Overview & Reviews

Chrysler is generally considered part of the Big Three, a title that refers to the traditional triumvirate of domestic automakers. The current accuracy of this classification is open for debate, but there's no debating the fact that Chrysler has experienced a revival of sorts over the past few years.

Chrysler Corporation was founded in 1925 by Walter P. Chrysler, a noted machinist; he'd purchased the Maxwell Motor Corporation of Detroit and used it as the foundation for his new company. The automaker quickly earned a reputation for advanced engineering. In 1928, Chrysler Corporation expanded with the purchase of Dodge and the creation of the DeSoto and Plymouth divisions.

The 1930s saw Chrysler boldly looking toward the future with the introduction of its revolutionary Airflow. Powered by a front-mounted inline-8, the car was one of the first to be designed with aerodynamics in mind, and featured swooping lines and a prominent grille. Perhaps a bit too ahead of its time, the Airflow was a flop with the public. Chrysler was able to survive the lean years of the Depression thanks to strong sales of its entry-level Dodge and Plymouth brands, whose vehicles boasted more traditional designs and much lower price tags.

Chrysler shined postwar. For a period in the late 1940s, it even surpassed Ford as the No. 2 U.S. automaker. The company's storied "Hemi" V8 engine debuted in 1951. Offering 180 horsepower, it was a significant improvement over Chrysler's previous 135-hp V8. The Hemi engine was meant to trounce the V8 offered by Cadillac, Chrysler's rival, and it kick-started Detroit's horsepower race of the 1950s and '60s. The '50s also saw the debut of treasured Chrysler classics like the handsome Town and Country and the sleek 300C.

By 1961, Chrysler had trimmed its line of brands by dropping the DeSoto nameplate. New technologies were also afoot, such as unibody construction (Chrysler was the first of the Big Three to introduce it) and the replacement of generators with alternators for a car's charging system. In the latter half of the '60s, Chrysler was heavily involved with NASCAR and producing performance-oriented cars.

At the same time, however, dark clouds were gathering. As with other domestic automakers, the 1970s proved to be a difficult decade due to the oil crisis, new government regulations and changing consumer tastes. A costly and ineffective overseas expansion further hurt the company's bottom line. By the late '70s, the company was in such financial disarray that it petitioned the government for $1.5 billion in loan guarantees to save it from bankruptcy.

Thanks to impressive public campaigning by then-chairman Lee Iacocca, the debut of the well-received K-car platform and the creation of the modern minivan, sales had improved dramatically by the mid-'80s. The government's loan was paid off seven years early. The picture further brightened in the late 1980s with Chrysler's purchase of American Motors Corporation (which netted the company the Jeep brand) and a joint venture with Mitsubishi known as Diamond Star Motors.

Success continued through the early 1990s. In 1998, German-based Daimler-Benz merged with Chrysler to form DaimlerChrysler. At the time, this deal was presented as a merger of equals. But it quickly became apparent that it was more of a purchase, with Daimler being the dominant partner.

Less than a decade later, that merger was no longer, as Daimler sold Chrysler (and Dodge) to a private equity firm in 2007. However, that merger had borne some worthwhile fruit, most notably in the form of the Chrysler 300 full-size sedan. The latter shared some chassis components with an older Mercedes-Benz E-Class platform.

As such, the 300 was a highlight for Chrysler that had a pleasingly solid feel to its driving dynamics that was further sweetened via an available powerful V8 engine. But soon after the split, America's economy slid into recession. Due to poor sales and debt, Chrysler had to declare bankruptcy and the federal government intervened with bailout loans. Eventually Chrysler came under control of Italy's Fiat.

Today, the lineup has been pared down to a pair of sedans, a convertible and a minivan. However, after years of having lackluster entries in the very important midsize car category, Chrysler made major improvements in the performance, design and quality of its midsize sedan entry, the 200. The latest 300 also stands as a prime choice for a premium full-size sedan. Still, it remains to be seen as to whether this and future product releases will be enough to restore the company to its former glory.

User Reviews:

• 

  Never will own again!! - 2012 Chrysler 200
  By Nikki - January 12 - 6:34 pm

  This car is junk!!! I will NEVER own another Chrysler vehicle AGAIN!!! I cannot believe I wasted my money on this piece of garbage!! I would rather drive a GM car any day!! This car is WAY behind in technology compared to GM and its a very ugly car. And the trunk is teeny tiny. It looks like the back end was smashed in. Im so glad I got rid of it and went back to GM cars.

• 

  A death trap - 2015 Chrysler 200
  By Tracie Bragg - January 1 - 7:14 pm

  I just want to warn everyone my chrysler 200 has got me and my family feared for our lives when 4 times this car has lost all power and all controls in which powering steering ,gas,breaks doesnt work. Right before taking a family trip I had gotten my car back from a garage once again and told chrysler that it still wasnt fixed and well the tech then told me he had found to much electricity going to the car if thats not dangerous enough what is? The fourth time this happen I was visiting family in WV and going down a mountain to enjoy taking my family to a movie when horror struck again we lost control and thank God he was with us because it wasnt fun and wasnt what i wanted after being told my car was fixed for the 4th time..Now my car is in WV once again trying to be fixed however no one will give me a promise or say FOR SURE it is but once me to spend my money and possibly risk my families life on traveling back 5 hrs with a car that has already done this 4 times to be told its all because of of BOLT in the steering get real chrysler is it going to take getting someone killed for you to realize you have sold me JUNK. OR GET A LAWYER and see if you can just push customers around and endanger families lives .....If anyone has experienced this or similar problems please let me know:) thanks

• 

  info to know..... - 2015 Chrysler 200
  By Jennifer Allen - December 28 - 8:15 am

  Ok if your an older couple. Lots of blind spots. Only good for a family of four. Not good for people who are tall. Warranty work if far. My center cup holder broke and not covered within the first year. Lots of problems with mine. Not good for people with sports. No power under the gas peedle. Gustless!

• 

  First and last Chrysler products for sure! - 2015 Chrysler 300
  By Erik Jamin - December 10 - 11:59 pm

  Bought this 5.7l V8 Chrysler 300S in June 2015. Couldnt get any happier when I first saw this vehicle on the lot, it looks incredibly good looking for its price. Then, Ive learned a very valuable lesson to not ever judge a car just from the outside as this garbage keeps letting me down. The 8-speed transmission is a freaking joke. Poor downshifting from 3-2-1, very clunky coming from the transmission. Every time I drive this vehicle, its mandatory to crank up the sound system so that I wont hear any unwanted mysterious noises thats coming from the transmission. The car only has 8000 miles at this moment and already felt like its transmission is about to fall apart when driving it. When I paid $45k for a car, I would expect it to work like a charm and satisfied me as a consumer. But this car fails so bad in that aspect to the point that I cant wait to pay off the loan and get rid of this junk forever from my life. My previous 2007 350Z that I traded in drives so much better than this crap. So if you value your money, please dont ever buy any Chrysler products.

• 

  Word to the wise! 2015 Chrysler 200 c fwd - 2015 Chrysler 200
  By john sweatman - December 1 - 2:19 pm

  First 4200 miles car serviced for hard starting and two times for transmission failure. Before 6000 miles got recall to replace entire trans-axle unit however, Chrysler advised it would be six months minimum before providing replacement unit. My car could not be driven but Chrysler had plenty of units for their "state of the art" assembly line. After much ado we managed to shorten time to about six weeks. 10/23/15 received recall on connector which may stall engine or shift tranny to neutral while underway with no warning. Chrysler has known of this since 2/13/15 according to NHTSA but still no part to correct this dangerous situation. Based on conversations and performance I am convinced their priority is assembly and sales- not the well being of those who purchased their product in good faith. This has been my worst new auto experience in my 70 years of life . Sorry for the wordiness but this is the SHORT version.

• 

  I regret buying this car. - 2000 Chrysler Cirrus
  By B - November 23 - 2:25 am

  I bought this car back in April 2015. 2000 Chrysler cirrus. With 193,000 miles on her. It is now November 23 rd 2015 and Im ready to drive this car into the river and let the fish make it their new home. When I first got it we had to replace the sway bar, then the tie rod end in August. Come mid to late October the car starts cutting off. Everything dropped to 0 the transmission would jerk and she was back firing and missing pretty bad and I had about 20 seconds to get off the road before she cut off. But she would start right back up and go again. So I had several different mechanics check it out. The fuel pump had gone out so we replaced it and put spark plugs in it. The car still shut off again but this time nothing dropped to 0 it just straight cut off, and the missing and the back firing stopped It didnt matter if I was in a intersection or on interstate doing 75 mph ( I had both happen) so we replaced the manifold air intake censor and the map censor and she did great this morning going to work but coming home she cut out on me again but did not turn off. They said next thing to replace is crank censor. Sooooo before we started replacing things, I looked up this car and read issues with it etc. so basically from all the posts Ive read, around 200,000 miles the computer chip screws up. I cant tell you how many posts I read trying to figure this out. Those folks replaced everything and some including the computer and it still didnt help. Soooo Im going to replace the crank censor if that doesnt help. Im getting rid of this car. I can not afford to put a computer in it and I only paid a 1000 for this car Ive put a 1000 into it. Im a single mother and i cant afford to keep doing this. If anybody out there has a solution please let me know. [contact info removed] Id greatly appreciate help. Im really sick of sitting on the side of the road or taking a bus to a certain place and having to walk the rest with a 1 year old. I just for once would give anything to drop my baby off and get to work on time and not have to worry or beg someone to pick my baby up and take us home. Thank yall. Love and light to you all.

• 

  Worst car Ive ever owned - 2007 Chrysler Sebring
  By Katelyn - November 8 - 8:39 pm

  Ive only had this car for about a year now, as soon as I got it, it would shut off in the middle of the road. Took it to several places to get fixed, spent thousands of dollars and still not fixed. The gears get stuck in park, sometimes the keys dont want to come out of the ignition, so make sure you have a spare.. And just recently Ive discovered that when it rains water gets inside of my doors. Do not waste your money on this car!

• 

  would never buy a Chrysler product again! - 2007 Chrysler Sebring
  By william - September 8 - 10:27 pm

  My car (2007 base model Sebring 2.4l) was the worst purchase ever! I bought my 2007 used in 2011 with 94k. First appearance was great! Very specious, decently large trunk, excellent sound quality from the speakers, sharp interior and exterior, minimal road noise. Everything cosmetically was great for a compact car. The first two years I owned the car I did regular maintenance which include a new starter, new tires, breaks, alignment, new belts, air filter, oil changed with synthetic oil every 3000 miles. After the second year everything went down hill. First was the car would shake when I traveled on the freeway and lightly tap the break. It was so dangerous I had to pull over immediately! I was told first by a mechanic that I need new breaks and rotors. I purchased new breaks and rotors which cost me around $300! That wasnt the problem it ended up needing new break calipers which are 150 a piece i needed two.After that I had a coolant leak I needed new clamps for the hose. That was a $40 repair. The fluids had to be constantly observed especially the coolant. this car had a coolant problem the entire time I owned the car.the breaks needed to be replaced every couple of months! Then the engine failed during winter which cracked the block which lead to me purchasing a used engine with 66k total installation cost 2000. Chrysler dealership wanted to charge me 2000 just for a used engine so that forced me to go else where. The engine failing also lead to the heater coil failing which lead to no heat! With was a 1000 dollar fix OUTSIDE the dealership. The a/c control would not stay on high. The interior no matter how many times I got it detailed would never stay clean the stains just soaked in the fabric. After that my car kept making a loud popping noise when I turned the wheel, then I took it back to the mechanic and it was the complete hub assembly which cost me over $300 dollars. Then the back door stopped working from the outside . The antenna flew off. The headliner fell down. Then I thought I could at least get another year out of the car. After 20,000 miles from when I changed the engine, the car over heated blew the radiator hose. Then I had to get it towed to the mechanic where he replaced the hose the part was 55.00 not including labor, he checked the head gasket, compression test, checked for air in the line, replaced both thermostats in the car that cost me over 300 dollars. And it still didnt stop over heating. It would over heat at idle and go back down when I drove it. Also at this point the car had 164k and the linkage kept sticking and transmission was slipping. Plus I had to replace at least 5 sensors on the car Finally the mechanic told me he recommends selling the car which I did. I hardly got any money for the car I practically gave it away since the car depreciated so much. Just a reminder I did a full carfax report the previous owners also maintained it ever 3000 miles and the car has never been in an accident. Chrysler should be ashamed for putting a car with this many problems on the market

• 

  Never again - 2008 Chrysler Sebring
  By Sarah - August 30 - 2:01 pm

  This car was a nice looking car but that was probably the only up side of it. It is a gas hog and when I got hit it took off the entire front of the car and the airbags did not go off. I would never get this car again.

• 

  Hate pacificas - 2004 Chrysler Pacifica
  By Dayan Espinosa - July 29 - 12:24 pm

  I was driving to work and it just caught fire out of nowere never buying chryslers again