2003

Chrysler Pacifica is First Produced

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The Chrysler Pacifica is a mid-size crossover, introduced by Chrysler and marketed from model years 2004 to 2008.
The CUV was inspired by the 1999 Chrysler Pacifica and 2000 Chrysler Citadel concept cars.
Chrysler marketed the Pacifica as a “sports-tourer," building the vehicle at the Windsor Assembly Plant, alongside the long-wheelbase minivans from early 2003 through November, 2007.
Notably, the Pacifica was the first jointly engineered product of the 1998 Chrysler-DaimlerBenz "merger of equals." Chrysler developed the vehicle in 30 months at a cost below $1 billion.

2004
Initially, the vehicle came in just one trim level, dubbed Pacifica.

2005 and 2006
The 2005 Pacifica offered four trim levels: Base, Touring, Limited, and the limited-version Signature Series.
The interior was also slightly restyled. Faux wood trim came standard in Pacifica Touring and Limiteds, while the base-model "Pacifica" (Later Pacifica LX), offered interior colored plastic trim. Signature Series models had metal clad interior trim and two-tone leather seats.

2007

The Pacifica's exterior was slightly restyled for 2007, including its headlights, hood, fenders, grille, front fascia and wheels. The brand new 4.0 L SOHC V6 engine was added, to complement the standard 3.8 L EGH V6. With the addition of the new engine and transmission, Dual Exhaust was added. New options included a rearview camera incorporated into the navigation system, YES Essentials (stain, odor, and static-resistant) seat fabric and new wheel options.

2008 (discontinuation)
Chrysler announced on November 1, 2007 discontinuation of the Pacifica, producing the last Pacifica that same month.
Notably, Dodge almost concurrently introduced the Journey, a CUV sharing an identical wheelbase to the out-going short wheelbase Chrysler minivans.

The Pacifica was the first jointly engineered product of the 1998 Chrysler-DaimlerBenz "merger of equals." Chrysler developed the vehicle in 30 months at a cost below $1 billion. DaimlerChrysler heavily touted the Pacifica as the next "big thing" in the fledging crossover market, forecasting sales of 100,000 per year. These estimations proved to be wildly optimistic, as sales never came close to expectations. There was stiff competition from similar vehicles, like the Infiniti FX, Nissan Murano, and Lexus RX330; the RX was the volume leader and widely considered the benchmark for the class. The initial production was plagued by quality flaws and glitches, giving the nameplate a poor reputation from the onset.
A three year, multi-million dollar contract was signed with singer Celine Dion in 2003, with advertisements designed to reposition Chrysler as a premium marque. However, the promotional campaign was widely considered a flop and so DaimlerChrysler ended it just one year later.
The Pacifica was designed to combine the convenience of a minivan, the elevated position of an SUV, and the handling of a sedan. Some unnecessary and expensive features were added, such as a navigation system and a load-levelling suspension. Compared to traditional (non-crossover) luxury SUVs such the Lincoln Navigator, the Pacifica had less heavy cargo-hauling capacity but otherwise it was superior in handling, comfort, interior, and amenities. However, the Pacifica was generally considered inferior to the Chrysler Town & Country minivan, for that class of vehicle. Despite the Mercedes-like interior and other Mercedes-derived technologies, however, the Pacifica may have been overpriced for its marque, as general public perception did not consider Chrysler a luxury brand like that of Lincoln, Lexus, and Mercedes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Pacifica

Source/Attribution

Wikipedia

Added Wed, Jan 20 2010 at 4:36PM UTC by

Kevin Rogers

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