Chrysler Concepts Views

General Goods

Now that the serious Stuttgarters are calling the shots at Chrysler, one wonders how many more of the adventurous - but very costly - concept cars will emerge from Auburn Hills. With that in mind I took extra pleasure in driving this year's crop of Chrysler concepts: the Dodge Charger R/T, the Dodge Power Wagon and Chrysler Citadel, all first shown at January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

How’s it look? The concept looks sleek and surprisingly practical, like a Pacifica put on a highly successful European diet and with a tightly rounded rear that is similar to the Nissan Murano. Most concepts look wonderful but fragile and impractical; the Chrysler Lancia concept looks like it was accidentally driven off the production line.

Underneath the skin, the 200C’s ENVI range-extending electric-vehicle technology is shared with a trio of other Chrysler concepts. Similar to other range-extending vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt, it is capable of running up to 40 miles solely on electricity. Range is extended to 400 miles using a small gas-fired engine as an electricity generator. Chrysler says the rear-drive sedan (sources say this is built on a shortened version of the LX platform) has a claimed 0-to-60-mph time of about seven seconds and a quarter-mile time in the mid-15s, and the company also quotes top speed at “greater than 120 mph.” The 200C is 1.5 inches longer, 2.4 inches wider, and 1.7 inches shorter in height than a Sebring, and the concept has 7.2 extra inches between its wheels.

Given the disappointment that is the Sebring—it finished last in a six-car comparo when it was brand-new—we’d love to see this vehicle produced as a replacement. Chrysler says it will build one of its EV concepts for 2010 and three others by 2013. We can only hope this is one of the vehicles slated for production, EV or not.