Only 18 months after the Chrysler Group began production of its new Pentastar V6 at its Trenton Engine Assembly Plant in Michigan, the company hit its first important milestone with the manufacturing of the one-millionth unit. The V6 is also produced at Chrysler’s plant in Saltillo, Mexico.
The Detroit firm’s all-aluminum 3.6-liter V6 engine made its debut on the 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee but has since found its way under the hood of many more models.
These include the Chrysler 200, 300 and Town and Country, plus the Dodge Avenger, Challenger, Charger, Durango, Journey and Caravan, and more recently the 2012 Jeep Wrangler.
“To build one million of anything, and in an impressively short amount of time, is a significant achievement. But to do it with such a high degree of quality is a testament to our skilled and dedicated workforce at both Trenton South and Saltillo engine plants,” said Brian Harlow, head of Chrysler’s Powertrain Manufacturing division.
Over the past year and a half, the 3.6-liter unit has replaced six legacy V6 engines ranging from 2.7-liter up to 4.0-liters in the Chrysler Group LLC product portfolio. It is offered with the Chrysler Group’s new 8-speed automatic transmission.
Compared to its predecessors, it’s not only more powerful and fuel efficient but also less complicated in its construction as the engine components were reduced from 189 parts to just 32.
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