CARS ARE BACK! Tech Preview of the 2005 Domestics

Motor, Nov 2004 by Weissler, Paul

All three engines come with "generic" powertrain computers that if replaced are supplied blank. They must he programmed before use, and that means a Pass-Thru device (meeting SAE J2534) that connects to your shop PC. The software is available on the Chrysler www.techauthority.com website under "FLASH." There are two powertrain computers-one for the two V6s and one for the Hemi V8 (not the same computer as used in other Hemi applications).

The engine compartment has to accommodate the big V8, so you won't find the battery under the hood. It's in the trunk on the 300, in a rear storage area on the Magnum wagon.

The suspension for both vehicles is a Mercedes design. The front has a tall knuckle with a high-mount A-type upper arm, a shock absorber with a tophalf coil spring and two parallel lower arms that connect to the bottom of the knuckle with separate ball joints. The AWD front suspension design is similar, but the members are reshaped to provide clearance for the axle shafts. The rear suspension is a five-link design with coil springs mounted to an isolated cradle. Most 300 and Magnum models are equipped with yaw-sensing electronic stability control.

The underbody has seven plastic aero covers, which reduce drag and (in front) direct airflow for brake cooling. The muffler is a semisaddlebags shape, to provide a cooling airflow path up to the rear ade banjo. A replacement muffler would have to be the same shape to provide adequate cooling.

The Chrysler minivans' "stow & go" system allows both second- and third-row seats to fold into the floor, producing a flat floor from the rear of the front seats to the liftgate. Building wells into the floorpan, however, raises the issue of "oil canning" (drumming) noises. To maintain silence, Chrysler has made extensive use of so-called Quiet Steel, a steel sandwich containing a fiber isolation pad, plus mastic patches and foam blocks or injected foam into body cavities. "Stow & go" was considered such an important feature for the minivan market that Chrysler dropped the AWD option; it just couldn't package AWD with the deep floor wells needed for the seats to fold down. If a customer really wants AWD, Chrysler will be happy to sell him a Pacifica.

The Chrysler Pacifica has had sales troubles, so for 2005 there's an entry-level model at a lower price. How can you identify it? Well, it won't be equipped with AWD and it won't have the 3.5L OHC V6, which wasn't exactly a stormin' stocker in this not-so-light vehicle. Instead, you'll find the 3.8L pushrod V6 used in the minivans. It develops just 210 hp (vs. 250), but only 10 ft.-lbs. less torque (240 vs. 250), so there's probably not much difference. Also, the pushrod is a lower-cost engine.

General Motors

From the GM camp, the Cadillac Seville is gone, hut the STS (which had been the top model in the line) is a nameplate of its own for 2005. The STS is the latest model on the GM Sigma rear-drive/AWD platform, joining the CTS and SRX. It's also the biggest, at 196 in. long. That leaves the Sedan DeVille as Cadillacs only remaining front-drive car.