In an attempt to prod some good-news reporting out of us automedia types, Chrysler LLC held a unique technology press event at its Auburn Hills Tech Center attended by not only the product development EVP Frank Klegon and several of his direct-report veeps, but also president Tom LaSorda, vice chairman Jim Press, and his boss Bob Nardelli. The hourly value of the gathered talent on this one afternoon probably would've paid for a 30-second spot on "Late Night" with Letterman, but it would've just been TiVo'd out anyway. We were introduced to and allowed to experience several announced and pending product innovations the brass assert will help keep Chrysler operating on the industry's leading edge even as the company's headcount shrinks.
During a design-dome walkaround with engineers presenting key new technologies, Bob Nardelli made a point of interjecting pointed "questions," designed to illuminate key advantages vis--vis key competitors and perhaps to let us know that he's fully transitioned from lumber-drywall-plumbing-guy to car-guy. During the pointed Q&A session that followed, he acknowledged that the redundancies removed during the integration with Daimler left some holes at Chrysler LLC, but he assured the gathered crowd that the company is restoring those deemed mission critical, while employing joint ventures (like the 2-mode Hybrid system developed with GM, which rolls out soon on the Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen), alliances, and partnerships to cover others. Battery development is an area ripe for partnership, said Frank Klegon, and one in which some intriguing non-traditional players have expressed keen interest in teaming with a private firm like Chrysler. Jim Press suggested the product lineup may still be a smidge top-heavy in the SUV realm and light on small efficient cars, and that future product planning efforts will seek to spread the limited number of nameplates Chrysler can afford to market across a broader spectrum of the market to improve overall reach.
Chrysler Innovations KBE Charger
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Dodge Charger
Knowledge-Based Engineering
The tech presentation led off with a new computer-engineering aid credited with compressing the Challenger's development time to just 21 months and allowing it to beat the Camaro to market. The proprietary software, developed in-house, is programmed with all the engineering knowledge and best-practices information gathered in previous development programs. Starting with a completely digitized Dodge Charger, the software "morphed" the chassis into a shortened two-door Challenger, redesigning every part that needed to change. The model broke the car up into 800,000 elements with about five million degrees of freedom, and then ran crash tests involving about a trillion calculations each. Each test took only a matter of hours, each iteration of the test contributed to the "knowledge base," and by the time the first prototype parts came out of the tools (made directly from computer data), the car met all crash standards. Not only that, but the assembly process was known and all the parts fit together, because the computer automatically checks the new parts for fit, welding, and assembly access, etc. Most of the aerodynamic analysis was done before the first full-size clay was available, enabling the 25-percent improvement in drag compared with the 1970 Challenger it so closely resembles. Mr. Nardelli swears KBE won't be used to further reduce engineering head-count, but clearly it allows the company to do more with less and/or do it faster.
In-Car Infotainment
Bob Nardelli says Chrysler needs to "make the vehicle your favorite room in the house." Toward that end, the first-ever application of Sirius Back-Seat TV will be augmented this fall with larger nine-inch screens (up an inch), and the rearmost one will be able to swivel to face forward so that middle-row Swivel-N-Go seat occupants can see it. Don't worry, the image shows only when the middle screen is deployed to block the driver's view of it through the rearview mirror. And if the satellite TV, DVDs, MyGig-stored videos, and game consoles fail to entertain the passengers, surely Internet connectivity will do the trick. Yes, starting this fall, Mopar will have a kit that can retrofit most any vehicle to provide 150-kilobits-per-second Internet access via 3G cellular broadband network (just like a wireless modem card for your laptop). It connects to a WiFi antenna turning your vehicle into a wireless hotspot. There will also be a USB antenna you can plug into your MyGig stereo, allowing you to beam content from your home computer or laptop to the stereo/nav system either from this new system or via your home WiFi network. The system promises to be forward compatible as 4G wireless broadband systems like WiMAX, UMB, or LTE become available. It also can allow your dealer to do remote health checkups on your car, enabling many of the services OnStar provides without the capital and labor-intensive infrastructure. And onboard wireless should free up the parking wireless mooches are taking up in front of Starbucks.
Chrysler Innovations Blind Spot Monitoring
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Blind-Spot Monitoring
Driver-Assist Systems
Blind-Spot Monitoring is nothing new, but Chrysler has taught the familiar hardware some new tricks. As with many such systems, a microwave sensor in each rear corner looks for objects 13-16 feet away off the back corners of the car, illuminating a lamp in the appropriate sideview mirror and sounding a chime only if the driver signals a lane-change in the direction of the potential hazard. The trick is called Rear Cross-Path sensing. When shifting to reverse, the sensors broaden their view to 65 feet, looking both ways as you back out of a parking space, sounding an alarm if a vehicle (or shopping cart) is moving down the aisle from either direction (traditional ultrasonic parking sensors still warn of stationary objects). Adaptive Cruise Control has launched on the Chrysler 300C, using an infrared sensor to bring the option cost down to just $595. These systems tend to be less reliable than radar ones, but at least the cruise control can still function like a standard system if the adaptive part is temporarily blinded by dirt or snow on the lens.
Efficient AWD
For 2009, the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger all-wheel-drive systems will be updated with a transfer case and front differential that can disconnect the front wheels from the drivetrain to reduce friction and rotational inertia for improved fuel economy. A traditional wet clutch on the transfer case and a simple dog clutch (a matching set of square teeth that interlock) at the front axle do the work, allowing the gearing and front propeller shaft come to rest. The transfer case clutch accelerates it again when needed. Engagement is almost instantaneous, but the system stays engaged whenever the wipers are on, the temperature is below 36 degrees F, Autostick shifting is occurring, or the stability-control system is switched off. The expected payoff is equivalent EPA fuel economy ratings for the RWD and AWD models.
Chrysler Innovations Chrylser 300 SRT8
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Chrysler 300 SRT-8 Active Damping
This system is still in development and not yet slated for production. It uses dampers similar to those used on the S-Class and high-end E-Class Mercedes models, the Maybachs, and the Porsche Cayenne in which an external expansion chamber with two solenoid pistons control jounce and rebound stiffness across a range of settings. The harshest setting we sampled is said to equate to the 2007 300 SRT-8 (which has since been softened). The softer settings improve comfort noticeably and help differentiate the Chrysler and Dodge SRT-8 models.
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