Our view: 2004 Chrysler Crossfire

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Every year Art Anderson is asked to head back to his alma mater to talk about where the world can take you if you take enough engineering classes at Purdue University.

When he heads back to West Lafayette again this spring, Anderson will drive up with a little extra motivation.

“Do you think if I tell them I worked on this car, it will get some attention?” asks Anderson, a southern Indiana kid who grew up to become the chief engineer on the new 2004 Chrysler Crossfire.

“Do you think they might be interested?”

Anderson lets out a hearty laugh and flashes a big grin.

There’s plenty to gloat about these days.

Anderson is driving. I’m riding. And what we’re riding in is like nothing else that has rolled off a Chrysler assembly line. Ever.

The 2004 Crossfire is rolling proof that Purdue grads can drive the auto world in a new direction. It is the first sign there is excitement in acquisitions.

What do you finally get when you cross Daimler with Chrysler?

“A lot of trips back and forth to Germany,” Anderson says, taking another hard turn on a two-lane California road, pressing the Crossfire through its gears. “A Shelbyville guy, and I even know a little German now.”

In any language it’s obvious the merger has produced something magnificent.

Four years after creating the world’s leading automotive, transportation and services company, this DaimlerChrysler thing has something to show off at parties. The cross-pollination is complete.

Chrysler’s new sleek, two-seat, rear-wheel-drive sports coupe won’t just turn heads, it will snap them sideways.

On our one-day preview it left as many jaws dropped as thumbs pointed skyward.

Kids loved it. Old women adored it.

Anderson couldn’t stop smiling.

“It’s the first baby of the merger,” he says.

Introduced as a concept at the 2001 North American Auto Show, and available to dealers beginning this month, the Crossfire arrives in the tread of the Viper, Prowler and PT Cruiser as DaimlerChrysler turns another concept from paper to production.

But more important, it is the first true fruit of the DaimlerChrysler labor. It is American design with German engineering. It is an American hatchback with a German screwdriver. It combines classic European proportions and technology with the power and personality of a U.S. performance car. And all for under $40,000.

Forty percent of the Crossfire will come from its Teutonic cousin, including the 215-horsepower, 3.2-liter 18-valve V-6 Mercedes engine and SLK underpinnings. The remaining 60 percent will be purely domestic Chrysler. In many ways, the Crossfire feels pure Benz: Solid, reliable, stable and not too flashy. In many ways, it feels like a new kind of Chrysler.

It doesn’t have the spunk of a Porsche Boxster, but its stiff body is like nothing else that ha s come from this side of the ocean. There’s good reason.

Built by Karmann Crosswork in Germany – a longtime DaimlerChrysler partner with more than 100 years of manufacturing experience – the distinctive ride successfully weds classic European sport-coupe elegance with American performance-car spunk. That means a rigid chassis that holds its position on the road and keeps the car planted. It’s firm but, thanks to some Chrysler tweaking, not too rough on the body. It’s nimble, but not too soft.

With a variation of a fully independent suspension, the Crossfire uses modified SLK underpinnings with upper and lower control arms in front and multiple links in the rear. It means very little road noise or vibration when you push the Crossfire around California’s twisty turns.

It smoothes out the bumps and softens that usually harsh sports car ride.

Mated to a slick six-speed manual, the V-6 purrs along – quick off the mark and hardly shy when you hit the pedal. Mated to the five-speed automatic transmission, it is (surprisingly) even better. With a blend of upshifts and downshifts the Crossfire takes you to 60 mph with just the right amount of speed and smooth shifting.

The steering feels a little numb – not the precise response found in the Audi TT, Nissan 350Z or Boxster – but when you are a newcomer to that kind of company, we’ll give you a few breaks.

From the outside, it is unmatched.

The Crossfire is low-slung, with a distinctive profile that’s marked by a long hood, metallic-finished side air louvers, pumped-up fenders and a tapered rear. Its profile is instantly recognizable; its shape, unmistakable.

The car’s broad shoulders envelop 19-inch rear wheels. Front wheels measure 18 inches. Rear fenders are muscular and wide and conclude in the large, sculpted tail lamps.

Six grooves shooting across the length of the hood announce that this is a car with performance aspirations. In back, the Crossfire boasts a retractable spoiler, which springs into action once the vehicle reaches 50 mph.

Inside it doesn’t lose the theme.

The Crossfire’s sophisticated two-tone, twin cockpit interior complements the exterior. The distinctive exterior spine also appears on the center console, shifter and instrument panel. Seats are firm and comfortable and trimmed in leather with Chrysler’s signature winged badge embossed into both head rests.

It will also arrive with four-wheel anti-lock brakes, front ventilated disc brakes and rear disc brakes. An all-speed traction control senses drive-wheel slip and individually brakes the slipping wheel and/or reduces excess engine power until control is regained.

There is a manually telescoping steering column. There is a six-speaker sound system with – get this – dual subwoofers.

Overall, you can get more power for less money. You can get less power for more money.

Crossfire is the happy medium, a fine balance between American muscle and European style.

Its stirring appearance should help win a new audience.

And all of that for about $35,000. That’s less than an Audi TT and Boxster, but more than an Infiniti G35 or Nissan 350Z.

Anderson knows what he’ll take back to West Lafayette this spring.

“And I have a feeling I know which car those Purdue students will like,” he says.

SPECS – 2004 Chrysler Crossfire

Rating: 3.5

High gear: With break-the-mold styling, an engine that hums and all the safety and underpinnings of a Mercedes-Benz, the Crossfire takes aim at a whole new domestic crowd.

Low gear: Steering feels a little numb, and low-end torque could have a little more meat.

Vehicle type: Rear-wheel-drive, front-engine, two-passenger sports coupe.

Key standard equipment: Four-wheel anti-lock brakes; traction control; stability control; electronic brake assist; front and seat mounted air bags; front 18-inch, rear 19-inch tires; dual-zone climate control; electrostatic interior air filtering; speed sensitive automatic rear spoiler; 240-watt six-speaker stereo with double subwoofers; tinted glass; power, heated leather seats.

Competition: Audi TT, Nissan 350 Z, Infiniti G35 coupe

Test engine: 215-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6

Torque: 229 foot-lbs. @ 3,000 rpm

Wheelbase: 94.5 inches

Length: 159.8 inches

MPG rating: 18 city/27 highway (manual)

Manufactured: Osnabrueck, Germany

Warranty: Basic warranty is three years/36,000 miles; the drivetrain is seven years/70,000 miles; body corrosion is five years/100,000 miles; roadside assistance is three years/36,000 miles.

Base price: $35,000

Price as tested (including options, destination and delivery): $35,000