As the Chrysler 300C concept rolled onto the stage, design chief Trevor Creed said: "It's high time somebody did the classic American car." And the 300C is certainly a good old-fashioned American sedan: big at 196.8 inches long, rear-wheel drive, and powered by a honking 5.7 liter V-8 delivering more than 300 horsepower and 350 pound feet of torque. The concept previews Chrysler's upcoming LX sedan series, of which the V-8--engined 300C will be the range topper. The suspension architecture and other components have come from Mercedes-Benz. The 300C will go on sale in early 2004 as an '05 model: it won't look much different from the concept, except that eighteen-inch wheels and tires will supplant the show car's twenty-inchers.