Originally Posted By: javacontour
I always saw Chrysler as some of the best LOOKING domestic cars, but with inferior quality. Save for some long gone exceptions such as the 727 transmissions and the slant 6 engine and perhaps some others, Chrysler has been more about good looking cars than well engineered cars.
That's pretty much completely the opposite of the way I see Chrysler. I've owned them and driven them for 30 years, and while some of them truly are beautiful, for the MOST part I've tended to be a little embarrassed by Chrysler styling (62 Lancer anyone? How about that 1980 Diplomat, or '95 Stratus... blech!). I've never had any mechanical issues whatsoever, though. I sure can't say that about the GMs, Japanese cars, and (to a much lesser extent) Fords I've owned. The very best single car I ever had was my wife's 1993 Vision TSi (first-gen LH) that went 257,000 miles with minimal trouble. Pretty much just turn the key and go.
Chrysler engineering DESIGN generally is superb- among all the engines and all the transmissions (early electronic ones from '89 to '95 being a notable exception.) Either an old 440 or a modern 5.7 Hemi is every bit as bulletproof as a slant-6, and to be honest I think the 318 actually topped the slant-6 in reliability. I've got a 318 with 430,000 miles on it. Where Chrysler has always screwed the proverbial pooch is in quality CONTROL- usually chassis and body, but sometimes drivetrain too. They have a 15-20 year cycle where they get very good, and then everything goes pear-shaped again. Late 50s- Beautiful cars that turned to rust in no time. Fixed the corrosion by about 1960, but at about that time the cars went ugly. Then pretty good quality all through the 60s, but come 1975 it all goes south again- Volares and Aspens that rust away, Volare's with an "Aspen" badge on one fender, etc. etc. Almost bankrupt, saved by Iacocca, and the 80s Mopars are very well-built again, but awful to look at and completely uninspired to drive (Charger 2.2, Reliant/Aires, Diplomat/GranFury, etc.). Then they held it together REAL well through the 90s and built some cars that were both inspired styling AND solidly built (LH cars, both gen 1 and gen 2). Then it all went screwy again after the Daimler merger. Now they're building good cars again, but except for the Challenger they're utterly uninspired style-wise. Avenger? Puh-LEEZE. Caliber? YUCK! The Jeeps, minivans (including the Journey, which is highly underrated), Ram, and Challenger are all they've got going right now.
Just my take on things...