It certainly isn’t unique that a make of car would have a core group of devotees. There are tons of clubs for Mustangs, Camaros, street rods, and so forth. What is unusual is that such a group could grow so large in such a short period of time. We’re talking about fans of Chrysler’s (now FCA) rear-drive platform cars. Originally internally designated the “LX,” the vehicle platform was the basis of all Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum sedans starting in 2005. In 2006 the LX spawned the Dodge Charger sedan, and in 2008 it produced the Dodge Challenger coupe. Over the LX’s 12-year history, the deck has been shuffled. The Magnum—America’s last station wagon—was killed off in 2008, and the platform has been revised to accommodate FCA’s new 8-speed Torqueflite transmission, now carrying the chassis designation “LA.”
To the average citizen, all this alphabet soup means little, but to Mopar gearheads it’s nothing short of nirvana. To understand the exuberance over FCA’s LX-platform cars, one has to turn back the clock to 1989 as Chrysler wound down production of its M-Body platform, which was the basis for cars such as the Dodge Diplomat, Plymouth Gran Fury, and Chrysler Fifth Avenue. For sixteen long years, Chrysler was out of the mainstream rearwheel-drive market—and forget about V8 power too. While the rest of America loaded up on Mustangs, Camaros, Thunderbirds, Firebirds, Impala SSs, Corvettes—even Cadillacs—Chrysler aficionados got zilch. (Ok, the wealthy did get very limited quantities of the Plymouth Prowler and Dodge Viper.)
Apparently, the unhappy situation was also felt by engineers and management at Chrysler. By the end of the 20th century, Chrysler was floating cool auto show concepts of Chrysler 300s and Dodge Chargers, and they made no bones about the fact these concepts were both V8-powered and rearwheel drive. Chrysler also un-muzzled the normally tight-lipped PR department, approving language that these show concepts had a high probability of seeing production in some form. When the new third generation of the Hemi V8 started showing up in Ram trucks in 2003, well, the match had been thrown on the tinderbox.
So sets the stage for one John Fortuno and thousands of like-minded souls in California. While the fire was building inside Chrysler, it had also been building with a tech-savvy group of like-minded Mopar fans. Pent-up demand for V8-powered rear-drive Chrysler performance combined with the community-building effect of the internet produced a fan base called SoCalLX.com. Led by Fortuno, the website was one of the first to garner a large following of people who planned to buy the new “LX” platform cars once they hit the showroom. (For his part, Fortuno is officially a 300C man!) As the Magnum and 300C began production for the 2005 model year, the adoption rate—as well as conquest sales from other brands—was phenomenal.
Not wasting any time—and with a relatively large number of members who were now owners—SoCalLX.com held their first car meet in 2005 at the parking lot of a local Dave & Busters. Other clubs in the region soon joined forces, and the yearly Spring Festival of LXs grew at an astronomical rate. Now in its twelfth year, the event takes place—with FCA’s financial help—in Anaheim, CA at the expansive Angels Stadium parking lot. For 2017, the preregistered car count swelled to 1,450 vehicles, an envious number that is even more shocking when you consider last-minute drive-ins and spectators are not allowed. Moreover, very little advance publicity is given to the event; there are no radio ads, no magazine ads, no tv, no event flyers—just digital and oral word-of-mouth PR from SoCalLX.com members and affiliated club websites. It’s a grassroots non-profit effort by regular folks who have a deep passion for Chrysler performance and the third-gen Hemi V8. Oh, and let’s not forget the little engine that could—the Pentastar V6!
More Action Here!
Wanna check out previous years’ coverage of the Spring Festival of LXs, including some giant photo galleries and highlight video reels? Click here!
2016 Spring Festival Of LXs:
Hemis Invade Angel Stadium
2015 Spring Festival Of LXs:
Highlights from the 10th Annual Spring Festival of LXS
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