Get Ready For More Chrysler and Dodge Minivans

The Chrysler Group has recently announced that the all-new 2008 Chrysler Town & Country as well as the Dodge Grand Caravan minivans both introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit are going to be produced at the DaimlerChrysler’s Windsor Ontario Assembly Plant and St. Louis South Assembly Plant in Fenton, Mo.

The main objective of the Chrysler Group is to produce several vehicles under same roof and in the process save millions of investment dollars while hastening the availability of the vehicles to the market equipped with the same high quality Chrysler parts that meets the quality levels set by the automaker.

According to Frank Ewasyshyn, Executive Vice President, Manufacturing, Chrysler Group, "These are very important products for the Chrysler Group as we remain committed to the minivan market and maintain our leadership position. Our focus on flexible manufacturing and new investments, adding state-of-the art technology to plant operations, will help us ensure we can meet those demands and build almost anything, anywhere, with improving speed and quality."

Visiting DaimlerChrysler’s Windsor and St. Louis Assembly Plants

The Windsor Assembly plant is presently housing the production for Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans with the Stow ‘n Go® seating and storage system, together with the Chrysler Pacifica, has enough resources to accommodate the production of two different vehicle platforms. The Chrysler Group has invested $508 million to its Windsor Assembly to provide it with a state-of-the art paint facility which is capable of accommodating the dimensions of at least eleven different body styles. The Windsor Assembly plant is scheduled to operate on the first quarter of 2007. This plant was built in 1928 and at present considered to be one of Chrysler’s largest assembly plants with 4.01 million square feet. The plant is currently employing 4800 people.

The St. Louis South Assembly Plant is another big plant of Chrysler. The automaker invested $1 billion for this plant. Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan minivans (south), and Dodge Ram (1500 and 2500) Standard and Quad Cab Pickup (North) are the vehicles produced in this plant. The St. Louis Plant was constructed in 1959 and has a total area of 2.64 million square feet and the third assembly plant of Chrysler that implements a fully robotic body shop. This gives the St Louis plant the capability of manufacturing multiple types of vehicles on one line. Chrysler’s St. Louis Assembly plant has 3,200 employees presently.

Chrysler Group is expecting to make the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country available to US market in the fall of 2007.

By Correy Putton.

2006 Chrysler 300 Review, Pic and Safety

The 2006 Chrysler 300 is classified as a large sedan, but it’s not your grandfather’s sedan. The 2006 Chrysler 300 series has a sleek, classy design and was given the distinction of Edmund’s “most wanted sedan” after full test drive and is ranked one of the 10 Best full-sized sedans by Car and Driver reviews. The 300C comes with a standard 5.7-liter HEMI® Multi Displacement System (MDS) engine, while the SRT8 has a standard 6.1-liter SRT HEMI®.

Specs

With a fuel tank capacity of 18 to 19 gallons, the 2006 Chrysler 300 series has an EPA fuel efficiency rating of as much as 18 city/28/highway miles per gallon (mpg). There is 105.8 cubic feet of passenger room with 40.2 inches of rear seat legroom on a 120-inch wheelbase including an additional 15.6 cubic feet of trunk space. A 60/40 split folding rear seat is standard. The 2006 Chrysler 300 features power everything and is SIRIUS satellite ready.

Safety

The Chrysler 300 was awarded the highest rating, five stars, in government frontal crash tests. The vehicle has a safety cage architecture that manages and controls energy to protect occupants in the event of an accident. The steering wheel and column are energy-absorbing to minimize injury in a front end collision and the spare tire is strategically placed to roll away from the gas tank in the event of rear impact.

Airbag safety is standard on every 2006 Chrysler 300 with front multi-stage airbags powered by an occupant classification system (OCS) that deploys the passenger side airbag according to weight. Front and rear side-curtain airbags are also available. Reviews

Edmund’s consumer reviews give the 2006 Chrysler 300 an average rating of 9 out 10 and the automotive editors at Consumer Guide awarded the 300C a Best Buy of 2006 distinction with a value-in-class rating of 8 points in 10.

By Tina Root.