Photo: Abimelec Arellano on Instagram
Founded in 1925 from the ashes of the Maxell Motor Company, the original Chrysler Corporation made a lot of controversial decisions over the years. One such misjudgment comes in the guise of a two-door grand tourer by the name of TC by Maserati. It was a front-wheel-drive K car manufactured in the Italian Peninsula with a detachable hardtop roof.
Sold from the 1989 through the 1991 model years in very limited numbers (roughly 7,300 examples), the Maserati-branded TC wound up costing the Auburn Hills-based automaker a shedload of money that it never recouped.
Starting with the horrendously expensive sticker price, the ill-fated TC was offered with four- and six-cylinder engines that weren’t worthy of the Maserati nameplate. The failed sibling of the much cheaper Chrysler LeBaron GTC also happened to compete with European luxury cruisers that were better in every single respect, including build quality and reliability.
Purchased by Daimler in 1998, then by Fiat in 2014, the automaker kept churning out cars that have little to do with the Chrysler luxobarges of old. Even under the Stellantis umbrella, the brand currently sells more people carriers than sedans in the United States of America. For example, in the second quarter, Chrysler moved 5,668 units of the 300 compared to 13,228 for the Pacifica, which is a bit of a shame for the once-respected company.
On the upside, the head honcho of Stellantis gave Chrysler a 10-year grace period to return to profitability. The lifeline thrown by Carlos Tavares includes money for developing a family of brand-new core models, and a revival of the atrocious TC is unmistakably out of the question.
Be that as it may, pixel wizard Abimelec Arellano did the unthinkable by hacking the roof clean off the 300 to create a two-door convertible reminiscent of the original. Considering that Stellantis owns Maserati nowadays, this unlikely combo is possible, although the sales figures aren’t likely to surpass the TC by Maserati from the George H. W. Bush era.
Starting with the horrendously expensive sticker price, the ill-fated TC was offered with four- and six-cylinder engines that weren’t worthy of the Maserati nameplate. The failed sibling of the much cheaper Chrysler LeBaron GTC also happened to compete with European luxury cruisers that were better in every single respect, including build quality and reliability.
Purchased by Daimler in 1998, then by Fiat in 2014, the automaker kept churning out cars that have little to do with the Chrysler luxobarges of old. Even under the Stellantis umbrella, the brand currently sells more people carriers than sedans in the United States of America. For example, in the second quarter, Chrysler moved 5,668 units of the 300 compared to 13,228 for the Pacifica, which is a bit of a shame for the once-respected company.
On the upside, the head honcho of Stellantis gave Chrysler a 10-year grace period to return to profitability. The lifeline thrown by Carlos Tavares includes money for developing a family of brand-new core models, and a revival of the atrocious TC is unmistakably out of the question.
Be that as it may, pixel wizard Abimelec Arellano did the unthinkable by hacking the roof clean off the 300 to create a two-door convertible reminiscent of the original. Considering that Stellantis owns Maserati nowadays, this unlikely combo is possible, although the sales figures aren’t likely to surpass the TC by Maserati from the George H. W. Bush era.
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