2003 Chrysler Concorde Limited

These days, most automobiles are passe by the time they reach their sixth model-year wearing the same basic suit of exterior sheetmetal. After all, fenders and fashions inevitably change with the seasons. Rapidly advancing technology is the second force that drives elderly designs resolutely toward the scrap heap.

With its steep windshield, rakish roofline, and radical cab-forward proportions, the Chrysler Concorde is one car that defies its age.

For every handy axiom, there is of course a notable exception. One car that defies its age is the Chrysler Concorde. When this car hit the streets back in 1997 (as a '98 model), it arrived a decade ahead of its time. The steep windshield, rakish roofline, and radical cab-forward proportions looked too good to be true. It was as if the latest concept had slipped its leash and rolled straight off the auto-show circuit and into dealers' showrooms. Cars this attractive are usually deemed too rich for mass consumption.


So now that the world has come around to the Concorde, it's mellowing into its golden years like a fine wine, aged to perfection. As Sophia Loren so convincingly demonstrates, true beauty is timeless.


Two other factors have kept the Concorde vital. It's shrewdly engineered with a north-south powertrain layout instead of the compromised east-west configuration that most front-drive carmakers use. And Chrysler has issued regular updates to keep the Concorde young at heart. A hotter engine arrived in 1999. Side airbags arrived in 2001. Last year, the Limited nameplate took up where the retired LHS left off. Topping the Concorde lineup, the Limited comes standard with leather upholstery, 17-inch chromed-aluminum wheels, and this platform's most potent engine—a 3.5-liter V-6 packing 250 rambunctious horses. And for 2003, Concorde gets three new exterior colors.


The north-south powertrain blueprint mentioned above places the engine ahead of the front axle centerline and most of the transmission behind it. This arrangement leaves ample room for suspension hardware and passengers while facilitating a symmetrical layout for underhood components. Symmetry is good because it enables dual exhaust pipes to flow smoothly rearward in harmonic and geometric balance. Another benefit is longer suspension control arms and driveshafts than are practical with the engine and transaxle wedged in sidewise. So when you nail the gas in a Concorde, both sides of the car rush forward in step with less torque steer (that annoying tug at the steering wheel) than is typical of other high-powered front-wheel-drive sedans. Count on the rush from rest to 60 mph to take about eight seconds.