Monday, April 23, 2012

Chrysler Debuts China-Themed Wrangler and 300 Concepts [Beijing Auto Show]

Chrysler 300 Ruyi design concept

Chrysler showed two special-edition cars, a 300 and a Jeep Wrangler, at the Beijing auto show. Both are influenced by Chinese culture.

Chrysler 300 Ruyi Design Concept

The Chrysler 300 Ruyi design concept is named for a type of opulent scepter—or, as we might call it, a Royal Whoopin' Stick. In part, the car is meant to attract attention to the relaunch of the Chrysler brand in China, which ended a small presence there in 2009. A six-cylinder 300 will be sold there alongside a minivan wearing the "Grand Voyager" badge.

Like several of Chrysler's recent dress-up jobs on the 300 in the U.S., the 300 Ruyi isn't a dramatic overhaul from the standard car. Some exterior trim that's normally done in chrome is now covered in darker chrome, including the door handles. Chrysler says the show car's grille is "ruyi-inspired," while each spoke on the 22-inch rims has "a curvature reminiscent of a ruyi scepter." Unfortunately, the entire staff of our Chinese History division is on vacation, but a quick look at Google Images shows that yes, most ruyi scepters seem to have an outward curve in the middle.

Otherwise, there's some new trim inside the 300 Ruyi and some badging that uses Chinese characters.

Jeep Wrangler Dragon design concept seats

Jeep Wrangler Dragon Design Concept

Hopping on the dragon-themed bandwagon already carrying Aston Martin, Ferrari's special edition 458 celebrating 20 years in China, and Rolls-Royce's Year of the Dragon Collection, Jeep applied the design-scheme to its ute. Commemorating this as the Year of the Dragon, the Wrangler Dragon design concept is gilded with bronze-gold trim, including the grille slats, headlights, exposed bolts, and 18-inch wheels. Unbridled pimping continues inside, with lots more bronze-gold-colored detailing on the seats, doors, and dash. Dragon images are laser-etched into the headrests.



Two aspects of the interior deserve particular attention: First, some of the leather is described as being "dragon-scale patterned." It seems Chrysler has access to fictional beasts. Based on the dragon images on other parts of the car, we're not talking about the Komodo "dragon," a monitor lizard. Second, other leather in the concept is called "Magic Wand" leather. If Chrysler gets the right celebrity spokesperson, this could challenge Corinthian for absurdly named seat coverings. At least when Mercedes-Benz drops the word "magic," it's in the context of what some technology does.

Chrysler Debuts China-Themed Wrangler and 300 Concepts [Beijing Auto Show]

2012 Bejing auto show full coverage



from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com




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1 comment:

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