Ok well... I am actually quite familiar with the 300M because I was looking for one back in May, and my father just bought one so I had to investigate for him. Lemme correct a couple of points made here.
300M owners do not frequent this site probably because that model has a pretty devoted following. They have a 300M enthusiasts club that my father says they even charge $15 in dues per year I believe. The edmunds town hall group for the 300M is also one of the largest groups out of all the cars ever made.
The clear taillights were actually standard starting with the '01 model year.
Someone here mentioned they didnt like the front headlights and the chopped off rear end. Yeah the rear looks like its missing part of its own ass... LOL... but I actually like the front headlights and fog lights, more so than the Intrepid.
As far as the 300M special goes... a lot of loyal 300M owners and people considering the 300M are not digging the special. First off they are really annoyed that the engine on the special is not beefed up. Its the same engine as in the standard 300M, and thats in the Intrepid R/T and the new '02 ES. Yeah they tune the **** out of it to bump the HP up to 255... but you will probably not see any performance increase.
A lot of people also do not like the "two tone" look. On a silver car, you will have the bright silver metallic paint, but on the underbody... you will have a darker grey. Thats not too bad, but on the inside, you also have a two toned interior. This has turned away a lot of potential buyers. Me personally... i don't mind it.
Finally... with the special you do get 18" silver wheels standard (no chrome option), and you do get HID lights, and I believe the OTIX on that car will give you tire PSI on all the wheels which is pretty sweet.
Problem is.... the price will not be cheap. 300M specials will probably run easy in the 32k range... maybe more. For this price, the car just isn't worth it. If they would have dropped a V8 in there, yeah it would be. I know there were manufacturing issues with putting say the HEMI engine in there. But for 32k plus... I would rather get a Lexus.
The base 300M is a good deal for 27k.... but the special at 32k+.... no thanks.
Just my opinion.
