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Baby, this car is meant for the night. Just ask a cool celebrity. Better yet, simply watch them in the recent spate of TV commercials for Chrysler’s vastly updo’ed-for-2011 Cool Daddy Hip Cat sedan: the 300C. In various ads, we see Eminem, fashion designer John Varvatos and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in the 300C prowling the streets...




Baby, this car is meant for the night. Just ask a cool celebrity. Better yet, simply watch them in the recent spate of TV commercials for Chrysler’s vastly updo’ed-for-2011 Cool Daddy Hip Cat sedan: the 300C. In various ads, we see Eminem, fashion designer John Varvatos and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in the 300C prowling the streets of American urban landscapes.

View full sizePhoto by James Gaffney/The Times-PicayuneThe substantially upgraded 300C for 2011 includes LED headlamps and the same new waterfall grille as that found in the 200.

But what takes the branding campaign to a new zone is the spot featuring Dr. Dre driving a 300C at night through Los Angeles amid big-city lights and nightclubber-crowded sidewalks, as he talks about how good things don’t come to those who wait, but rather “to those who work.” He looks straight into the camera and says: “This is L.A. This is what we do.”



When did Uncle Chrysler Golf Pants become so freakin’ cool?



Answer: Right around the time 50 Cent featured his silver 300C on MTV “Cribs” a few years back. This literally stamped the hunky, performance-oriented blacktop beauty and nimble highway cruiser with street cred along with a hip hop publicity bump few at Chrysler could ever have imagined back in 2004 when the first models began rolling off the assembly line.

View full sizePhoto by James Gaffney/The Times-Picayune

This year, Chryslerphiles and luxury-loving sedanistas alike have a few surprises in store for them. As Chrysler 300 chief engineer Mitch Clauw reportedly told journalists gathered for the unveiling of the new, second-generation car at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show: “We basically blew the old car up.”



New philosophy

It seems every time Fiat’s Italian designers at Chrysler get their hands on one of the automaker’s cars, they make it better by leaps and bounds. Three good examples include Dodge’s Caliber and Avenger, and the Chrysler 200, which drew cheers this year not merely for replacing the outgoing and beleaguered Sebring but for also stepping up to the plate with major cabin material improvements.



With the 300, this year’s refresh takes the model to a whole new level of luxury. Keeping in step with the new Chrysler-Fiat philosophy means virtually everything inside the cabin the eye sees and the hand touches has been upgraded substantially. The first thing drivers likely notice is the new set of sexy, blue luminescent driver’s-side barrel gauges, which imbues the cabin at night with a sort of rolling boudoir je nais se quoi. They are simply drop-dead gorgeous not to mention easy on the eyes — literally — when you finally break its near hypnotic spell to actually read the speedometer.



Then you wrap your hands around the supremely masculine and girth-y, leather- and wood-wrapped steering wheel, so big and finely tailored that in my opinion it may go down as among the best designed for any automobile — ever.



For 2011 my fully loaded 300C test vehicle boasted a far more luxurious feeling cabin thanks to the addition of new nappa leather upholstery, leather-stitched padded accents on the dash and inside door panels, tastefully appointed black wood trim, and hard plastics firmly within the realm of high quality. A wide, alloy-trimmed, polished wood shifter plate adds a whisper of Bentley-esque refinement to the center console and complements the state-of-the-art, 8.4-inch touchscreen mounted at the top of the center stack.



If I ever wondered whether an all-black monochromatic interior could look both elegant yet bad to the bone, I found out the f

Tags: Chrysler, is-featured

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STREET CRED: Chrysler's 300C wants to take you all the way downtown was originally published by New Orleans Auto Reviews: Chrysler. Read the full story by clicking here.