Chrysler to build engine plant south of the border
Come 2009, Chrysler's "Phoenix" V6 will begin to be built in Derramadero, Mexico, as the automaker seeks to increase the availability of more fuel-efficient engines. The plant, located near the automaker's Dodge Ram factory, will employ 485 workers, churn out 440,000 units each year and will cost $570 million to build.Since Chrysler intends to outfit 20 new models with the aluminum block V6 in the next three years, the new plant in Mexico will work alongside the new Trenton plant, which the automaker broke ground on last month.
[Source: Detroit News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
L.I. Dave 8:47AM (6/03/2007)
Great idea Chrysler.
When ever I see Mexico or some South American country listed in the assembly portion of a cars window sticker I walk away. To me it just screams "we cut corners".
VW moved their plants to mexico and look what happened. In the 90's you saw vee dubs everywhere, now the Jetta and Volkswagen are just nostalgic memories of a decade past.
Leave the unskilled untrained workers to pick fruit and build McMansions that fall apart a few years later. Keep them away from my vehicle.
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BoZs13 8:01AM (6/02/2007)
Great idea Chrysler.
When ever I see the United States listed in the assembly portion of a cars window sticker I walk away. To me it just screams "we cut corners".
Kumar 8:05AM (6/02/2007)
ok, we get it, you're a union or ex-union auto worker.
You're also apparently a moron, thinking that Mexicans can only pick fruit and undercut the old school home construction good old boy hierarchy.
VW jacked their own selves up, as just about every manufacturer did in the 90s trying to beat each other in the tech race.
The question you should be asking chrysler is this: Where are the diesels? (and not just 1 bluetec for the high end) It's great they're thinking of more efficiency, but even VW has a sweet diesel or two on the way, not to mention the FSI that seems to be everywhere but in the US.
Most of the problems that you probably contribute to 'cheap labor' is coming from outsources parts, since manufacturers stopped making everything in house long ago. I wonder where those VW window motors were made (anyone, US? Canada? not sure)
Just bring the diesels...mmmm.....ulsd fueled diesel engines.
btw- I drive a subie built in my home state in a plant that now makes camrys too. (though only 55% of the parts are from the US)
niguels 9:36AM (6/02/2007)
Just as an information, the assembly of engines is not that manual anymore. I am an engineer working for a Chrysler's supplier and I have had the opportunity to visit the engines plant in Saltillo (Mexico). What I saw while being there was that most of the assembly of the V6s and hemi V8s is done by robots. Sure there were people around, but they were either controlling the robots or verifying quality, and neither task looks low-skilled, and people here in the US seems to be happy with the quality of their hemi engines. I almost forgot, the Turbo 4-Cyl of the Neon SRT is also manufactured at the same plant.
FmhR 8:01AM (6/02/2007)
@ Damon Lavrinc:
It should read "Hecho en Mexico".
@ Dave:
You are just so ignorant.
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pointsNplugs 8:35AM (6/02/2007)
Just another example that shows NAFTA is working...for Mexico!
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Barney 11:57AM (6/02/2007)
"Just another example that shows NAFTA is working"
Canada,Mexico and the USA will be soon part of the NAU. It's the USA that is pushing for it and for this particular reason. Cheap minerals and oil from Canada and cheap labour from Mexico. It's the big corporations that will benefit and we will be told, it will be for our benefit.
That One Person 9:38AM (6/02/2007)
While I do hate seeing manufacturing jobs being sent south or east or west or wherever, I have to admit this is a decent move....at least until the UAW gets it's crap together or gets thrown out on it's butt.
The Mexicans build nice vehicles. The Fusion is well built. My dad's 2000 Focus was built in Mexico and was rattle free. Unlike his 2002 Focus wagon which was built down the road in Wayne, MI...talk about a rattle trap. They werent big ones...just a million little ones. And the Ram's that are built in Mexico always seem to be built just a little better.
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pointsNplugs 11:28AM (6/02/2007)
Just a follow-up about the UAW. The UAW is certainly part of the problem. However, the upper management of the "Big 3" (or is that now the big 2.3?) allowed the situation with the UAW to become what it is today.
I'm currently reading Lee Iacocca's book "Where Have All The Leaders Gone?". He presents some very compelling ideas on what it is going to take to get the US automobile industry to be competitive in the global economy. And yes, the UAW, a part of the problem, can also be part of the solution.
Gardiner Westbound 11:21AM (6/02/2007)
The outsourcing of good jobs to foreign countries is the inevitable consequence of high-priced domestic union labor.
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TheChaz 11:59AM (6/02/2007)
Ultimately, we live in a globalized society - at least in an economic sense. This benefits the owners of capital and almost no one else. US (indeed, all) auto makers have to take advantage of this if they're to compete. It's free market capitalism at it's finest.
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the friendly grizzly 12:22PM (6/02/2007)
Ahh, yes. Blame the Mexicans for defective German engineering. Mexicans did not engineer coil packs that overheat, half-shafts that go boinggg in 22K miles, or an electrical system that goes batshit if you remove the factory radio. Nope. The GERRRMANS did. The Meistervolk. Those paragons of superior engineering.
The Mexican-assembled vehicles I have seen have all been very well to flawlessly assembled, excellent paintwork, and no rattles. Mexican-built Chrysler AA-body cars were consistently better-finished than the ones out of the US factory. 3-serial Buicks, it's the same thing. Someone made mention of the Fusion: they have, from what I have seen, very VERY good build quality.
Don't go blaming the labor for the shortcomings of defective engineering and inferior materials quality. If you want crap, Mexicans will build you all the crap you want. You want quality and give them quality to work with, you GET quality.
And for the record, I am not a) Mexican and b) do NOT support the amnesty bill. I am just calling it like I see it.
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Nahum Lopez 1:51PM (6/02/2007)
So this new plant means that Nemak will have to increase their production in all the mexican plant.
(The chrysler V6 heads and blocks are made in Mexico)
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Aaron 2:03PM (6/02/2007)
As stated a second plant with the first one being in the US. Their recently announced axle plant is in the US as well which was awesome news.
I'd rather see NA become stronger with a higher production base than continue the surge of imports (not seen since the 80s).
Hell I'm Canadian, and any increases production here, in Mexico, or the US is music to my ears.
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Frank 6:41PM (6/03/2007)
That One Person @ Jun 2nd 2007 9:38AM
While I do hate seeing manufacturing jobs being sent south or east or west or wherever, I have to admit this is a decent move....at least until the UAW gets it's crap together or gets thrown out on it's butt.
The Mexicans build nice vehicles. The Fusion is well built. My dad's 2000 Focus was built in Mexico and was rattle free. Unlike his 2002 Focus wagon which was built down the road in Wayne, MI...talk about a rattle trap. They werent big ones...just a million little ones. And the Ram's that are built in Mexico always seem to be built just a little better.
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It's not as bad as you think. The Phoenix engine project is huge. They are not only going to create a family of V6 engines for Chrysler (probably 3 different displacements, minimum) but for Mercedes as well. Expect to see the Merc engines with different heads/cams etc. so they can say the engines are their own. I hope you Merc fans aren't too disappointed. By the way you know the 1st gen MINI engine is a Chrylser design don't ya?
Anyway this is going to produce so many motors they will need 2 plants - so the new one in Trenton MI and the one in Mexico. They have already broke ground on a new axel plant in MI so they are not giving up on the US. And Canada will make the next gen 300 and Charger in a state of the art flex manufacturing plant that will also make the Challenger, probably the Magnum, and possibly the new Imperial, if they decide to make it. Already the "world engine" is made at a new factory in MI. This 4 cylinder design is shared with Hyundai and Mitsubishi. They are not abandoning the US or Canada.
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