Fisker Karma

I don't have anything against the Fisker Karma.  Ignoring the fact that it gets mediocre mileage for an "electric" car, and that it weighs almost as much as an Escalade. It's a beautiful sedan.  However, it felt a bit familiar when I first saw it.  Only when leafing through an old magazine did I realize why - it shares some lines with the 1991 Chrysler 300 Concept car, that was effectively a Chrysler branded 4 door Dodge Viper.

You'll note in the above paragraph I stated that it's a beautiful sedan.   There's a reason I clarified.  The Fisker Karma Surf concept that was unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show wasn't exactly a home run.  The sleek lines of the sedan don't exactly translate to wagon form all that well.  The tapered cabin ends in a very narrow backlight that ends up looking squished, as do the windows aft of the rear doors.  This is all capped off with the world's most unnecessarily over-styled hatchback.  I cleaned it up a bit in Photoshop below - it's surprising how much better it looks.

Dreaming of a 300C Hybrid?

Wait no longer! In a remarkable show of restraint, the cars actually doesn't have scissor doors.

Flavia Flav

We’ve been hearing for a while now of Fiat’s plans to have a Chrysler 300 based Lancia. I thought that sounded a little sketchy originally, and today Fiat's made it's plans crystal clear as it released some shots of the upcoming car, which will take the Thema nameplate.

Where before I assumed that the chassis, engine and other bits would be used in a Lancia, it now seems that basically the only thing changed is the emblem in the grille, on the trunk and in the rims.
More alarming is that the 300 based Thema is not the only badge-engineered Lancia in the works… The Flavia nameplate has been resurrected in the form of the Chrysler Sebring 200, and even the Grand Voyager can now be had with a Lancia badge on the hood The latter has been named – imaginatively – the Grand Voyager. Which I’m guessing is Italian for “blasphemy”.

One can only guess as what the Italian public will think of these new products, given that 40-50 years ago the company was known for sporty, distinctive cars with a rich rally heritage. Although that being said the brand had been pretty much diluted to the point of being Fiat’s Mercury anyhow. Still – I was hoping for at least a facelift.

Chrackard

One can only hope this Packard-ified 300 is a one time only deal. And people thought the Packardbakers were ugly...