Chrysler Announces New Engines

Chrysler won’t have a significant new model on the streets until the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee hits dealers this summer. The company in the meantime is releasing a slew of special editions of its current models – we’ll have more on them later today – as well as news on what will power future releases.

Leading the charge is a new four-cylinder engine borrowed from Fiat. While the 100-horespower, 1.4-liter engine packs variable valve timing to increase efficiency and a turbo version puts out 170 hp and 170 pounds-feet of torque, we’re a bit shocked at what Fiat calls the engine. The company is not only importing the technology but the name as well: Fully Integrated Robotized Engine, or FIRE.

Seriously. They call it FIRE. In a country where drivers traditionally don’t like to associate flames with their cars’ engines, we’re unsure why it was included in any U.S. press or marketing materials.

The FIRE engines will see their first duty in the Fiat 500 when it goes on sale late this year.

A larger four-cylinder engine called the World Gas Engine, or WGE – it may sound boring, but at least it doesn’t conjure images of exploding cars – will likely be found under the hoods of the company’s midsize cars like the Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring. The 190 hp, 2.4-liter engine makes 175 pounds-feet of torque and should get better fuel economy than the current offerings in those cars, which have a combined  24 mpg.

An all-new V-6 engine will see action in the company’s large sedans like the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Challenger and SUVs like the 2011 Grand Cherokee, which is the first model to officially be attached to it. It’s a 280-hp, 3.6-liter engine that makes 260 pounds-feet of torque, and the company says it will get 11% better fuel economy over the engine it replaces. In the Grand Cherokee, that’s currently a combined 18 mpg.