From: minnebo@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Brian P. Minnebo)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Chrysler TC by Maserati
Summary: Late models had V6's
Date: 17 Aug 92 15:57:19 GMT
Organization: Oakland University, Rochester MI.

In article <92227.104714WJT101@psuvm.psu.edu> WJT101@psuvm.psu.edu writes:

>Hello,
>I just took my car in for service at my Chrysler dealer and saw one of
>these cars on the lot.  I've seen these  cars advertised used for far less
>than the original new prices of $30k to $37k.   I understand Chrysler had
>some quality problems with the early 1989 models.   Were ANY of the TC
>6 cylinder models equipped with the lousy ultradrive transmission?

In article <1992Aug15.023618.1612@ulowell.ulowell.edu> hdasilva@cs.ulowell.edu (Herbert DaSilva) writes:
>  Unless I'm sadly mistaken, there never was a TC with a V6.  All TCs
>  came with a TurboIII engine rated at 180hp for the auto version, and
>  200hp for the 5-speed version.

I think you are sadly mistaken,  the original intention was to produce only
4-cylinder engines, but the last year or so of these were offered with
the 3.0 Liter Mitsubishi V6, coupled with the three spead automatic.  I
don't believe it came with the ultradrive automatic, unless I'm sadly 
mistaken (hmm, where have I heard that before).

WJT101@psuvm.psu.edu writes:
>How are these cars on reliability?

hdasilva@cs.ulowell.edu (Herbert DaSilva) writes:
>  The engines were less powerful fore-runners to the current 224hp
>  TurboIII, and although parts are hard to get for these particular
>  motors, they should be good on reliability.

How reliable is the mitsubishi V6 power train for any other chrysler
product?

WJT101@psuvm.psu.edu writes:
>Does anybody think they'll be a collector's item 10+ years down the
>road?  They seem like a fun and unique little roadsters for the
>money.  Any comments (good or bad) would be appreciated! 

hdasilva@cs.ulowell.edu (Herbert DaSilva) writes:
>  Whether they're collector's items depends on if someone wants to
>  collect them. :-)  Unfortunately, they suffer from an identity
>  crisis, as they are frequently mistaken for the substantially
>  less expensive Lebaron.

Only from the outside.  Once you've driven on more than twice, you
will never make the mistake again.  (Although I doubt that they ever
be a collectors item for the same reason as stated above).

>  V6 or TurboI-2.5 that is in the new Lebarons.  For about the same
>  price as a used TC, I imagine you could get a brand new Lebaron GTC.
>
>	Herb "Mopar Maniac" DaSilva

A Lebaron has no-where near the long term appeal of the TC.

Here is my impression of the TC after borrowing my fathers (as often as
I could get it).  He had it as Chrysler product evaluation vehicle for a
year.


First impression:

  bad stuff first:

  Very dissapointing.  The V6/auto combo seemed like it needed much more
  kick, especially if the asking price was 30K.  The dash and shift console
  were the same as the chrysler products at the time (although by the time
  we got it, chrylser no longer used them in any current cars).  They also
  looked cheap with all the facy leather (very comfortable leather I might
  add).  Roof was very difficult to remove until we learned "the trick",
  which didn't seem to be documented.  Dash lights (orange) didn't match
  radio lights (green).

  good stuff:

  although roof is manual, once we learned the trick, it came up and down
  with no problems in less than 30 seconds (also the most excellent soft top
  fit I've ever seen).  With the soft top up we were pressed to find more
  road noise than a normal roofed car.  Hard top is nice, but where do put
  the damn thing?  (The first time we took it off it stayed off, since the
  soft top was so quiet).  Leather interior is very nice, and very 
  comfortable.  My friends puke came off the seats ok too, no stains.
  And finally, a car that makes the Chrysler infinity sound system actually
  sound like it was worth the money.

after first impression:

  The more I drove this car, the more I liked it.  It corned well and handled
  well (except the lack of acceleration off the line).  After driving this
  car for a year, I would have bought one over a lebaron convertable any
  day.  We could never find anything to complain about except the seemingly
  tacky dash/shifter.

  Overall, I would buy a used one (10-20K) miles for $15-20K over a new
  lebaron any day of the week.

Brian, (ex chrysler employee)
-- 
Brian Minnebo                       (313) 370-4323
Senior Systems Programmer           minnebo@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Ultrix)
Oakland University, Rochester MI.   minnebo@argo.acs.oakland.edu (VMS)
Newsgroups: rec.autos,rec.autos.driving