive entries in the class kept the 300 from the six-digit sales numbers it saw in the early 2000s. For the 2015 model year, Chrysler hopes that a more clearly defined purpose for its big sedan, combined with liberal dipping into the corporate tech toy box, will rekindle buyer interest. Considering the mild characters and front-driver dynamics of its mainstream competition, the promise of V8 power and rear-wheel drive should at least turn the heads of those looking for a car with a little edge. I grabbed the keys of the edgiest of the bunch, the sport-intended 300S, and found a big sedan that gives away some practicality to the rest of its segment mates. The trade-off for the dip in pragmatism is an uptick and driving fun and attitude that should make all the difference for the right buyer. Even though the hard-to-miss face of the 300 has come in for another nip and tuck, that attitude is still clearly on display, too. The grille of the 300 is some 33-percent larger than the outgoing model, though it's still far less brutal than the throwback styling of the 2005 "Baby Bentley" car, at least to my eyes. The cheese grater insert is metallic in most trims of the 300, though the 300S you see in my photo set gets the meaner blacked-out treatment. A quick scroll through our gallery will show you that the rest of the 300 has been similarly changed but not reinvented. Light clusters front and rear are revised, the rear clip has been re-forged with less busy styling, and the whole car has been de-chromed to a large extent (this 300S is wearing the least blingy outfit of the bunch). That rear spoiler is S-model specific. I held the existing 300 interior in fairly high regard, and this new car improves on that base.

Chrysler Portal Concept introduces millennials to their automotive future at CES

"Created by millennials for millennials." That's how Chrysler describes its new Portal Concept, a fully electric minivan that's set to debut later today at CES in Las Vegas. Reading between the lines, apparently that means millennials want a one-box van with lots of glass and LED lighting elements... and that FCA is talking to the same millennials as Mercedes did back in 2015. From the few early images of the vehicle released ahead of its official debut, Chrysler's electric van looks like it could have come straight off a Syd Mead drawing. The Portal Concept rides on a 118.2-inch wheelbase, which makes it a little smaller than the Pacifica. There's just enough reality in its design that we can't completely dismiss its viability as an actual vehicle, but all of its disparate design ideas make the Portal look like an overwrought vision of a future that will probably never happen. That said, we'll reserve final judgment until we see it in person at CES. The Portal Concept gets intriguing once its massive double-sliding doors open up. There's a minimalist dash with a long, slender LCD at the top and another, more conventional touchscreen right in the center. Apparently, the screens can be repositioned as needed. There are 10 docking stations inside to charge and hold smartphones or tablets. FCA worked with Panasonic to develop the Portal's user experience, and the automaker hints that the supplier could become a long-term partner. Chrysler calls the interior of its Portal Concept a "third space," the other two being home and work. All the seats mount to rails that allow them to move fore and aft, fold flat, or be removed completely. The flat floor sits above a lithium ion battery pack rated at 100 kWh. That's enough capacity to allow a driving range of more than 250 miles. A 350-kW fast charger can replenish the pack to allow a 150-mile range in less than 20 minutes. A single electric motor powers the front wheels. As befitting a vehicle unveiled at CES, Chrysler says the Portal is capable of SAE Level Three autonomous driving, which means the occupants can turn driving duties over to the vehicle under certain conditions on the highway. As self-driving technology advances, Chrysler says the Portal could be upgraded. Facial recognition and voice biometric technologies allow the Portal to recognize individual users so it can tailor the driving environment to their needs and wishes.

Zombie cars: Discontinued vehicles that aren't dead yet

Car models come and go, but as revealed by monthly sales data, once a car is discontinued, it doesn't just disappear instantly. And in the case of some models, vanishing into obscurity can be a slow, tedious process. That's the case with the 12 cars we have here. All of them have been discontinued, but car companies keep racking up "new" sales with them. There are actually more discontinued cars that are still registering new sales than what we decided to include here. We kept this list to the oldest or otherwise most interesting vehicles still being sold as new, including a supercar. We'll run the list in alphabetical order, starting with *drumroll* ... BMW 6 Series: 55 total sales BMW quietly removed the 6 Series from the U.S. market during the 2019 model year. It had been available in three configurations, a hardtop coupe, a convertible and a sleek four-door coupe-like shape.   BMW i8: 18 total sales We've always had a soft spot for the BMW i8, despite the fact that it never quite fit into a particular category. It was sporty, but nowhere near as fast as similarly-priced competitors. It looked very high-tech and boasted a unique carbon fiber chassis design and a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but wasn't really designed for maximum efficiency or maximum performance. Still, the in-betweener was very cool to look at and drive, and 18 buyers took one home over the course of 2021.   Chevy Impala: 750 total sales The Impala represented classic American tastes at a time when American tastes were shifting away from soft-riding sedans with big interior room and trunk space and into higher-riding crossovers. A total of 750 sales were inked last year.   Chrysler 200: 15 total sales The Chrysler 200 was actually a pretty nice sedan, with good looks and decent driving dynamics let down by a lack of roominess, particularly in the back seat. Of course, as we said regarding the Chevy Impala, the number of Americans in the market for sedans is rapidly winding down, and other automakers are following Chrysler's footsteps in canceling their slow-selling four-doors. Even if Chrysler never really found its footing in the ultra-competitive midsize sedan segment, apparently dealerships have a few leftover 2017 200s floating around. And for some reason, 15 buyers decided to sign the dotted line to take one of these aging sedans home last year.