If you’ve always wanted the retro-cool, heavy presence of the Chrysler 300 sedan, you have one week left to get it. We’ve known since last year that Chrysler’s big cruiser would exit the market forever after 2023. A company spokesperson tells us, “Chrysler dealers have been asked to submit their final 300 orders” by July 31.
Order books for the top-of-the-line 300C model, he says, “were filled in less than 24 hours after the car was announced last September.” But buyers can still order other 300 models, which range in price from $34,995 to about $47,000.
One of a Disappearing Kind
The 300 has always had a sense of presence most current sedans lack. Bulky lines give it a defensive lineman’s bearing. Its design calls the word “retro” to mind, but it’s hard to pin it down to any particular era or car that existed in the past. It inspires thoughts of an imagined history, zoot suits, art deco architecture, and a time when success meant taking up space unapologetically.
The 300 exuded authority — its most famous owner was Barack Obama, who sold his when he swapped it for the presidential armored limousine.
Exiting with Dodge Charger, Challenger
But the 300 shares its bones with the Dodge Charger sedan and Challenger muscle car. All three could be out of place in an electric future. So parent company Stellantis will retire them. Charger and Challenger fans face the same end-of-July deadline.
Chrysler’s Electric Future Undefined
The future of both brands is a little murky at the moment. Last summer, Dodge showed off what it calls an “electric muscle car” – the Charger Daytona SRT Concept. But the car remains just a concept, even as the company is escorting the cars it’s meant to replace out the door.
Chrysler, similarly, showed off an electric concept called the Airflow in early 2022. But a recent report says the company has scrapped the design and the name. The end of the 300, with no replacement in sight, leaves Chrysler dealers with a thin lineup. It consists only of the Pacifica Minivan, its hybrid variant, and a bare-bones Voyager minivan sold only to fleets.
