Beware the big black cabs

[aster]

You can opt out of taking that type of taxi if you are in a line - I've done it and they don't seem to care - I'm sure it happens a lot.

A taxi driver told me recently that you're under to obligation to take this cab and can take the next one in line if you like, so this seems to be quite a prevalent view.

To be honest though, unless you're going a LOOOOONG way, I'd consider getting into one of these - without pre-booking it - as a nice bonus. It really is a great ride.

[sundaymorningstaple]

My boss bought one when they first came out and kept it a year then sold it as it drank fuel like it was koolaid. Now he drives a Lexus 400 hybrid SUV! Gets pretty good mileage as well, but it sure doesn't have the cachet the the 300 did.

[aster]

As a brand Chrysler doesn't play in the same league as Lexus, but I agree that the 300M is something special that can't be surpassed by price-tag alone or even the technological edge. It really is a great car, and I'd get one without blinking if I was after that type of car, and actually needed one... especially here in Singapore.

The SMRT ones should be quite fuel-efficient - from what I've seen they've gone for the diesel version.

[ScoobyDoes]

My regular MB driver was forced to switch to a 300M by SMRT when his E-Class got too old and from his driver's perspective he prefers the Benz.

The 300M is probably more Cadi than Chrysler and is too big, heavy and difficult to stop (the brakes suck apparently) certainly in comparison to the Autobahn trained E-Class. He also finds it a problem getting in, out and around the car-park at my home.

From a passenger perspective, I find the waistline too high but it could be that I'm a short 5'6" so seeing out the window feels like being 6-yrs old again in my dad's Ford Escort.

I like the fact it's comfortable and quieter than the E-Class but I don't like feeling like a 6-yr old in the dark (all that black interior is difficult to handle too).

[sundaymorningstaple]

The ultimate production gangsta car, no mods necessary.

[poodlek]

The 300s are made in my hometown (at least the N.American ones are, don't know about the backwards type). They certainly lose that appeal when you see every third person driving one. They bring to mind a certain type of blue collar worker for me. That and home I won't deny, the first time I saw one here I pointed and yelled "Brampton!"

[ScoobyDoes]

The ultimate production gangsta car, no mods necessary.

Disagree...... must come with a set of chrome rims, maybe spinners.

[sundaymorningstaple]

I agree with the 22" blades but still can make do without 'em if need be. Oh, and need's the optional Bentley grill as well.

[Calmday]

Back home they are more of a poor man's luxury car. You can pick up a new one for pretty cheap. Nowhere near a real luxury sedan.
http://www.edmunds.com/chrysler/300/2011/

[JR8]

Back home they are more of a poor man's luxury car. You can pick up a new one for pretty cheap. Nowhere near a real luxury sedan.
http://www.edmunds.com/chrysler/300/2011/

That about £16k! Even the most basic VW Golf GTI is £25k!

[aster]

Back home they are more of a poor man's luxury car. You can pick up a new one for pretty cheap. Nowhere near a real luxury sedan.
http://www.edmunds.com/chrysler/300/2011/

That about £16k! Even the most basic VW Golf GTI is £25k!

That's the price people have to pay for... *ahem*... keeping the Pound. Easier to rig prices, jack them up, isolate the market, etc.

[Calmday]

Trust me. The US hay day is rapidly coming to an end. obama is printing money as fast as the printing press will go to pay for his idiotic agenda.
$14 trillion in debt and its growing by $4 BILLION A DAY.
Just a matter of time before that car costs $100,000 in the US.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[JR8]

Back home they are more of a poor man's luxury car. You can pick up a new one for pretty cheap. Nowhere near a real luxury sedan.
http://www.edmunds.com/chrysler/300/2011/

That about £16k! Even the most basic VW Golf GTI is £25k!

That's the price people have to pay for... *ahem*... keeping the Pound. Easier to rig prices, jack them up, isolate the market, etc.

It costs no less in the euro-zone, just finding comparatives from English language websites was easier.

I'm surprised that in the face of the euro perhaps bringing down the entire EU that you seem so willing to defend it

Edit to add: And our Asian members would be grateful if you'd note that from a Confucianist perspective, since you are an EU-quitter, you have no moral authority to discuss the euro

[Calmday]

Yep. Give me a British Pound or an AUS Dollar. The Euro is flawed big time.

[ScoobyDoes]

American cars have always been really cheap.

I looked at the Mustang pricing when the newer models were launched a few years ago...... USD20k brand new with a 4.0L engine and everything - it was the same to buy a 3.0L Escape if I remember.

It was a crazy low price that was born from the American necessity to own a car and it being assumed as a 'right' rather than a luxury.

Ok, so cars at that time were slow to accelerate, floated like boats, couldn't stop, couldn't go round corners and tended to come with the cheap and cheery 'sticker wood panelling' along the side but thankfully the increase in Euro and Japanese models is improving even the American models. That and the fact that American sold Chevys are now built in Korea and Oz