When the discussion turns to the U.S. government`s decision to relax federal fuel economy laws, the folks at Chrysler Corp. fume.
Of the Big Three, only Chrysler met the federal corporate average fuel economy laws for 1986 that called for each automaker to obtain 27.5 miles per gallon from its fleet of cars. The law was rolled back to 26 m.p.g. for General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co.
What irks Chrysler is that it was spending money on smaller cars and ways to obtain more four cylinder engines to meet the law, and GM and Ford were beefing up their power plants.
Chrysler has smaller cars and high mileage four cylinder engines, but to get the same performance as GM and Ford from their sixes and eights, Chrysler has had to import Mitsubishi engines and add costly turbochargers to its fours.
Word comes now that Chrysler is developing a V-6 engine that would reduce reliance on its Japanese partner Mitsubishi for engines, satisfy critics who say the automaker`s power plants are a few horses shy of running with the competition and do away with the need for turbochargers to boost its fours.
Chrysler has capacity at its Trenton (Mich.) engine plant to build 1.2 million engines annually, only a fraction more than the number of cars it sold in the 1985 model year. However, because Chrysler also sells vans and pickup trucks, it had to rely on its agreement with Mitsubishi to supply it with 2.6- liter 4 cylinder engines to satisfy all vehicle orders.
One criticism is that Chrysler`s engine lineup lacks the variety and performance of GM and Ford offerings. The criticism is that its 2.2-liter 4 has ample power for a subcompact Omni, but comes up short when moving a Chrysler New Yorker. To help solve that problem, Chrysler began building a 2.5-liter 4 cylinder for 1986 to complement its 2.2-liter 4
According to Jack Withrow, vice president of engineering for Chrysler, 400,000 of the 1.2 million engines to be built at Trenton will be 2.5s and the remaining 800,000 will be 2.2s–this year. Based on demand, that ratio can be changed and the betting is that it will be a turnaround, with two 2.5s being built to each 2.2, within a year.
Building more 2.5s partially solves the problem of needing more powerful engines. But, critics point out, it would be nice if Chrysler also built more of its engines and didn`t have to rely as much on Mitsubishi.
Buying an engine is a lot cheaper than developing and building one. When car sales decline, you buy fewer engines and aren`t stuck having to slow down or shut down your line.
But having your own engine has advantages: complete say over the size to meet your needs; more say in quality control, from design to manufacture; and perhaps most important, the psychological factor for the consumer who knows it`s a lot easier to get replacement and repair parts for a homegrown product than an import.
”We are working on developing our own V-6 engine, but it`s a few years off,” Withrow said in an interview. ”We`ll use a Mitsubishi V-6 next year, but we intend to have our own.”
In `87 Chrysler, will purchase a 3-liter V-6 from Mitsubishi and stop using the Mitsubishi 2.6-liter limited to Chrysler mini-vans. Chrysler will purchase 400,000 3-liter V-6s from Mitsubishi beginning in the `87 model year, said Withrow.
Why the long wait for a Chrysler built V-6? Withrow points out that though profitable now, Chrysler was on the verge of bankrupcty only a few years ago when engine decisions for the late `80s had to be made. And Chrysler still carries the ”No. 3” title.
”It`s a matter of priorities, where you put your money and time,” as well as research and development money, said Withrow. ”You only have so much money and so much time to spend on a new engine,” he said, which is one reason the V-6 obviously will be an offshoot of the 2.5-liter 4. That also explains why Chrysler had to bring out and perfect the 2.5 before it could start work on the V-6.
”We will make as many parts common between our 4 and our V-6, but at the same time we want a high-tech V-6,” Withrow said.
Until Chrysler`s V-6 is ready, ”the 3-liter V-6 from Mitsubishi will take the place of the 2.6,” he said. ”The 2.2 will replace the 1.6 in Omni/ Horizon. Our Plan B strategy in 1987 is that you`ll see more 2.5s in vans, 2.2s in small cars. The 2.5 will be the base engine in larger cars and premium small cars.”
The 2.5, Withrow said, is a response to charges that the 2.2 is underpowered in some of Chrysler`s larger cars and vans unless offered with a costly turbocharger.
Chrysler boasts that it sells more turbo cars than any other domestic producer. The inference is that Chrysler offers such an array of sporty cars, the turbo is a natural companion and in demand by buyers. But, so many turbos means an automaker`s engines don`t have the power needed and have to rely on the turbo crutch.
”The turbo is an asset to our line and creates a performance image,”
Withrow said. ”We`ve given the turbo a good name.”
However, he said: ”The 2.5 and later the 3-liter V-6 without turbo are here to stay. And we`ll have fewer turbos and more 2.5 and V-6 engines in future cars.”
It`s obvious the industry is moving away from turbos and toward high performance 16- and 24-valve engines that provide the same or greater power without the turbo.
Chrysler is developing a 16-valve 4 cylinder engine with Lotus of England.
”That engine is on schedule, and we`ll have it within a couple of years,” Withrow said, adding with a smile: ”If we decide to come out with a 16-valve engine, of course we`ll need four-wheel drive to keep that car from flying off the pavement. But we`ll worry about the 16-valve before four-wheel drive.”
Withrow`s eyes began to glaze when he added: ”A turbocharged 16-valve version of our 2.5 goes rather good.”
One such engine was run in the prototype of the two seater Q-coupe built with Maserati for `87.
”The 2.5 with turbo in that car blows your socks off,” Withrow said.
GM CHANGES MADE
Do most General Motors Corp. cars look alike to you?
Well, they look alike to the folks at GM, too.
That`s why Oldsmobile, Chevrolet and Pontiac unveiled old cars with a new look at the Chicago Auto Show, which opened this weekend and runs through Feb. 16 in McCormick Place.
(Yes, this time we mean it, the show is on and the first of two special auto show sections appears Sunday and the second on Thursday with details on the show and the auto industry.)
Olds brought out the Ciera S and SL coupes. The S stands for slantback or slopeback, choose your own. It means that the roofline has been changed so the midsize, front-drive A-body Ciera doesn`t look as much like the A-body Chevy Celebrity, Buick Century or Pontiac 6000.
Very simply, at the point where the rear window meets the roof, there is a slant to the glass rather than the more formal stand-up or notchback styling on all other Cieras.
At Pontiac, the new car is the Grand Prix 2-plus-2. Again, rather than a notchback roof on the coupe, there`s a rounded, large glass deck. At Chevrolet, the Monte Carlo got the large and sloping rear glass window on the Monte Carlo Aero.
You might think GM took the easy, least expensive way out, in putting some individuality in its cars. It did. At least the gesture shows GM is aware of the look-alike tag. And it means more will come.
There are other reasons for the sudden styling departure in that trio of cars. It`s more than coincidence that GM has adopted the rounded, sloping look shortly after Ford brought out its new aerostyled Taurus and Sable, which are selling so well that first quarter production is sold out.
And with more of the so-called aero look coming in 1987 on the L-body Corsica and Baretta from Chevy and even greater use of it in 1988 on the front-wheel-drive W-body replacements for the Grand Prix, Cutlass Supreme and Buick Regal, GM is conditioning the public to its change from the familiar wedge shape.
By the way, with the addition of the new Grand Prix styling treatment, the 2-plus-2 starts at $17,800, roughly $7,000 more than the Grand Prix LE. And the Monte Carlo aero starts at $13,751, or about $1,300 more than the SS coupe. If you`re looking for investment possibilities, it would appear the future is in rounded glass.
NOTES
Volkswagen has been making a sales comeback of sorts in the U.S., not so much from its U.S.-made subcompact Golf as from the popularity of its imports from Germany. Now comes the new sporty Scirocco from overseas, and VW`s fortunes could keep rising. The Scirocco, on display at the auto show, features a 16-valve version of VW`s 1.8-liter 4 cylinder fuel injected engine that delivers 120 horsepower, claims zero-to-60 miles an hour in 8.4 seconds, and a top speed of 123 m.p.h. The car arrives in the U.S. in May.
Mazda has come up with its first turbocharged rotary engine RX-7 sports car. With the turbo boost, it develops 182 horsepower, claims zero-to-60 m.p.h. in 6.7 seconds and top speed of 140 m.p.h. With the added power, Mazda has added firmer shock absorbers and Goodyear Eagle VR Gatorback unidirectional steel belted tires as standard on the turbo model. . . . Ford has priced its mid-year two-seater EXP at $7,186 for the base model, $8,235 for the sport coupe. Both are powered by the 1.9-liter 4 cylinder engine used in the Escort GT. Both offer a 5-speed manual, but only the base version also offers optional automatic.
