I imagine it's like all those GM products we forget exist until we see them. Chryco never really pushed the crossfire at all, or at least not from what I remember.
They were on the lots but the dealers were too busy pushing people into 300s and Chargers.
Talking to the ex-Chrysler techs who I work with, the big issue with the Crossfire was that it had like 3 BUS systems to make the various MB and Chrysler electronics to try and communicate, and that they would typically fail and result in all sorts of malady
There was a guy on The Smoking Tire recently who manual swapped an E430 using Crossfire parts. I imagine if you were good with wiring, you could go the other way and put the E430 V8 in a Crossfire. Would be fun!
One thing I remember about them when sitting in one when new is how small it felt and how close my head was to the top of the door. And I'm not exactly a big guy (5'-10"/175 lbs. now, weighed less then). My ex- was in love with them and she was so disappointed after sitting in one and realizing she didn't really fit comfortably (she's about the same size as me).
Strange how it felt tighter inside than my Spitfire... 
A friend of mine had one and a Fiat 500 Abarth at the same time. He autocrossed the Abarth and HATED the Crossfire. It got dumped quick in an upgrade to an ex cop Crown Vic.
I've been known to not unreasonably dislike things. I give the Crossfire a fair shot.
For me personally, the biggest problem with the Crossfire is that it's a style car with a big glaring flaw. It has a nice exterior wrapped around a very dated interior. The inside and outside are incongruous. That bothers me.
Other than that, i don't dislike them. They are somewhat rare to find in manual but they do exist. They are the right size and not even particularly slow despite their HP deficit. They run 14s in the 1/4 and will drop a good bit off their stock time if you replace the rear wheels with something that doesnt weigh 50 lbs each. I think comparing them to the 350z is helpful perspective. They are the right size but down on power in base form and have 'numb' steering according to most people.
The SRT6 makes a unique case for itself. It's as fast in a straight line as a Coyote 5.0 Mustang or a base C6, decent enough dynamically and can be had for the price of a driver-level c4 Vette. Talking 6-8k for a 350hp tiny car that traps 112mph in the 1/4. That is a pretty unique spot in the used car market.
Any parts bin swapping you can imagine on an SLK or related benz will translate to the Crossfire.
Overall i think they present some interesting thought exercises and aren't terrible cars, but they suffer from what people thought about them when they were new even though a lot of those complaints really should shrink in proportion with the fact that you can now get one for 1500-5k. My .02
Hold on guys, I'm off to Craigslist!
Aaaaaaand, were back. If John's theory is correct about the MT ones, this could be a challenge car with careful waiting and negotiation:
https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/d/2004-chrysler-crossfire-6/6378243840.html
I guess the real question is:
Is a crossfire a wagon?
In reply to Robbie :
No. It has 2 doors and isn't all that long, so I'd call it a hatch, not a wagon. Or maybe it's just a hatch-shaped coupe, like the Z3M clown shoe.
I like the styling, but tried to sit in one in a car show. It would have been easier to fit a 426 Hemi with a 8-71 blower under the hood without cutting any holes than to fit me into the driver's seat comfortably. That pretty much killed any interest I had in them.
We had an SRT version around the office when they were new. It was quick and stylish, but not my cup of tea. (numb, uncommunicative) It was one of the first cars I remember with the "sitting in a bathtub" feel----where the top of the doors are even with your ears. I hate that seating position.....although it's become very common in new cars.
In reply to Joe Gearin :
That's my problem with S2000's. My shoulder and the upper door sil compete for the same space. Love the motor, the way it drives etc, but after a 20 minute test drive I was glad to get out of it and back into my Miata.
That's the way Robbie!
For more price negotiation to get a Crossfire into $2018 range, try to find one with bad tires. These cars have an odd combination of:
Front: 225/40/18
Rear: 255/35/19
To the average consumer, just to get fresh daily driver tires they will spend $200 per front and $250 per rear. That is $900 in tires, installed. That could be reason enough for someone to offload the car. For Challenge purposes, 4 tires are exempt and to do the Crossfire right you might have to spend $1k (or more) so be prepared for that possible sticker shock. Quick check to Tirerack shows that 4 RE-71s will cost you $911.44 before shipping or install
MAgazines from back in the day say the 215hp engine w/ 6 speed manual will do the 1/4 mile in 15.1 seconds which should put you mid pack for drags at The Challenge. The big tires and brakes should give you a better than top half autox-time. Add some creativity and positive impressions for a good Concours score and this "all around approach" could get you a 6-12 overall finish. All of this in a car that should be good enough to drive to and from the event.
I would not be surprised to see a 6spd car with properly short/light drag tires on the rear do a 14.4 1/4 mile with no mods.
In reply to Vigo :
Do I smell a Crossfire Shootout coming to $2018. 
Being an odd car, I wonder if that makes parting out (recouping) of a Crossfire better than most vehicles or worse. Does the oddness/rareness increase prices or does it shrink the number of potential buyers?
I spent a lot of time looking at these for my dad, unfortunately he never pulled the trigger on one. Never got a chance to drive one but I think it's an intriguing prospect. Under 3000 lbs, V6, manual, hard top with no sunroof, and nobody wants them so when I was looking 2-3 years ago they were all over the place for 4500-5500. That may have been a floor, I haven't seen them go cheaper and they're getting harder to find now.
I figured it'd be easy to shed some weight on them since it's kitted up as a "luxury" car, and the Mercedes parts bin could help with the disappointing power output.
Also, the SRT-6 got all the press but the lack of a manual and the price premium for what's still not a lot of power makes it not worth it IMO.
These have been on my radar as a Lemons car if they just get a little bit cheaper. There is a sub $3k one with a manual near me now. Getting under $2k with parts sales should get it close enough.
So after reading this thread, I immediately headed to Craigslist to see what these are going for in my area. I promptly found this crack pipe priced example. Looks like someone bought this to be an investment...
I have a customer/friend with one and drove it on several occasions. Also don't like steering feel, and it feels small inside (I'm small). Rear visibility sucks.
I never understood why the
nocones said:They really aren't that heavy. Similar weight to a 350Z. Really a very similar car to the 350z minus 50 hp. I have a friend that is convinced it would dominate CAM due to suspension design. The engine is pretty chooked up stock but MB parts bin can apparently wake them up. They do look cool to my eyes. The steering is draglinks which is sad for a sports car. The rear is 5 link.
Assuming we're talking about the same guy, I take what he says with a huge grain of salt when it comes to MB products. He really looks through some rose colored glasses when it comes MB and suspensions.
John Welsh said:That's the way Robbie!
For more price negotiation to get a Crossfire into $2018 range, try to find one with bad tires. These cars have an odd combination of:
Front: 225/40/18
Rear: 255/35/19
To the average consumer, just to get fresh daily driver tires they will spend $200 per front and $250 per rear. That is $900 in tires, installed. That could be reason enough for someone to offload the car. For Challenge purposes, 4 tires are exempt and to do the Crossfire right you might have to spend $1k (or more) so be prepared for that possible sticker shock. Quick check to Tirerack shows that 4 RE-71s will cost you $911.44 before shipping or install
MAgazines from back in the day say the 215hp engine w/ 6 speed manual will do the 1/4 mile in 15.1 seconds which should put you mid pack for drags at The Challenge. The big tires and brakes should give you a better than top half autox-time. Add some creativity and positive impressions for a good Concours score and this "all around approach" could get you a 6-12 overall finish. All of this in a car that should be good enough to drive to and from the event.
Wasn't there a guy that ran one in D-Stock in nationals about 10 years ago to what would have been a trophy on 18's all around? He tried to make the case that in the manual it stated that for snow, owners should use 18's all around. It was protested and he lost, but for the challenge that would likely be the way to go...
Robbie said:I guess the real question is:
Is a crossfire a wagon?
No D-pillar so not a wagon, heck it doesn't even have a C-pillar.
I was never impressed with the fact that if you wanted at least decent power, they made you take the penalty of an automatic trans, but I test drove one anyway. Numb soft handling, little steering 'feel'.
Not a sports car and an indifferent grand touring car. Interesting as a footnote, perhaps, but not to own.
You'll need to log in to post.
