The portion of the spine that ran down the center of the rear glass was axed as well. “Strictly an issue of feasibility and form ability of the glass:’ says Daimler. The rest of the so-called boat-tail rear retains the look of the concept, but that disguise significant changes. The production car has a wider canopy with less severe tapering toward the back because federal side-impact requirements established the side-glass location relative to the occupants. In the concept, the glass would have been too close. The change was also a nod to ease of production, because of “depth of draw requirements” in shaping the rear-quarter sheet-metal. The Barns Custom City—style chop top was minimized and the roof raise a bit, says Daimler: “There’s no law as far as overall height of side windows. There is a down-angle sight requirement necessary for the car to be homologated in foreign markets, and the Crossfire does adhere to that specification.”
Seen separately, the concept and the production car look virtually the same. With the notable exception of the marketing-driven nose design, Chrysler managed to maintain the flavor of a dream car in a vehicle that will indeed wind up on showroom floors. The new FX Cruiser makes sure the fun Is equally distributed between all family members, with an extended rear seat that gives extra comfort to the third passenger. It’s got an engine that’s no stranger to fun, either-a 140 horsepower, four-stroke, Yamaha marine engine that’s ultra-quiet and clean. Plus it’s loaded with Yamaha features like tilt steering and a dual cup holder.
