Troublesome? OK, I'll admit it. I'd like to think the two officers that pulled me over just wanted a closer look at the 300, but in fact they each asked me to slow down. Yes, that was two separate occasions on the same day, each of which I got off with just a warning.

Pulled over twice in one day. The oh-so-tempting 300C is definitely not lacking in the power department. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

My lucky day or what? Needless to say I found the car wonderfully relaxing at legal speeds, which I maintained for the last hour of my test. Why push the odds? After all I had enough fun up to that point, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that the 300C was as capable of running with the luxury crowd as any of its pricier competitors. But ironically, the big pushrod V8 is the technology leader of the bunch, featuring Chrysler Group's Multi-Displacement System (MDS), the first cylinder deactivation system to be sold in North America on large-volume vehicles. MDS is expected to increase fuel economy by up to 20 percent while still delivering all the power and even more torque than the new-age HEMI V8 is becoming legendary for.

New developments such as high-speed electronic controls, sophisticated algorithms controlling the systems and the

Besides raw power and increased torque, how about improved fuel economy? Thanks to the first cylinder deactivation system to be sold in North America on large-volume vehicles, it's true. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

integration of electronic throttle control have made the technology possible. As a result Chrysler Group reports a seamless deactivation and activation process, needing only 40 milliseconds (0.040 seconds) to transition from eight-cylinders to four or vice versa. So how does it work? Essentially MDS deactivates the valve lifters in four of theV8's cylinders (1, 7, 4 and 6), resulting in four closed valves and zero combustion in half the cylinders. Fortunately the "dead" cylinders don't drag energy from the working four, due to air being pumped through those cylinders temporarily out of action.