The History Of Chrysler Pacifica

See also: Chrysler Pacifica (1999 concept vehicle)

The Chrysler Pacifica is a mid-size crossover, introduced by Chrysler and marketed from model years 2004 to 2008.

Sharing its platform with the Chrysler minivans, 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.

2007

The Pacifica's exterior was slightly restyled for 2007, including its headlights, hood, fenders, grille, front fascia and wheels. The brand new 4.0L 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.

Pacifica's offered a towing capacity of 3,500pounds (1,600kg). The CUV's were equipped with "Autostick" transaxles, Chrysler's version of a manually controlled automatic transmission and two engine choices: a 4.0 liter V6 SOHC 6-speed transmission, or 3.8 liter V6 OHV 4-speed. Other features include five-link rear suspension, self-leveling rear shock absorbers, and variable assist rack-and-pinion steering.

Safety

In 2006 the Chrysler Pacifica won an award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as the “best pick frontal”. In 2007, the Pacifica won a five star front and side crash test rating. The Pacifica received this award for being equipped with traction control, four wheel anti-lock disc brakes, all-row side curtain air bags, Electronic Stability Program, and tire pressure monitoring system[citation needed].

NHTSA is currently investigating a propensity toward engine bay fires in the 2007 Chrysler Pacifica's equipped with the 4.0-liter V6.

Features

Third row seating was optional on the Pacifica. Front row seats featured an eight-way power driver seat and four-way power passenger seat on all standard Pacificas. The Limited and Touring included a ten-way power seat for the driver. The Pacifica came with a seating preference memory system that also controlled mirrors and pedals. Seats were available with stain and odor resistant fabric on all seats and six different fabric designs.

Cargo space was 79.5 cubic feet with second and third rows are folded. All Pacifica models came with AM/ FM radio along with CD player and a seven speaker, 200-watt audio system. Limited models came with a year subscription of Sirius satellite radio, 6-disc DVD player capable of playing MP3, DVD audio, DVD video, DVD-R and DVD-RW discs, and an eight-speaker audio system. Standard models included dual-zone manual temperature control while the Limited and Touring offered automatic temperature control system. Limited and Touring models offered an available navigation system (unusually located inside the instrument cluster), along with an optional rear-view camera. A hands-free communication system was also available.

2006 - 85,243 2007 - 72,947

All editions were available in front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive models.

• Pacifica • 2004 •
• Base • 2005-2007 •
• Touring • 2005-2008 • Pacifica with more seating and interior features.
• Limited • 2005-2008 • Pacifica with extra features, including DVD, GPS and sunroof.
• Signature Series • 2005-2006 • 2008