I will be the first to admit I am a little biased towards
fewer doors. Actually I prefer as little as possible between me and the road
which is why l love roadsters, safari windows, door-less Jeeps, Caterhams and other
windowless race cars. My friends and family officially think I’m mental because
every car I’ve owned has had too little interior, too many fatal fumes, made
too much noise, or didn’t have enough seats. My infamous advice to younger
people is always buy two-seaters or small coupes during your early driving days
to avoid people always trying to bum rides off you. Thankfully my Del Sol
allowed me to cruise with my girlfriend without having my buddies in the back
acting like complete morons. The fact is, two-seaters might even be safer for a
young driver because they won’t have 2 or 3 extra people yelling, hopping up in
down in back trying to give “wet willies” to the driver.
The fact is coupes are just better in every way. Their
lighter, easier to drive, easier to park, easier to vacuum out, more fuel efficient,
have better aerodynamics, less parts to replace, and have a more rigid frame. I’m
convinced however that Chrysler wants them dead, extinct, six-feet under, to
bite the dust, push up daisies, and kick the bucket. They won’t admit it but I
know it. Don’t believe me? Look at their history. Charger, 300, Avenger, Dart, and Magnum all had years with two door options but don’t any more. They
currently offer three sedans but no small coupe. I’ll stop you before you say
Challenger because it is the biggest, tallest, and chunkiest of the pony cars
out currently. It is so awkwardly large and I can think of a dozen cars I’d
take over the Challenger if I were shopping in its price range. And unless
you’re over 55 years old, live in Florida, AND play golf daily the Chrysler 200
doesn’t count. Thankfully there is the new Viper, although having one amazing
coupe that’s incredibly expensive isn’t enough.
Really I’m not mad at the four door option, I’m mad there is
no two door version too. No Dodge Dart coupe? Seriously? The Dart went through
thousands of hours of product development and not one person mentioned building
a small lightweight coupe or hatchback? No one thought of the Civic, tC, or any
of the “fanscy Yurapeein cars”? What is sad is Marchoinne, a real live European,
didn’t push for a small get-around-town friendly Dart coupe. I’m honestly lost
for words. Concerned they’d steal the Fiat 500’s thunder? Simple, don’t make it
as small. Besides, I have yet to hear someone say, “Do I want a Fiat or Dodge?”
Here is some advice. They should stop recycling
the car names from the 60’s unless they’re going to build the same car. The
Ford Mustang is not a sedan, neither is the Camaro, nor was the GTO (RIP). If
they must add doors to everything they should at least take a page from Mazda.
Add them but hide them. The RX8 is easy to get in and out of but still has soul
and a 50/50 weight distribution. Let’s be honest, Chrysler isn’t thinking.
After being bailed out by the US Government is not the time for them to be
mediocre. Sure they’re sustaining and have little to no debt, but they need to
be amazing or they will fail…again. They have all the right pieces, talent, and
brands to be the great company they once were. They make a good van, truck,
sedan (but leave the Charger legacy a coupe), and sports car. Now they need a
new proper Hemi muscle car, a good one this time, and an efficient coupe. They
need to Just do it, YOLO, or whatever
overused saying gets them motivated. If they continue adding doors to
everything they won’t have any customers to sell to because they will all be dead from disappointment, or moved over to Nissan. That’s right; the reality is
Nissan has all those great things mentioned above. So do Ford, GM, and Toyota. At
the rate Chrysler is going you might want to prepare yourself for the day when
they release a Hemi ‘Cuda Crossover.
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