#ChryslerSebring

There are good cars, bad cars and embarrassing cars. Today we’ll take a look at the latter list, cars that were bad, underwhelming, uninspired and downright humiliating to be seen in.

In a land where the Ladas actually pass as respectable cars, the Chrysler Sebring has been rejected by consumers.

The only other car on the market that’s more maligned than the Chrysler Sebring is the Chrysler Sebring convertible, a favorite of sunbelt rental fleets and incompetent bosses everywhere.

The Chrysler Sebring is one of America’s least liked cars, and the convertible has the ignominious honor of being lampooned on The Office as the official car of Michael Scott, the incompetent, ostentatious company boss.

Chrysler is recalling 26,397 vehicles over fault power steering hoses that could leak and cause a fire. Vehicles affected include the 2010 Chrysler 300, Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Avenger, Dodge Journey and Dodge Challenger.

Chrysler‘s much maligned Sebring is getting a new name and a new look for 2011. Re-branded as the 200C, the mid-size car from the Pentastar brand retains the Sebrings sillhouette but the new fascias and lights help make the car look substantially better than the outgoing Sebring.

Power comes from a 2.4L four-cylinder or a 3.6L V6, mated to a six-speed transmission. Chrysler’s new V6 family has gotten some stellar reviews, so hopefully this car will finally become more than just fodder for the Budget Rent-A-Car lot. Even if the old Sebring had nowhere to go but up.

Hit the jump for the official press release

[Source: Chrysler]

Chrysler looks set to torpedo the Sebring nameplate in favor of the “200”, in a nod to the heavily refreshed Chrysler 200 set to debut at the end of the year. The current Sebring is one of the most maligned cars on the road today (and for good reason), and Chrysler is hoping to bury that legacy with a heavily refreshed and renamed mid-size car.

We won’t pass judgement on the new midsize car until we’ve driven it, but knowing what’s underneath it, namely the Sebring platform, we still have a healthy dose of skepticism surrounding the new Chrysler Sebring 200

Gallery: 2011 Chrysler 200

Hit the jump to see the official press release

The Chrysler Sebring convertible is possibly one of the most maligned cars on sale today. Known for its less than stellar driving dynamics, build quality, styling and, well, just about everything else, the Sebring convertible really only has price going for it – and that’s exactly what its place in Chrysler’s lineup is guaranteed for the foreseeable future, at least in fleet sales.

Fulvia. Delta Integrale. Beta Montecarlo. There are some of the storied nameplates a car enthusiast normally associates with the Lancia brand. Now those models will be joined by some less illustrious names, like the Sebring and PT Cruiser if Fiat’s newest scheme comes to fruition.

Chrysler had previously announced that a selection of Fiat-based compact cars was slated to hit the market in early 2012.  But in a sign of rapid progress at Chrysler (or anxiety over the supposed apocalypse), CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a conference call that work on the vehicles is advancing sooner than the company anticipated, and it should appear in the fourth quarter of 2011.

When Chrysler gets around to replacing the current Sebring it also hopes to erase all memory of the failed mid-size sedan by changing its name to the Nassau. The name may sound familiar to some as back in 2007 the American automaker debuted the Nassau Concept at the Detroit Auto Show, sporting some details that were later incorporated into the current Sebring model.

During Chrysler’s seven hour press conference explaining the direction of the company over the next few years, it became increasingly clear that the new Fiat ownership is planning to build up the Chrysler group of brands using Fiat products. Much of the news isn’t entirely new, but it has now been confirmed and the extent to which Fiat intends to wipe clean Chrysler’s slate of underperforming cars is clear.

A week ahead of a planned Fiat/Chrysler press conference in which Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of both automakers, was to outline the future of Chrysler, much of the information has been revealed in an in-depth report in the Wall Street Journal. But before we get to the new products that the Italian-owned automaker is planning to bring into the North American marketplace, it’s time to learn the fate of the vehicles being axed. And judging from the list, it appears as though Fiat is intent on moving its products in and Chrysler’s products out.

Chrysler’s previous ownership by Daimler continues to effect the company’s future as plans to replace two of its struggling vehicles have been pushed back. Both the Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring were scheduled to be replaced in 2010, but the American automaker’s new Fiat management has now decided to extend the life-cycles of the two vehicles until at least 2012.