The all-new 2011 Chrysler 300 delivers contemporary styling with design details unexpected in the segment. At the front, an all-new grille features seven deeply sculpted horizontal blades that express precision. The liquid-chrome finish of the blades and the new Chrysler wing badge provide a unique contrast against the beautifully drawn bright chrome grille surround. Illuminating the road ahead are signature “key slot” headlamps with a scalloped lower edge. Inside, bi-functional projector headlamps are nestled next to LED-illuminated daytime running lamps, which together form a “C” shape for unmistakable on-road presence.

The stunning announcement instantly propelled the smallest of the Big Three automakers to the front of the pack in the race to bring an EV to market and places it in direct competition with the Chevrolet Volt that General Motors unveiled last week. Chrysler’s joining GM in betting that electric cars are the future, and it’s gone all-in with a make-or-break lineup that includes range-extended versions of the Chrysler Town & Country minivan and Jeep Wrangler SUV and an all-electric Dodge sports car.

“We have a social responsibility to our consumers to deliver environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient, advanced electric vehicles, and our intention is to meet that responsibility quickly and more broadly than any other automobile manufacturer,” says Bob Nardelli, chairman and CEO of the struggling automaker. “The introduction of the
Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge electric vehicles provides a glimpse of the very near future and demonstrates that we are serious and well along in the development of bringing electric vehicles to market.”

These cars aren’t mock-ups. Chrysler says we’ll see 100 of them in test fleets next year. One model — the company isn’t saying which, but some analysts say it’s probably the yellow two-seater pictured above — will be ready for sale by the end of 2010, the same deadline GM has set for the Volt. “We are well ahead of where people think we are,” company co-president Jim Press said at the unveiling before taking a shot at cross-town rivals GM: “Perhaps that’s because we haven’t tooted our horn up to now.

“The Pentastar engine is suited to meet the requirements for a full range of vehicle applications in terms of power and fuel efficiency including passenger cars, mini-vans and sport utilities,” explained Bob Lee, vice president of engine engineering for Chrysler Group LLC. “It has been designed for today and many years to come. Already, we are looking forward to adapting future technologies as they become available to the Pentastar V-6 for even more fuel efficiency and performance.”

Compact and lightweight, Pentastar V-6 will be used in front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive models. Already standard on the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, the V-6 will gradually phase out seven V-6 legacy engines ranging from 2.7 – liters, up to 4.0 – liters in the current product portfolio. Overall, the new Pentastar will enable Chrysler Powertrain to reduce major engine components from 189 parts to just 32, greatly simplifying the build process and improving quality. Significant cost savings also are realized with purchasing efficiencies and a reduction in limited, high piece cost parts.

Additionally, horsepower gains have been significant across all models. On the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, horsepower has increased dramatically from 210 horsepower from the 3.7-liter to 290 horsepower on the new Pentastar 3.6-liter engine – a 38 percent increase. On the new Avenger/200, horsepower has increased to 283 horsepower from 250. On models including the Chrysler Town & Country, horsepower also has skyrocketed to 283 with the new Pentastar V-6 – up 86 horsepower from the previous 3.8-liter. On Minivan models that were equipped with the 4.0-liter engine, horsepower is up 32 to 283 horsepower.

The soon-to-be-introduced Dodge Charger will feature more than new sheet metal. Under the hood, the Pentastar V-6 will provide another 42 horsepower, now 292 horsepower.

All models equipped with the new Pentastar V-6 engine will also benefit from increases in torque. More importantly, the 3.6-liter has a broad, flat torque curve with 90 percent of peak torque available between 1800 – 6350 rpm, providing customers with outstanding driveability and power.

Reliability & Refinement

Before the first aluminum block was cast, the new Pentastar V-6 benefited from more than 45,000 hours of computer analysis to optimize the design of the engine. Once assembled, the engines were thoroughly tested and evaluated on dynamometers and in vehicles. More than 12 million customer equivalent miles were logged on the dynos followed by vehicle testing of nearly 4 million customer equivalent miles.

Already recognized as one of the quietest V-6 engines available, world class NVH levels start with a stiff and lightweight block. To help reduce vibration, all components are bolted directly to the block eliminating bracket assemblies. To further reduce vibration, the engine and transmission connection is extremely rigid to eliminate motion between the two major assemblies.

The 2011 Chrysler 200 Convertible is offered with the available new 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine which provides an exhilarating driving experience that offers customers the best of both worlds – outstanding V-6 horsepower and exceptional fuel economy. The Chrysler 200 Convertible is also available with the proven 2.4-liter I4 World Gas Engine. Both engines are mated to a six-speed transmission.

Chrysler’s vehicle would be able to travel 40 miles without using gasoline - the same fuel economy General Motors is promising with the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle.

But the heavy emphasis on interior electronics and design illustrates an increasing focus in the industry on combining great design with alternative powertrain technology under the hood.

Klegon said the 200c EV would present a “seamless, harmonious link between the vehicle and the home or your office.”
Photo courtesy of ChryslerThe interior electronics for the Chrysler 200c EV concept would include social networking capabilities.

Technology integrated into the 200c EV would offer the ability to disable the vehicle if it were stolen and locate it using global positioning technology. It also would offer parents the chance to limit the speed their teenagers can drive in the vehicle.

The Chrysler 200c EV concept vehicle, revealed today at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, would offer social networking capabilities that could wirelessly connect drivers to friends in other vehicles.

The vehicle’s personalized profile system would interact with Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter, said Frank Klegon, Chrysler’s executive vice president of product development. Passengers could surf the Internet, scroll through a library of songs or other media, and find traveling information.

Chrysler Aspen Limited 4X2 is Chrysler’s full-size SUV. The Aspen shares the same platform as the Dodge Durango. It is clear that when the Aspen was on the drawing board we were not suffering from a credit crunch or gas price hikes. However, although the sheer size and cost of the Aspen may deter buyers, some buyers actually need vehicles like the Chrysler Aspen Limited 4X2 in order to tow large boats or trailers. We should not forget that there is a place for vehicles with huge towing capacities - try towing a 40ft trailer with a Prius!The Chrysler Aspen Limited 4X2 uses exactly the same suspension layout as the Dodge Durango, independent, double-wishbone front and non-independent solid-axle rear. The Aspen comes with a 303-hp 4.7-liter V8 or a 335-hp 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine and either rear- or all-wheel drive. Both engines are mated to a five-speed automatic transmission and the Hemi V8 includes the Chrysler Multi-displacement System (MDS) which is capable of shutting down 4 cylinders to conserve fuel when not required.

Conventional 2009 Chrysler Aspen are available with rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. 2009 Chrysler Aspen Hybrids are AWD only. Maximum towing capacity is 8900 lb for conventional models, 6000 lb for the Hybrid. A low-range gear for off-roading is an option on non-Hybrid AWD models. The 2009 Chrysler Aspen its available in safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, curtain side airbags, and front side airbags.

The Wall Street Journal today published a story stating, according to un-named sources, that Chrysler is in talks with Japanese automaker Nissan to essentially supply the Auburn Hills, MI carmaker with mid-sized cars derived from the Nissan Altima.

Such a deal would come on the heels of an agreement for Nissan to supply Chrysler with a version of the Nissan Versa as its next small car. In turn, Nissan is getting out of the business of building its own full-sized pickups and is going to replace the Titan (currently with $10,000 of incentives on it) with a version of the Dodge Ram.

As Chrysler strikes more deals like this to have other parties make its cars (it also has a deal for Chinese automaker Chery to build a small car, but the state of that deal seems in question), one wonders what the company is turning into. The WSJ compared the emerging model at Chrysler with that of computer-maker Dell, which is more of a computer assembler of supplier parts and modules than an innovator in its own right. I might draw a different comparison. Chrysler is shaping up to look more like a Chinese state-owned automaker that relies on joint ventures with other automakers for new models rather than a company that will innovate on its own.

It looks like the Chrysler Crossfire is going to continue in production even though there were rumors in April that Chrysler was going to stop production of the coupe this summer.

In the last few years sales of the Crossfire have continued to decline, from 14,665 in 2005 to 8,216 in 2006 despite an increase in incentives. Chrysler also overproduced the 06′ and 07′ models, so the automaker had to suspend production for a while.

Even though the Crossfire is not selling, Chrysler is going to continue producing the slow-selling coupe next year and the automaker is also going to add a few changes (tire pressure monitoring system). The main question here is why? Shouldn’t Chrysler cut its losses and move on to something that consumers actually want? I guess if anyone actually wants one of these cars they can probably get a really good deal.

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