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The Chrysler Town & Country Natrium, a fuel cell concept vehicle based on the popular minivan, has been recognized with a "2002 Best of What's New" Award from Popular Science magazine.
The Natrium, which made its first public test drives in the Spring of 2002, uses a unique fuel and fuel cell system to provide the hydrogen needed by the vehicle's fuel cells to produce electricity.
"Attempting to solve the eternal 'where do we get the hydrogen?' question," the magazine said in making the award, "Chrysler this year unveiled the most imaginative solution we've seen. Its Natrium minivan is powered by sodium borohydride - essentially, laundry detergent combined with hydrogen."
The hydrogen is extracted from the sodium borohydride fuel using patented "Hydrogen on Demand" technology from Millennium Cell Inc. in Eatontown, New Jersey.
The unique fuel and fuel cell system give the Natrium a range of 300 miles, comparable to a gas-powered vehicle. In addition, the fuel is nonflammable and emits no smog-forming or greenhouse gases. Sodium borohydride is available in abundant supplies in the United States, and the fuel can be recycled.
"Each of the fuels being studied for fuel cell vehicles - including gasoline, methanol and compressed hydrogen - has significant drawbacks," noted Thomas Moore, Vice President and head of the Liberty research group. "We want to explore fully this approach to fuel cell vehicles, so that when the time comes to select the best fuels, we can make informed decisions."
It should be noted that the Natrium is based on research by Chrysler's own Liberty group, which started the program before the takeover, though the company's press materials refer to it as a DaimlerChrysler achievement.
The Mound Road plant closing will end production of the 8-liter V-10 used in trucks, as well as the 5.9 liter V8. However, Viper V-10 production is currently at the Conner Road plant. Note that overall, no jobs should be lost by the Mound Road plant closing, as production has shifted to the Mack Ave. plant instead. This may be on reason why the Hemi will be available in all Dodge Rams - because the 5.9 will not be made past next month.
[Perspective] Overall, it's hard to argue with this decision. The Hemi is reportedly cheaper to build than the 5.9 - and, last we heard, cheaper than the 4.7. The 5.9 gets lower gas mileage and has less power than the Hemi. It simply makes sense to concentrate production in one place. Though the loss of the V-10 will eliminate some prestige points from the small number of people who buy V-10 equipped Rams, the 6.1 Hemi will cost Chrysler far less to build (so the option will be cheaper, presumably) and should easily outdo the V-10 in gas mileage, and probably power, as well.
Pete Hagenbuch wrote: "Have you heard about the Hemi Exhibition at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum this winter? History of the Hemi at Chrysler starting with the XIV-2220 inverted V-16 aero engine thru the 50s and 60s all the way to the Hemi Magnum truck engine for 2003. Cunninghams, Dual-Ghia, Facel Vega, Allard, Indy pace cars, the Saratoga that won the Carrera Panamericana, Swamp Rat, Hemi Under Glass, Lil Red Truck, and Silver Bullet, to name just a few.
Consumer Reports' latest reliability survey (see critique here) did not rate a single Mercedes model as having acceptable quality, according to a Detroit News summary. The Jaguar S and X type were among the least reliable vehicles, according to the survey. The rating which will probably have the most disastrous effect for Chrysler is the placement of its minivans on the "not recommended" list due to below-average quality - even though complaints to NHTSA show the Caravan and its kin as being far better than the Honda Odyssey, which was recommended. This may be because most of the complaints about the minivans in CR had to do with "power equipment, electrical systems, air conditioning, body integrity and brakes." A Chrysler spokesman said that warranty reports showed no decline in quality.
We will have more information later - stay tuned. Last year, the PT Cruiser was the third-highest rated small car, after the Toyota Echo and Toyota Corolla/Prizm, easily beating the Honda Civic.
The Mound Road engine plant, purchased from Briggs Manufacturing in 1953, will close down in late 2002. At that time, production of the current 5.9 liter V-8 and, according to Detroit News, the 8-liter truck V-10, will cease at that time, with the engines replaced by the Hemi. The 5.9, 3.9, and V-10 are based on the LA series, which stretches back over 40 years and included the popular 318/5.2 liter engine which was a staple in passenger cars and trucks for decades. The V-10 will presumably be replaced by the 6.1 liter Hemi in truck use. (Thanks, Doug Hetrick)
The Canadian singer will get over $10 million to represent Chrysler over the next several years. Click here for discussion.
Chrysler is recalling about half a million 1996-1998 minivans and providing a partial lifetime warranty on 1.3 million more due to clocksprings which may have been installed off-center. This would cause the airbag warning light to come on, and the airbag, horn, or cruise control to stop working. About 164 people told NHTSA about the problem, and two people said it caused injuries because they were in a crash and the airbag did not work. Chrysler said, though, that one of those injuries involved a person who had seen the warning light on months earlier, but ignored it - and the other injury was unrelated. Announcement letters will be sent over the next month.
Mopar today announced a new focus on renewing passion among existing customers while finding new markets for emerging vehicle categories. Christine Cortez, Senior Vice President - Global Service and Parts, said, "One of the ways is through the Mopar Speedshop. Creating a Mopar Speedshop in every retail store gives dealers an enthusiast connection with customers. It's the idea of a store within a store; a boutique. We see the Speedshop as an interactive hangout for car nuts."
A SEMA Show exhibitor since 1976 -- the longest running of any OEM brand -- Mopar has been the Chrysler Group's parts brand since 1937. As part of Chrysler Group's Manufacturer of Show presence, Mopar placed products and displays throughout the SEMA Show and unveiled a number of new parts.
"We've just begun to unleash a stream of great new products," said Kevin Miller, Senior Manager - Mopar Performance and Brand Marketing. "We're dialing up the excitement for new Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles such as SRT-4 and PT Turbo by creating a stock of parts and a selection of accessories to support and personalize every single one."
Mopar Performance Parts announced plans for a complete line of Dodge SRT-4 parts including Stage I, II and III Turbo upgrade kits, coilover suspensions, annodized engine parts and performance seating.
Mopar Accessories unveiled new appearance products at SEMA including body accent kits, "Euro-style" taillamps, aggressive audio upgrades, PT Chrome packages, PT Cruiser "baby moon" wheels and a new satellite navigation system.
Mopar can trace its roots to 1937, when the brand was born by combining the words MOtor and PARts. Mopar Parts has developed and sold parts for some of the most legendary names in American history, including Chrysler, Plymouth, DeSoto, Jeep and Dodge.
The Center for Auto Safety announced its annual "lemon list" of cars with the largest number of complaints on file with the National Traffic and Highway Safety Administration. The following number is an index which adjusts the number of complaints for actual vehicle sales, so that the best sellers aren't penalized and the slow sellers allowed to get away. This list goes from worst to less-bad, so that the vehicle with the most complaints (adjusted for sales volume) is the Japanese Mazda MPV. Note Ford's representation with three of the top five - and that three minivans are on the list, but none are made by Chrysler! (The "lemon list" minivans are the Ford Windstar, Honda Odyssey, and Mazda MPV.) Indeed, Chrysler has done very well overall, with only two vehicles near the bottom of the list - both slated for replacement in the near future. None of Chrysler's new vehicles are represented.
No less than five Fords are on the list, including Lincoln/Mercury - but not including Land Rover. Honda has three vehicles but to be fair, they only actually make one of them. (Still, you can use the Odyssey's placement as justification for sticking with Dodge minivans.) Notable also is Hyundai and Kia's relatively low representation, with only one model from each maker on the list - a better showing than Honda. (Toyota had a single truck.)
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