Think the interior of the Chrysler 300 is cavernous? A stretched version of the sedan -- about six inches longer -- is in the works as the automaker prepares to venture into the limousine business.
DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group is in final talks with Lima, Ohio-based Accubuilt Inc. to produce mini-stretched 300 sedans similar to an elongated version Accubuilt created for display last month at the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show, a performance and custom vehicle event held annually in Las Vegas.
The stretch 300 will be aimed at the limousine industry and compete against Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln Town Car and General Motors Corp.'s extended Cadillac DTS. Lincoln and Cadillac have long dominated the limo and livery market.
Chrysler spokesman Rick Deneau declined comment.
The automaker will put the longer wheelbase vehicle on the LX rear-wheel drive platform on which the current 300, Dodge Charger sedans and Magnum station wagon are built, according to Accubuilt officials.
About 1,000 LX platforms -- equipped with touring and hemi-engine packages -- will be shipped to Accubuilt from Chrysler's Brampton, Ontario, plant.
Accubuilt, which also manufactures the stretched Cadillac DeVille, now replaced by the Cadillac DTS, will saw the 300 in half and add the inches to the middle, said Ken Earnest, Accubuilt's vice president of marketing. The vehicles will be delivered to Chrysler dealers.
"When you hear six inches, it doesn't sound like a lot but when you're sitting in the back of a car, another six inches is substantial," Earnest said.
For local companies such as Metro Car that offer executive livery services, a more spacious 300 providing corporate clientele with more wiggle room is a plus for business.
"The core of our business is the back seat of the vehicle and when you can provide more room in the back, it's an added value," said Kevin Dunbar, vice president for Romulus-based Metro Car, which already has 10 Chrysler 300s in its 100-plus fleet. The company uses mainly Town Cars and Cadillacs to transport passengers.
"It was very refreshing to have Chrysler come out with the 300 to begin with," Dunbar said.
The 2-year-old 300 already has proven a hit for Chrysler. Sales of the car are up 41 percent through November compared to its debut year.
Production of the stretched 300 could begin in July, said Dennis Schlueter, program director for Accubuilt.
Output will depend on demand, Earnest said. Accubuilt produces roughly 4,000 specialty vehicles annually, including several hundred Cadillac DTS models.
"Chrysler's anticipation is much larger because they are very excited about this," Earnest said.
Stretching the 300 will help Chrysler maximize use of its LX platform that is the underpinning of Charger and Magnum. The Challenger concept muscle car to be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit will use the same underpinning if it goes into production.
"From a manufacturing cost-savings standpoint, that's a smart way to go," Catherine Madden, a production analyst with Global Insight Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based economic forecasting firm.
"It's seems to me like it's a perfect fit," Madden said. "It fills a slot. It's below a Mercedes product but above the 300."
