1999 Chrysler 300M

Motor Trend's been doing it for 50 years. You might think it would get easier. It doesn't. It's tough to pick a single vehicle from a dozen or more cars that will be on sale by our Jan. 1, 1999, deadline, especially when the contenders are considerably different. An early favorite fades under close scrutiny as it reveals a fatal flaw; a staff feud develops over handling or ride characteristics; standard-setting competitive iron is rolled out of the MT garage for a side-by-side inspection in hard light against a new model.

One winner emerges. That's something important that separates MT from half a century of magazine competitors who've imitated the original Motor Trend Car of the Year evaluation program. We know you want just one competitor standing in the spotlight when the dust and tire smoke eventually clear. No ties. No draws. No mercy.

Chrysler 300mIt's quite appropriate that, as Motor Trend begins the celebration of its 50th anniversary, one of the most evocative American nameplates during that span should reemerge, flanking a car that will propel us into the next millennium with equal doses of performance and pizzazz. Despite wearing a moniker that first appeared in '55, the '99 Chrysler 300M is one of the freshest statements to come out of Detroit in years. It's a solid testament that America really can build a machine that masterfully blends performance, luxury, styling, and value into a five-passenger sedan shape. It's a car, quite simply, we have long awaited. We're proud to commemorate our 50th year as an integral part of the American automotive scene by naming the Chrysler 300M as Motor Trend '99 Car of the Year.

This hard-fought award is open to every new or significantly changed '99 car or minivan that's classified as a domestic vehicle by the EPA and on sale by Jan. 1. From an intensely focused process that involves weeks of all types of road and weather driving, exhaustive track testing, and overall living with the various models, the Motor Trend editors choose one vehicle as the most significant new car of the year. This year, the all-new, stunningly styled, fun-to-drive, value-priced Chrysler 300M was the overwhelming winner.

Mechanically, there's absolutely no relationship between the magnificent sporting 300-series Chrysler cars of the '50s and '60s and the new Chrysler 300M. But there's certainly a powerful spiritual relationship between those legendary engineering marvels and this fresh sport sedan with its precise handling, balanced power and economy, unmatched interior room, and pace-setting shape.

Chrysler's engineers embrace change. They know it's the only constant. Likewise, Chrysler Corp. has come full circle from the glory years of the late '50s through 1965, when many experts considered it the finest mass-production auto engineering company, through the seemingly hopeless years at the end of the '70s, when it teetered on the brink of insolvency before government loan guarantees, to just a few months ago, when it merged with Daimler-Benz to form what is probably the world's most formidable international auto giant. In short, the 300M, our Car of the Year, represents the very latest in domestic full-size sedan manufacturing. It features a powerful, fuel-efficient SOHC V-6 engine mated with a fully electronic four-speed automatic transaxle. The high-strength, lightweight body was created using aerospace-style computerized structural analysis for subjective solidity, handling precision, and improved crash protection.

The 300M's fully independent suspension is offered in two variations. The standard arrangement ensures precise handling with a smooth, quiet ride. Optionally available is a special handling suspension that fits high-speed tires and puts a crisper edge on the steering, braking, and ride character of this big sedan. Brakes with guts are important in a fast sedan. In this case, the standard hardware consists of four-wheel discs controlled by an advanced anti-lock system.