Americans, generally speaking, are great guys, and some of our best friends, etc, but about some things they don't have a clue.
A case in point is the new Chrysler 300 Luxury Series sedan, with “ultra-premium leather, hand-sanded matte wood, world-class craftsmanship and refinement”.
OK, it has the new(ish), 215kW, 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine, the first paddle-shift eight-speed auto transmission on an American car and the option of all-wheel drive.
But when it comes to trim and finishes, oh dear...
We are told that it is “dressed with the highest grade Black or Mochachino Italian Poltrona Frau 'Foligno' leather and finished with specially selected and hand sanded Natural Pore Mocha wood trim featuring a matte finish to enhance the beauty of the real wood, found only in exotic cars - all to deliver a surprising combination of hyper craftsmanship, style and technology”.
“Black or two-tone Mochachino seats are wrapped exclusively in supple Nappa leather” and the leather-wrapped steering wheel “with all-new die-cast paddle shifters, features a unique chrome accent ring to highlight the segment-exclusive 360-degree heated rim.”
We couldn't make this stuff up.
Here it must be said that those “supple Nappa leather” seats are 12-way power adjustable - including four lumbar adjustments - with two-mode heating and cooling, front and rear. The steering column and pedals are power-adjustable (with memory!), the cupholders can be heated or cooled, the 230mm touchscreen has built-in satellite radio and Garmin navigation, the instruments are all-LED as on the Jaguar XJ and there's ambient lighting for the footwells and door handles.
It runs on 20” polished alloy rims (19” if you ask for all-wheel drive) with a chromed grille surround and mesh grille, chromed bumper trim, door handles and mirror housings. But the worst of it all is that all this 'hyper craftsmanship' sells in the US for $40 145 (R327 000).
How can the Europeans justify the premium prices they charge for their luxury cars.? It must be a matter of taste.