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detroitnews Millionth Pentastar V-6 celebrates engine of Chrysler's revival
Chrysler Group LLC's recovery has been powered by a lot of things.
The Auburn Hills carmaker's new leadership has taken advantage of bankruptcy restructuring, recast its entire lineup and last week even introduced a competitive small car that will top 40 mpg.
But today, Chrysler workers at the Trenton Engine Plant will piece together the real muscle behind the carmaker's recovery. They will assemble the 1 millionth 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine.
Powertrains often get the short end of the respect stick when
it comes to praise for a vehicle. Everyone loves to talk about posh interiors and artistic exteriors, but
it's the powertrain that gets a car from point A to point B.
It's the powertrain that ultimately determines the vehicle's fuel economy.
It's the powertrain that makes people scream with joy.
And the two-year-old Pentastar V-6 is a remarkable hunk of metal that has had Chrysler screaming with joy all the way to the bank.
It's easier to list the vehicles the Pentastar V-6 is not in (there are six) than the vehicles that have
it under their hoods (13). Big sedans such as the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger both come with the Pentastar blasting out nearly 300 horsepower and an eight-speed automatic transmission that lets these big wheels get better than 30 mpg.
Incredible.
But smaller vehicles such as the company's Dodge Avenger and the Jeep Wrangler now come with the Pentastar as well, providing significantly more refined power. (Chrysler engineers had to move a couple of pieces around on the Pentastar for the Wrangler to make
it able to go through deep water, but
it's still the same engine.)
Of course, the Pentastar powers both minivans, the Dodge Caravan and the Chrysler Town & Country, with fluid torque that keeps these offerings at the top of their class.
Even the award-winning Jeep Grand Cherokee uses the Pentastar V-6.
Don't be surprised when Ram announces the Pentastar is under the hood of its pickups;
it only makes sense. The engine provides lots of muscle,
it's fuel efficient, and six-cylinder pickups are back in vogue.
The Pentastar is everywhere, and people have noticed.
For the past two years, the Pentastar V-6 has been named one of Ward's Automotive Group's 10 Best Engines, a highly coveted title.
More importantly, the Pentastar replaces seven six-cylinder engines that Chrysler used to put into different vehicles. That's seven different engines that require different tools, different parts and different people to put them together.
It's easy to see how that many different engines, all created to do basically the same thing, could be a drain on a company's resources.
Using one instead of seven shows how far Chrysler has come in planning future vehicles, creating common components and sticking to a plan that requires great vehicles and great powertrains.
And the respect this engine should get is remarkable.
It even makes the Chrysler 200 more fun to drive.
But
it also pumps out an incredible amount of power, up to 305 horsepower, as found on the Dodge Challenger, something that not that long ago was unimaginable for a naturally aspirated V-6.
Engines might never grab the glory that so many other parts of a vehicle seem to catch. But today, with the making of the 1 millionth V-6, the Pentastar deserves a little of the spotlight. Drive on.
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