Welcome back to your favorite mid-morning time waster, Shitbox Showdown! Today we’re looking at a couple of latter-day personal luxury coupes. But before we do, let’s see which of yesterday’s estate sale finds you went for:
Yep. I mean, come on; how often do you come across a 2CV for two grand? Sure, it needs some work, but there are probably more moving parts in a blender than in that thing. It’s easy.
Two-door cars are something of a luxury item these days. Once upon a time, the cheap versions of economy cars – think Tercel, Civic, and the like – had only two doors, because that was half the number of hinges and latches. But as tastes changed, and people discovered that it really was easier to get in and out of the back seat with a pair of extra doors, cheap two-doors disappeared. Two-door cars became either sporty or luxurious, or both.
The idea of having an entire car with only two entry points to its interior, and maybe four seats if you’re lucky, feels almost wasteful these days, and so personal luxury coupes have fallen out of favor. There are still a few around, but for the most part they’re seen as relics. And that’s too bad, I think. So today we’re going to check out a pair of luxury coupes from a couple decades ago, when most of them were breathing their last.
1997 Lexus SC400 – $5,000
Engine/drivetrain: 4.0 liter dual overhead cam V8, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Fayetteville, AR
Odometer reading: 191,000 miles
Runs/drives? Great, according to the ad
Toyota’s luxury brand, Lexus, not content with having conquered the luxury sedan world with the LS400, set its sights on the luxury coupe market in 1992. Two versions of the SC coupe were offered: the SC300, with the inline six from Toyota’s Supra, and this car, the SC400, with the silky-smooth V8 from the LS400. If the LS400 sedan was an idealized Mercedes-Benz S-class, the SC400 was an idealized Lincoln Mark VII.
LIke everything Lexus introduced, the SC400 is almost too nice. Every inch of it is polished, perfected, and just-so. The trouble is that that perfection becomes the car’s entire identity; a Lexus is what you get when all you want is a really, really nice car. But there’s not much personality behind the polish. Or maybe it’s just too nice for the likes of me.
One thing Lexuses are known for, of course, is racking up the miles. This one is still kind of low, actually, at 191,000. But it looks practically new except for a few minor battle scars, and the seller says it runs and drives great. We don’t get a whole lot of detail about its mechanical condition, and it’s easy to say “oh, it’s a Lexus; it’s fine,” but it’s still a twenty-six year old car closing in on two hundred thousand miles. Get it inspected if you can’t check it out yourself.
I don’t know; maybe I just don’t get this car. It’s really nice, but it doesn’t give me “the fizz.” If it does for you, more power to you, but to me it just seems bland.
2006 Chrysler Crossfire – $4,900
Engine/drivetrain: 3.2 liter overhead cam V6, five-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Houston, TX
Odometer reading: 150,000 miles
Runs/drives? Excellent, they say
Now here’s a car that can be accused of a lot of things, but blandness isn’t one of them. The Chrysler Crossfire was one of the stranger children of the brief Daimler-Chrysler marriage: a two-seat coupe based on a Mercedes platform, with flashy Art Deco-inspired styling. It’s not to everyone’s tastes, but I always liked it. It looks like a speedboat combined with a rocketship, the sort of thing Jay Gatsby might drive around a base on Mars.
Inside, things are a bit less special; there is a lot of Dodge Caliber or PT Cruiser in there if you look too closely. This one is in nice shape, with 150,000 miles on the clock according to the seller. Its Mercedes V6 engine runs well, and is supplied by a brand-new fuel pump. That’s about all the information we get on its mechanical condition. Again, an inspection is definitely in order.
The Crossfire coupe’s styling starts to get a little strange as you go around the back: this thing has a butt that won’t quit. Even if you beg it to. The convertible version has a lot less junk in the trunk, but then again, it has a lot less trunk too. This one at least has a hatchback, however small and awkwardly-shaped it is.
The best thing about this particular Crossfire has got to be the color. These were available in some great colors: a pale yellow, a nice cranberry red, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this blue before. I like it.
I don’t think either of these qualify as “shitboxes,” even to those who could afford them new. Depreciation is especially unkind to specialty cars like luxury coupes, but that’s a good thing for the likes of us. We can get a fancy two-door coupe on the cheap. But which one is more your style: the safe Japanese machine, or the wild child of German and American parents?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Of course it is harder to get into the rear seat in the 2 door. Because a coupe should be a 2 seater for a man to pick up a chick and never be asked by friends for a ride. A four seater coupe is just a bad dad joke. Look son your old dad is pretty cool with a 2 door Sebring right? Tell me i am cool son. Son your mom is dumping me i wear a mangirdle and i am losing my hair tell me i am cool. I have a members only jacket for gods sake. Cool Cars dont make people cool, cool people make cars cool.
Oh come on, Dave. Sebrings are wicked!
False. Rear seats in a 2-door do more than just bring along two extra people in a pinch; they also reduce insurance costs and when combined with a hatch/liftback design, can be folded down for more cargo space, something that has been lost in the transition of sports cars from sporty liftbacks to more purpose-built performance vehicles with sizable trunks but tiny lids.
Crossfire all day. I’ve always liked those things.
Same!^
I like the look of the Crossfire, but I know from experience that if the interior is anything like other Daimler/Cerberus era products, I just can’t do it. Lexus for me before we even consider reliability.
The interior is all Mercedes. Same quality as the SLK 230.
Fuck it, give me the Crossfire. I’ve always liked the looks of them, and that blue! It wouldn’t be a daily for me, so screw reliability…if that is what you want, the Lexus is a no-brainer.
191K on a Lexus is nicely broken in, in its groove. 150K on a Chrysler is just about used up, running on borrowed time. The Chrysler would be a foolish purchase, to say the least.
Mercedes makes all drivetrain components, except for the manual transmissions in these cars.
White isn’t the best color for that SC, and I’d personally prefer the 300 because I love straight six engines, but it seems like the better choice here.
Apparently controversial opinion: The Lexus isn’t boring. It has a swoopy, unique body over incredibly reliable mechanicals and it kind of the high water mark for personal luxury.
I refuse to believe something has to be worse to be interesting.
I rented a Crossfire convertible for a week or so and really liked the car. Nothing mind-blowing, but it was a competent handler and had just enough oomph to feel authoritative without any chance of overdoing it.
But that center console. Dear God. Plastic Fantastic doesn’t even come close to approximating how cheap it looks in all its silver-plastic-not-fooling-anyone-even-dogs-that-it-is-metal hideousness. What’s most disappointing is the design was actually cool, but the materials just scream Playmobil and ruins the whole feel.
The Lexus, all day……
If I were going to daily-drive one of these cars, it would be the Lexus, hands-down. But I work from home and use a beater work-truck to do, well, truck things and to absorb parking-lot abuse. So a car would be for fun and maybe Cars and Coffee meets — for that, then, it’s the Crossfire. And I even like the color…
The Crossfire has a little more personality, but the Lexus aged better. Unless it’s too good to be true, I’d go with the Lexus.
That Crossfire has some serious weathering on the butt! Did they maybe have it sticking out of a garage for a decade, or have a short overhang on the covered parking spot?
As a current owner of a Lexus from that era and former Houstonian, I’m 110% in favor of the Lexus. I have always had a soft spot for the Crossfire, but while Houston is generally easy going on things like rust, it is harsh on interiors, paint (as this one shows) and exterior body panels, which is a big problem for many of the unobtainable exterior panels the Crossfire is styled with. Add to that the only-semi-reliable SLK underpinnings are probably deep into the needing heavy maintenance phase, and it only gets worse. I’ve tempted myself with a Crossfire many times, but the reality of owning one has always sobered me quickly. The SC400 may not be as exciting to look at, but unlike the Crossfire, it will likely always move without the assistance of a tow truck.
The SC400 is boring to look at but it is a v8, rwd coupe. I know somebody with a Crossfire convertible. It’s a nightmare of a car.
Anecdotal evidence, Your Honor!
Lexus every time. It’s a budget MK4 Supra in many ways. I believe coilovers are interchangeable, and a 1JZ with R154 is a factory swap. Still an expensive build but the path is straightforward.
I voted for the Chrysler strictly for its looks. I like odd. Truthfully, though, I’d never go for it because as an old military man, I know it’s never a good idea to be caught in a Crossfire.
Ok hear me out: get the Chrysler, but chrome all the brushed aluminum trim then wood panel it above the rocker panel to look like an old fashioned luxury runabout yacht. Then it doesnt matter if it breaks down all the time, because its a boat, and boats do that.
I would literally take the Lexus if it was on fire over that shit box it’s up against.
While I like the Crossfire better for looks, it’s reputation is not very stellar. If I had to choose, Lexus.
This was a tougher choice for me than I had expected. Obviously I have more faith in any era Toyota product versus a car resulting from the automotive hate-fuck that was Daimler-Chrysler. But damn, that Crossfire is striking from the outside. The Lexus is pretty bland by comparison. Then you look at the interiors… yikes. The Crossfire has a fleet spec interior compared to the Lexus. I would buy the SC400 and repaint the bumpers and restore the headlights. My impractical personal luxury car needs to look and feel the part in order for me to accept the trade offs.
Take the Lexus.
The Crossfire is based on the Mercedes-Benz R170 platform (shared with 1st gen SLK), so even simple repairs will be ridiculously expensive. These were never produced in large numbers, and as a result, many of the Chrysler-specific bits are unobtanium now. Enough time has passed that most Chrysler dealerships have never seen this car and have no idea how to service it.
My experience has been that even if you have a two year old Ram (or 300 or Jeep) most Chrysler dealerships have no idea how to service it.
Easy choice for me – I’ll take the Lexus.
This would be a (slightly) more difficult choice if the Crossfire didn’t have stupid silver painted trim around the windshield. It is just plain ugly. What were they thinking?
The windshield header on the coupe is shared with the convertible (for cost-saving purposes, I’m sure). There is even a rubber gasket between the windshield header and the steel roof.
But why didn’t they paint it the same color as the rest of the car? That can’t be much more expensive.
It probably wouldn’t have cost much, but that’s the Chrysler part of Daimler-Chrysler rearing up its ugly head.
They did, on the base model that eventually was released. Silver trim around the windshield indicates the Limited trim.
Really? I have seen a few Crossfires where that bit is painted the same color as the rest of the car, but I assumed that was customization by an owner blessed with the gift of sight. Crossfire styling isn’t my favorite, but they look 15,000% better with the trim painted to match the body color.
I’m genuinely shocked that the hideous silver trim was viewed by Chrysler as an upgrade. My mind is blown.
I like the look of the xfire from the windshield back. The scalloped hood (that’s the Art Deco bit?) and the face generally is pretty awful, but from the back it kind of has c30 vibes and that’s good enough for me
I’d rather the Lexus be an SC300, but the 400 is still great. No question here.
The logical, safe and sane answer is Lexus. It isn’t even close.
But there is a part of me that really wants that Chrysler. Having owned a “merger of equals”-era Jeep Commander though there is no way I could deal with the plastics of the interior or the build quality that we all know is going to be about as good as any malaise era big three product. Simply put it is a nightmare waiting to happen.