Chrysler Nassau concept
Jeep Trailhawk concept
2007 Dodge Avenger
Chrysler Grand Voyager
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Chrysler has unveiled two new production cars at the Detroit auto show this week – and both will be coming to the UK in right hand drive. Unfortunately, the most interesting car on the Chrysler stand remains just a concept for now.
The Chrysler Nassau is a four-door, four-seat luxury coupe concept. Although this concept is built on the full-size 120-inch wheelbase, it appears more visually compact than the Chrysler 300C that it is based on, as this concept aims to move away from the traditional exterior proportions of a large American saloon, says the Chrysler blurb. We don't yet know if the company plans actually to build the device.
Then there's the Jeep Trailhawk concept. This is said to "combine the core off-road features of the new four-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with the refined sophistication of an all-new on-road open-air concept vehicle". The designers of this model wanted to create a refined highway cruiser without sacrificing any of Jeep’s off-road capabilities, reckoned Chrysler.
Sadly, the two cars that are real enough seem also pretty anodyne.
The first is the Dodge Avenger, on sale from September 2007. A mid-size saloon that's mostly about styling rather than interesting dynamics is a recipe reminiscent of the dull-to-drive PT Cruiser. It's got the brand’s signature crosshair grille and large, quad headlamps, and -- er -- not much else.
The second new car due to launch in the UK during 2008 is the Chrysler Grand Voyager with an all-new exterior and interior design plus an updated range of petrol and diesel engines. More than 30 new features make the new 2008 seven-seat model a ‘family room on wheels’, reckoned Chrysler. New features include heated first and second row seats; rear-view interior conversation mirror; a removable torch in the rear quarter panel; electric windows in the power sliding second-row doors and movable LED reading lamps.