DCX will create family of V-6s

[nadepalma]

Source: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...&rssfeed=rss01

DCX will create family of V-6s
Engines will power both Chrysler, Mercedes models
David Barkholz | Bradford Wernle | Automotive News / July 24, 2006 - 6:00 am

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Phoenix engine program highlights
-Modular engines
-Basic and high-performance applications
-Will be used in Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler vehicles
-3 plants, flexible assembly lines
-New work rules
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DaimlerChrysler AG plans to invest about $2 billion in a new global family of V-6 engines.

The "modular" engines will begin appearing at the end of the decade. The basic architecture will be shared by Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler group vehicles.

The project, known internally as Phoenix, will build the V-6s at three Chrysler engine plants in the United States: Kenosha, Wis.; Trenton, Mich.; and Toledo Machine in Ohio. Engines also will be produced at a Mercedes factory in Germany.

"We are working on a new family which can operate on a modular base," DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche said in a recent interview. The program will reduce DaimlerChrysler's V-6 engines "to one family instead of five," Zetsche said.

Chrysler spokesman Mike Aberlich said the company is still completing some "business plan issues" on the program. He said those issues should be resolved within a few months.

UAW sources say DaimlerChrysler is investing about $800 million at Trenton, $700 million at Toledo and $500 million at Kenosha -- a total of $2 billion.

One line, many engines

DaimlerChrysler intends to build the engines on flexible manufacturing lines, said a UAW source who declined to be identified.

The flexible lines will allow multiple types of V-6 engines to be made on the same line in any sequence. If one version sells faster than another, production can be stepped up with minor adjustments to tooling, instead of scrapping or underusing the multimillion-dollar machines. Most Chrysler engine lines today are dedicated to a single type of engine.

The automaker plans to offer the first Phoenix engines on 2010 models, the UAW source said. Kenosha Engine probably will make the first engines. The 800 hourly workers there approved work rule changes this summer for a chance at the program.

When production of the new engine starts, job classifications will be reduced to two at the plant. And four-day, 10-hour-a-day workweeks will be instituted.

Workers at Chrysler's Trenton Engine plant and Toledo Machine plant approved similar work rule changes. They, too, expect to produce the new engines. Toledo Machine, in Perrysburg, Ohio, is scheduled to be the last of the three to come on line in 2012, said Paul Lambrecht, a grinder at Toledo Machine who is a councilman in nearby Oregon, Ohio.

Sources say the Mercedes-Benz versions of the engines will contain more high-tech features, including variable valve timing and direct injection.

The engine family is expected to be versatile enough to accommodate everything from base engines to high-performance powertrains. The engines can be adapted to run on everything from Chrysler's front-wheel-drive minivans to rear-drive sedans such as the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum and the Mercedes-Benz C, E and S classes.

Chrysler plans to model many aspects of the program on the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance, a joint-venture plant in Dundee, Mich., that makes four-cylinder engines used in the Dodge Caliber car, Jeep Compass and Liberty. DaimlerChrysler is a partner in the Dundee plant with Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co.

The Chrysler group alone is expected to replace four V-6 engine families with the new engine. The Kenosha plant builds the single-overhead-cam 60-degree aluminum block 2.7-liter V-6 used in the Chrysler Sebring and 300 cars.

Kenosha also makes a dual-overhead-cam engine, a 3.5-liter aluminum V-6 that powers the Pacifica crossover. A new 4.0-liter version is expected to be introduced this fall in the 2007 Pacifica and Dodge Nitro SUV.

Chrysler's third V-6 engine is a single-overhead-cam iron block 3.7-liter made at the Mack Avenue plant in Detroit and used in the Dodge Dakota and Ram pickups, Durango SUV, and the Jeep Liberty, Commander and Grand Cherokee.

Trenton builds the fourth engine family: an overhead valve, iron block 3.3- and 3.8-liter V-6 used in Chrysler's minivans and Jeep Wrangler.

[jlt0x]

Interesting.

[DuSpinnst]

Sounds like DCX knows how to leverage global resources.

[DanCBJMS1988]

Good for them. Anyway, it does sound striking - Gottlieb Daimler's performance car was called the "Pheonix", in comparison to the Blitzen Benz - and this was all before the merger of the two!

[JVal14]

That should help the bottom line alot. Once their out, there will be no end to Chrysler salesmen touting the fact that the V6 in their Sebring is the same as the one in the E-class.

[Butz]

So a Chrysler engine in a Mercedes, neat!

[mkaake]

And the auto mechanics of the world rejoice for the increased service that is sure to follow...

[CountryME]

Sounds like Chrysler loses in this deal. Benz gets VVT 6 clyinders and Chrysler doesn't? I agree whole heartedly with the plan, but it seems like the General will remain one step up with DoD and VVT 6s.

[mkaresh]

The 2.7 is DOHC, while the 3.5 is SOHC. The story has it backwards. Both should have been replaced by now, along with the minivan engines. There's hardly even a point for a 2.7 in the current market.

[Ming]

I like GM's new 3.5L VVT variant of the mainstay OHV 60-degree V6, especially with the decent fuel economy and optional E-85 support - and the way they've been increasing hp output steadily these last few years since going away from the 3400 (200, 211, 224) - but I often wonder how efficient it is for GM to have so many sixes worldwide. Ones I can think of off the top of my head:

1. New 3900/3500 60-degree V6 (non-VVT 3500 dies in 2007 my)
2. Older version 60-degree V6 3400 made in China (I really hope they upgrade the plant to make the 224hp 3.5LVVT version)
3. 3800 Series III 90-degree V6 - always on the chopping block, but somehow still makes its way into "all new" vehicles.
4. 2.8L/3.6L DOHC
5. 2.5L GMDAT Inline 6 (used in Suzuki Verona, for instance, co-developed with Porsche) More torque than horsepower.
6. Opel ECOTEC 3.2 V6
7. Old 4.3LV6 truck engine that never seems to go away (an unrefined if torquey thing, wheezing away in my 2004 Safari)
8. Inline 6 in the Trailblazer family (the too-big DOHC V6 that won't fit into any other GM platforms it seems - how well was THAT planned out?)

I'm sure there are more....

I'd love it if GM could just decide on one that is a good balance of cost and performance and invest all of the money that goes into keeping those 6 lines listed above into one powerful, efficient, and easy to manufacture engine line instead.

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by DuSpinnst

Sounds like DCX knows how to leverage global resources.

In what way?
GM's had this now for... oh... 3+ years?? And they are currently expanding.

The HF line of engines started with Cadillac's 3.6L RWD/AWD application.
Then the 2.8 Turbo and the 3.2 in Alfa. Then a 3.6L FWD application. And there's the purported HF with DI coming. And the oft-rumored UltraV8, which is based on the HF.

[8>4]

6. Opel ECOTEC 3.2 V6

Why don't we get the 3.2 V6 over here?

[Michael_S]

Originally Posted by mkaresh

The 2.7 is DOHC, while the 3.5 is SOHC. The story has it backwards. Both should have been replaced by now, along with the minivan engines. There's hardly even a point for a 2.7 in the current market.

I'm curious about the 3.5 SOHC engine. In the Charger and old Intrepid, the listed horsepower and torque ratings are 250 each.

When they unveiled the 2007 Sebring, rated under the new SAE standard, the 3.5 liter engine has 235 horsepower and 232 pound feet of torque. Did they nerf the engine intentionally (if so, why? So more Accord and Camry V6 models can sell?) or was the old rating way off base?

I also agree that the 2.7 is a hard sell these days. Chrysler has a 175 horsepower 2.4 liter I4 engine. Why pay extra for 190 horsepower, barely 8% more power? I'm sure the 2.7T has a better torque curve, but it still seems like a waste to me.

[91z4me]

Originally Posted by Ming

5. 2.5L GMDAT V6 (used in Suzuki Verona, for instance, co-developed with Porsche) More torque than horsepower.

It is an I6 not V6.

6. Opel ECOTEC 3.2 V6

This is actually a version of the HF V6. The original CTS-V plan was for a TT version of this motor.

Lets also remember that the HF V6 is used in 2.8 L Turbo form in the SAAB 9-3.

[Ming]

Originally Posted by 91z4me

It is an I6 not V6.

Oops mistype. I remember it well from the advertisements of the Verona.