Chrysler town and country

Chrysler LLC, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Mich., produces Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Mopar brand vehicles and products. Total sales worldwide in 2006 were 2.7 million vehicles. Sales outside of North America were the highest in a decade with an increase of 15 percent over 2005. On the heels of the company’s record product launch last year (Chrysler launched 10 all-new vehicles in 2006), the company extended that streak with eight all-new products in 2007.

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One of those spaces is the size of a Ford Escape or Chevrolet Equinox compact crossover SUV, he said. Instead of developing a vehicle that size with a V6 engine to compete with the market leaders, however, Chrysler chose to build two compact Jeeps — the Compass and Patriot — with limited off-road ability, barely average four-cylinder engines and marginal transmissions. Both are respectable vehicles, but neither is the home run it could have been.

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The ecoVoyager is nothing like the departed minivan. It is a smooth four-door, four-passenger car with a characteristically American design. It is 191 inches long and 75 inches wide and should have plenty of headroom with a height of 63 inches. The wheels are pushed to the edges, giving the ecoVoyager a wheelbase of 116 inches, only four inches shorter than that of the Chrysler 300 .

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The carmaker has been perceived as being slow to change — in a world where change is accelerating — but looks like it wants to convey the impression it is not going to be left behind this time. It went to the trouble of unveiling three concepts, which include electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-ins (PHEVs), so far in advance to emphasise the point. With each of the three, the automaker uses concepts primarily powered by an electric motor system and a yet-to-be-developed lithium-ion battery pack.

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Chrysler is planning to reveal three concept vehicles at the Detroit auto show that feature clean, green hybrid powertrains this January. The concepts share similar and different attributes. The electric motors in each case are driven by high-tech lithium-ion batteries. Each concept uses a different power source to charge those batteries, however.

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And the Jeep ”Renegade” is a small two-seater, four-wheel-drive that can be used off the road. It would be powered by an electric motor and lithium-ion battery linked to a small diesel engine. Chrysler envisions that it will get more than 110 miles per gallon on diesel fuel and have a long range between plug-in charges.

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Third up for a Detroit unveiling is the Jeep Renegade. SUVs are going to have to get smaller and more economical, and this is a dinky little thing: 3,885mm long, 1,598mm wide and 1,431mm high. An aluminium-bodied two-seater with a cut-down speedster-style windscreen, minimal bodywork and interior trim and a hose-clean cockpit, it’s powered by a new small-capacity Bluetec diesel engine in combination with battery pack and 85kW electric motors driving each axle.

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Most interesting of the three concepts is the Chrysler ecoVoyager. We saw the same basic packaging and powertrain on last year’s Ford Airstream concept . It’s a one-box design that crams a fuel cell and battery pack (Surprise! It’s lithium ion again!) into the floor. Because there’s no engine mounted in the nose, the passenger cabin extends in an extreme version of cab-forward design.

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GAZ, part of a group owned by Oleg Deripaska, a tycoon close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is seeking access to North American auto technology and know-how. GAZ bought a $1.54 billion stake in Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc. in May. Over the next five years, it plans to invest $1.25 billion in the United States. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm also is scheduled to meet Dolgov today to press for some of the investment, her office confirmed.

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There may be new owners in town, but the corporate shuffle isn t stopping Chrysler LLC from charging ahead with forward-thinking, environmentally friendly concepts. Using Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep as platforms, three vehicles will be unveiled at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. All three incorporate electric motors powered by advanced lithium-ion battery packs, which are supplemented by an alternative-fuel system tailored to each brand s personality.

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