Chrysler Pacifica, Faurecia Honored for Lightweighting

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s Chrysler Pacifica minivan and Faurecia SA’s adaptive valve technology have won this year’s Altair Enlighten Award for lightweighting in the full vehicle and supplier categories, respectively.

The fifth-annual awards are sponsored by Troy, Mich.-based Altair Engineering Inc. in collaboration with the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Center for Automotive Research. They were presented this week during the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Mich.

The Pacifica is about 250 lbs lighter than Chrysler’s previous Town & Country minivan. The vehicles body is made from a blend of high-strength steels, aluminum and magnesium to save 168 lbs. Ultra high-strength steel also is employed in the tailor-welded-blank door structure and hydroformed load-beams. Aluminum is used in the hood and sliding doors, and the liftgate consists of an aluminum outer panel bonded to a cast-magnesium inner panel.

Faurecia's adaptive valve enables the use of smaller silencers to reduce exhaust mass by as much as 30%. The technology also reduces vibration and harshness, including canceling the low frequencies generated by cylinder deactivation, according to the developer.