The 2010 Chrysler Sebring and 2010 Dodge Avenger Earn Highest Possible Safety Rating From the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

• 2010 Chrysler Sebring and 2010 Dodge Avenger named Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) 2009 Top Safety Picks
• Chrysler Group LLC demonstrates quality and safety in mid-size sedan segments

Auburn Hills, Mich. , Aug 25, 2009  - 

Chrysler Group LLC announced today that the 2010 Chrysler Sebring and 2010 Dodge Avenger have earned the 2009 Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

"We are proud to receive the highest possible ratings from IIHS for the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger," said Scott Kunselman, Senior Vice President - Engineering, Chrysler Group LLC. "These sought-after achievements highlight Chrysler's leadership in safety and security technology and occupant protection."

When it comes to safety and security, the 2010 Chrysler Sebring and 2010 Dodge Avenger employ a two-fold approach: passive features, including pre-tensioning seat belt retractors and supplemental side-curtain air bags, are combined with accident-avoidance features, including responsive steering, braking, handling and Electronic Stability Control (ESC).

"A vehicle that earns the Top Safety Pick designation provides the best overall protection in the three most common kinds of crashes," said Adrian Lund, President - Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "Top-level crash-test performance plus electronic stability control to help keep drivers out of crashes are the tough criteria needed to earn this award."

Available safety equipment on the 2010 Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger includes ESC with traction control, Brake Assist and ABS, driver and front-passenger active head restraints, front seat-mounted side airbags and advanced multi-stage front airbags. The two vehicles also are equipped with Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH) for child safety seats. The 2010 Chrysler Sebring and 2010 Dodge Avenger offer more than 30 safety and security features, including:

•  Active head restraints
• Advanced Multi-stage Air Bags
• All-speed Traction Control
• Anti-lock Brake System (ABS)
• Auto-reverse Sun Roof
• Auto-reverse Window
• BeltAlert
• Brake Assist
• Brake/Park Interlock
• Child Seat Anchor System (LATCH)
• Child-protection Rear Door Locks
• Crumple Zones
• Digressive Load-limiting Retractors
• Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
• Energy-absorbing Steering Column
• Enhanced Accident Response System (EARS)
• Height-adjustable Front Seat Belts
• HomeLink^® Universal Transceiver
• Inside Emergency Release
• Interior Head-impact Protection
• Knee Bolsters
• Remote Keyless Entry
• Remote Start
• Safety Cage Body Structure
• Seat-belt Pretensioners (both front seat belts)
• Sentry Key^® Engine Immobilizer
• Side Guard Door Beams
• Side-curtain Air Bags
• Tire-pressure Monitoring (TPM)
• Uconnect phone
• Vehicle Theft Security Alarm

• Engine and transmission choices:
  -         3.3L OHV Flex Fuel V6 with four-speed automatic
  -         4.0L SOHC V6 with six-speed automatic
• Maximum available cargo volume - 4072L (143.8 cu. ft.)
• Stow 'n Go seating and storage system - Standard third row on SE Canada Value Package; standard second and third rows on SE Stow 'n Go and SXT
• Swivel 'n Go with table and storage system - Available
• Sliding door alert system - Standard
• Power sliding doors and power liftgate - Available
• Two front and one rear 12-volt DC power accessory outlets - Standard
• Power adjustable pedals - Available
• Remote start system - Available
• Second and third row retractable window shades - Available
• Power second row windows/rear quarter vents - Available
• Stain Repel seat fabric(2) - Standard
• Automatic Oil Change Monitoring System - Standard

• Received a U.S. Government Five Star frontal and side-impact crash test rating(1)
• Received Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) highest ("good") ratings in both frontal offset and side crash worthiness tests for model year 2009
• Active head restraints for front row - Standard
• Advanced multistage driver and front passenger air bags(3) with low risk deployment - Standard
• Side-curtain air bags(3) for outboard seating positions in all three rows - Standard
• Electronic Stability Program (ESP?)(4) - Standard
• Four-wheel disc anti-lock brakes - Standard
• Remote Keyless/Illuminated Entry - Standard
• Sentry Key® anti-theft engine immobilizer - Standard
• Tire Pressure Monitoring warning lamp - Standard
• Security alarm - Available
• ParkView® Rear Backup Camera(5) - Available

• Optional load-levelling and height-control rear suspension
• Cargo Van - See separate section

The Dodge Journey Midi - hot crossover

With Chrysler now under control of Europe's Fiat, and its immediate future assured, we can relax and concentrate on the vehicles this venerable automaker has in its current stable of products.

And despite the anti-American-automaker ravings we keep seeing and hearing in various media, there are some quite nice vehicles in the Chrysler lineup, which also includes the Dodge and Jeep brands.

Among the best of this automaker's 2009 lineup is the Dodge Journey midsize crossover.

Built on a unibody chassis, the Journey - which arrived last year as an '09 model - joins the growing cadre of crossovers, a segment that is growing rapidly as consumers move away from traditional SUVs.

Crossovers are the hottest family-haulers on the market, mostly because of their fuel economy, which generally is much better than that of the truck-based SUVs that were so popular for more than a decade.

The Journey comes in three trim levels, the base SE, midlevel SXT and uplevel R/T, and prices range from $20,925 (plus $675 freight) for the SE to $29,335 for the R/T all-wheel-drive model.

Our tester was the SXT with front-wheel drive, with a base price of $23,925. With freight and options, the test vehicle rang up at $27,110, but it came with the key amenities that most consumers want.

Journey competes against such popular crossovers as the Ford Edge, Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot and Nissan Murano, but unlike the Edge and Murano, it can hold up to seven people when equipped with the third row of seating.

In that regard, it also competes to a degree against larger crossovers such as the Chevrolet Traverse and Ford Flex.

The Journey joined the compact Nitro as the second crossover model in the Dodge lineup. The Nitro essentially is a version of the second-generation Jeep Liberty, although Dodge dealers got the vehicle first as a 2007 model. The new Liberty arrived for 2008.

All three are built on unibody designs, rather than using the body-on-frame arrangement of traditional truck-based SUVs. But the Nitro has a more rugged appearance than the softer-styled Journey, and both the Nitro and Liberty have room only for five.

Dodge aimed the Journey at a broad range of consumers, from young singles and couples to families and even empty nesters, many of whom have grandchildren and occasionally need the third seat. As with most three-seat vehicles in this class, the third row is limited to two people and is best suited for children.

Five adults can sit relatively comfortably in the first two rows, although the middle seat would be better for just two on a long trip.

Cargo space abounds, including bins in the floor and under the front passenger-seat cushion. In the floor behind the front-row seats are storage bins that can hold 12 cans of beverage - on ice. They are waterproof and have latchable lids and removable, washable liners, making them essentially built-in coolers.

Among the Journey's standard safety features are front seat-mounted side air bags, roof-mounted side-curtain air bags for all three rows, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes and electronic stability control with rollover mitigation.

Options include a back-up camera and all-wheel drive. Front-wheel drive is standard and offers the best fuel economy.

The base engine is a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder, which produces 173 horsepower and 166 foot-pounds of torque. The engine also is used in the Dodge Avenger, Dodge Caliber and several other Chrysler and Jeep vehicles, and other versions of it are used in Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Kia vehicles as well.

It's connected to a four-speed automatic transmission for the North American market and is it is EPA-rated at 19 mpg city/25 highway in the Journey.

The top engine, also from the Avenger, is a 3.5-liter V-6 rated at 235 horsepower and 232 foot-pounds of torque. This engine is standard on the SXT and R/T models. It's connected to a six-speed automatic transmission. In the front-drive models, EPA ratings are 16 city/23 highway; with all-wheel drive, they drop to 15/22.

The V-6 engine, while not having as much horsepower as its key competitors, nevertheless was powerful enough for everyday driving. The four-cylinder, though, should be adequate for most uses and offers the bonus of the higher fuel economy.

All models have a smooth, carlike four-wheel independent suspension with MacPherson struts in front.

The all-wheel-drive system, which is not intended for serious off-road use, is offered only on the SXT and R/T models. The system does not have the low-range gearing necessary for extreme trail driving.

It's automatic, powering the front wheels until it detects wheel spin, then transferring some of the power to the rear wheels. Besides being valuable on slippery surfaces, the all-wheel drive also kicks in on dry pavement between 25 and 65 mph to enhance handling.

The Journey has Dodge's signature crosshair grille with the Ram's head logo. Other exterior features include quad halogen headlights. Optional are fog lights and 19-inch wheels. At the rear is a single-piece liftgate; and with the 3.5-liter engine, there are dual chrome-tipped exhaust outlets.

While the five-passenger seating arrangement is standard, and was included in our test model, the third seat is available on all trim levels. On the SXT, the third seat comes as part of the Flexible Seating Group ($995), which also adds a tilt-and-slide center seat that allows for easy access to the third row, automatic climate control and rear heating/air-conditioning controls.

The Journey's rear doors open 90 degrees for easy entry and exit, as well as for the loading of bulky cargo into the middle seat. The seats are arranged theater style so everyone has a good view forward.

With the tilt-and-slide feature, the second row of seats can move 4.7 inches front to rear to give adults more legroom or to bring kids closer to the front seats.

This was the first vehicle in the midsize crossover class to have integrated child booster seats, a $295 option that puts two of these seats in the middle row and also adds daytime running lights (although I have no idea what that has to do with the child seats).

Developed originally for the Dodge and Chrysler minivans, these boosters raise a child seated in the second row by 4 inches and are designed for children up to 4 feet 9 inches and from 48 to 85 pounds. Some states require booster seats for children of this size.

The middle seat has a 40/60 split-folding feature, and the third seat a 50/50 split. Folding the seats can expand the cargo area, and there is even an optional fold-flat front passenger seat to accommodate long items such as skis.

Cloth seats are standard on the SE model, but optional is Chrysler's new YES Essentials stain- and odor-resistant upholstery. But that fabric was standard on our SXT model. Leather upholstery is standard on the R/T.

Other standard features include Chrysler's Chill Zone, which uses the air-conditioning system to help keep four beverage cans or bottles cold in the upper level of the glove box; and an AM/FM/compact-disc audio system with six-disc changer, MP3 playback and Sirius satellite radio. There also is a jack to allow connection of an iPod or other audio device.

A navigation system is optional, along with a rear back-up camera system.

Our tester came with the Convenience Group ($695), which added a roof rack with adjustable crossbars; a cargo-area cover, cabin air filter, Bluetooth communications, special LED dash lighting, universal garage opener, leather-wrapped steering wheel and steering-wheel audio controls.

We also had a power sunroof ($795); Exterior Appearance Package ($795), which brought fog lights, 19-inch wheels, and performance steering and suspension; and Deep Water Blue Pearl Coat paint ($225).