Walking around town today, I came upon this Chrysler Crossfire coupe. These cute little sports cars were built on the first generation Mercedes Benz SLK platform, from 2004-2007, and in my opinion, one of best fruits of the now-dissolved Daimler-Chrysler merger. The enthusiast press was never thrilled with the Crossfire, and I've never driven one personally, but I find them very desirable. I've had a small one at home for several years, and in the same color as this real one! (OK, truth be told, I have a few Crossfire scale models in various colors, lol). The name Crossfire came from the side swage line just below the window line. It changes from a convex line to a concave one and at the point it changes, just about midpoint on the door, was deemed to be the "crossfire." Some say the name also referred to the two company's rather strained "cooperative" effort, lol. The Crossfire was built in Germany, by the famed Karmann body builders, and was eventually also available as a soft-top convertible.
• For more on the Crossfire, click over to Wiki.
• The gallery I showed my work in for almost a year, in 2007-08, was in the pale yellow building in the center of the photo of the rear of the Crossfire, Sweet Janes' Gallery. It was owned by two local artists named Jane, and they gave me a lot of exposure, the first gallery to do so.
My 1:24 scale model Crossfire by Motor Max, ©2003. I must have bought this just after the Crossfire was introduced. Or the Chinese company got the copyright date wrong, lol.
Oh, Casey, my brother had one of those. I never drove it but I did ride in it once. lol
ReplyDeleteHe's the one that had the MB Gull-wing, waited six months for it, then had to give it up because his wife said it was to hard to get in to. double lol
PS - bad move on his part.
ReplyDeleteyes, REALLY bad move on his part! They go for $200,000-$500,000 or more these days! I'm sure the Crossfire wasn't enough for him!
ReplyDeleteWell...... actually too much he was in his 80's at the time.
ReplyDeletethere is a couple that lives down on the water, they have to be in their late 90s now. They drive a mid 1960s Mercedes 250SL, the Pagoda roof roadster. They each need two canes to get in and out of it. It's the dearest thing to see. The car could be brand new, probably always in a garage if it's not shopping. Can you imagine their tenacity to keep driving it?
ReplyDeleteLOL Annie! Your brother must really be a pistol!
ReplyDeleteCasey, what a sweet image I have of the older couple and their Mercedes entry technique!
I expect to keep my '96 BMW Z3 until I can't get into it any more. For real. I may be falling apart but I still have really strong legs (you need them to get in and out of that car!)LOL
Katie
PS This crossfire would look dynamite with a rag top!
ReplyDeleteWhat color is your Z3? I have a scale model of a bright red one. I remember looking at a bright blue hardtop version of the Z3. It was really funky looking, but hot too. It had lived a hard life though, the interior was in shreds already.
ReplyDeletehere's a page of Crossfire Roadsters from Google Images. They were very good looking too:
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=999&bih=609&q=Crossfire+roadster&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g1g-m2&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
I liked these but found them difficult to get in and out of and kind of cramped once inside. I think the convertible is even better looking than the coupe. The 300/Charger was a much more successful result of the "merger" IMO, although a little more care on the part of DCX marketing might have made a big difference in the success of the Crossfire. And a lower price! I think that they were considered too expensive for what they were.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the elderly couple and their pagoda -- love those pagodas! If I lived in LA I'd have to have a pagoda. They are still quite usable as daily drivers and look fantastic. Unless I lived in Pasadena and then I'd have to have a Packard, since Pasadena was known as a "Packard town."
Paul, NYC
Your absolutely right, this was the only thing the Germans did right for Chrysler at the time. Too bad it had to be axed, otherwise what an awesome car. People in my area were buying them like crazy too.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved the Crossfire, but rarely see them in our neck of the woods. Someone must have declared this area "BeemerVille".. We are neck deep in BMWs.... with a colorful sprinkle of aged hippy vans.
ReplyDeleteWow, the Crossfire was a natural for a ragtop! What a good looking car! How much did they cost? I don't think I've ever seen one.
ReplyDeleteJim, we are hip deep in Beemers, here, too. You should drive thru the town of Princeton sometime. If Beemers vanished, there would be no traffic in Princeton. LOL
Casey, I have a silver Z3 with red leather interior. I believe (not positive) the Z3 only came in black, silver and the blue you saw in 1996. Red ones have been painted, I have been told. I'm not a fan of the hardtops. They have their fan base, though. My husband really likes them. When I got my car, almost the whole point of it was to get a convertible! LOL You save money when you buy a convertible in the middle of a snowstorm in February. Hee hee Oh, and I bought it on eBay.
Katie
PS. My husband's brother owns a garage in the outskirts of Princeton. He services BMW's almost exclusively.
ReplyDeleteKatie
Katie: You have a great, classic combination! I have a Z8 model in silver/red and black interior. It's great your brother-in-law owns a garage too!
ReplyDeletehere's a page with the prices from 2007. They ranged from $30,000 to almost $50,000.
http://autos.aol.com/cars-Chrysler-Crossfire-2007/expert-review/
ReplyDeleteforgot the URL, lol!