Dodge Launches All-New Boldy Styled 2005 Dodge Magnum

"The Dodge Magnum offers the right formula of proportions, packaging and performance that sets it far apart from the competition," said Craig Love, Vice President–Rear-Wheel-Drive Product Team. "With its unique profile, exceptional versatility, HEMI power and rear-wheel-drive performance, there is nothing else like it in the marketplace."

Dodge Designers Flex Creative Muscles with New Chiseled, Cut Exterior
Dodge Magnum is the first rear-wheel-drive car for the Dodge brand in nearly 20 years, and designers used this opportunity to create a vehicle image unlike what is currently offered in the marketplace.

"With a bold hood and long tapered roof line, the look is dramatic," said Ralph Gilles, Director–Small, Premium and Family Vehicle Design. "The front and rear overhangs have been minimized, which emphasizes the wheels at the corners and conveys a message of design efficiency."

Designers raised the beltline on the body, while pulling the roofline down tautly around the windows to create a new proportion of body to glass, which is usually only found on hot rods and concept vehicles. The tall bodyside is substantial and offers the driver a feeling of safety. This clean, ingot-like body is only interrupted by a set of pronounced wheel flares that contain a set of available massive 18-inch tires and wheels.

Taking a cue from the Dodge Ram truck, the prominent front grille of the Magnum features a texture of horizontal bars. The shape of the grille itself is new and signals a distinctive signature for the Dodge brand face. The headlamps are large to meet improved functional requirements, and figure prominently into the front-end design.

Dodge Magnum’s Bold Interior Features Flexibility and Functionality
Dodge Magnum blends the functional attributes of a sport-utility, the character of a sport sedan and the soul of a Viper to create a unique vehicle for Dodge.
The seating position is raised two-and-a-half inches from current Chrysler Group passenger cars for better command of the road. In addition, a spacious and flexible cargo area has been added, featuring an upper flat-load floor that expands the usable cargo area when the rear seats are folded forward. Additional storage is provided below this load floor for smaller items and in deep pockets on either side of the floor rearward of the wheels.

An unusually large cargo opening is created by hinging the top of the rear gate midway between the C- and D-pillar. This ‚extreme access‛ liftgate opens to 11.3 sq.-ft. of flexibility–enough to accommodate a box containing a 27-inch TV.

Diverse Powertrain Offering Creates Distinctly Different Models
5.7-Liter HEMI® V-8 Engine
For the ultimate in performance, the Dodge Magnum RT is equipped with a standard 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine. With 340 hp (254 kW) at 5000 rpm and 390 lb.-ft. (525 N•m) of torque at 4000 rpm, the Dodge Magnum RT can go from zero to 60 mph in just 6.3 seconds.

The new HEMI engine has been engineered to deliver outstanding performance, while also delivering minimal noise, vibration and harshness, maximum smoothness and low emissions.

The Chrysler Group’s first five-speed automatic transmission for passenger cars is standard with the 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 equipped Magnum vehicles. It provides a full range of transmission performance to match a great variety of driving styles, situations and road conditions. Fully adaptive electronic control of all shifting makes the powertrain feel responsive without harshness.

3.5-Liter SOHC High Output V-6 Engine
The Dodge Magnum SXT features a 3.5-liter SOHC V-6 engine with improved high-output performance. An all-new active three-plenum intake manifold provides high power and torque over the entire operating band. This engine provides the perfect blend of performance and economy.

This engine is mated to the 42RLE four-speed automatic transmission, a variation of the 42LE automatic transmission used on previous Chrysler Group vehicles. It was developed for the Dodge Magnum and is included with both V-6 engines on rear-wheel-drive models.

The Dodge Magnum SXT equipped with all-wheel drive features the 3.5-liter V-6 engine mated to the five-speed automatic transmission.

2.7-Liter DOHC V-6 Engine
The 2.7-liter V-6 engine has proven durable in a variety of Chrysler Group applications and has been revised to power the Dodge Magnum. The engine has been improved to produce more low-speed torque at launch and during mid-range operation for strong performance in everyday driving. The engine offers good fuel economy in a vehicle of the Dodge Magnum’s size.

This engine is mated to the 42RLE four-speed automatic transmission.

Industry-First Multiple Displacement System (MDS) Saves Fuel, While Retaining HEMI Power
Chrysler Group engineers improved fuel economy with the modern HEMI engine, but not at the expense of performance. Chrysler Group has developed and is the first to offer MDS on a modern, large-volume vehicle in North America. The MDS seamlessly alternates between smooth, high fuel economy four-cylinder mode when less power is needed and eight-cylinder mode when more power is in demand. This improves fuel efficiency up to 20 percent.

“Our MDS system is elegantly simple and completely integrated into the engine design,” said Bob Lee, Vice President—Powertrain. “Owners of the Dodge Magnum RT will receive the powerful benefit of the HEMI engine with the fuel economy that they would only expect from a smaller, less powerful engine.”

All-wheel-drive System Provides Best Passenger Car Four-season Traction
All-wheel-drive is available on the Dodge Magnum SXT and Magnum RT. The all-wheel-drive system adds a front differential and a transfer case to the rear-wheel drive configuration. The power is divided between the front and rear differentials and is transmitted to both axles at all times.

By driving continuously through all four wheels, the all-wheel-drive system provides excellent cornering balance under all driving conditions, and better traction in snow and wet weather conditions. Combined with All-speed Traction Control and ESP, performance and stability are outstanding under all traction conditions.

Chrysler Group’s five-speed automatic transmission with AutoStick®, 18-inch polished aluminum wheels and touring tires, performance disk brakes, and a 19.0 gallon fuel tank are included on all-wheel-drive models.

Dodge Magnum Offers World-class Ride and Handling with Outstanding Utility
The Dodge Magnum SE and SXT models are tuned to provide a smooth ride, while maintaining a feeling of control and confidence. Engineers focused on minimizing noise, vibration and harshness, which resulted in a smooth and quiet driving experience.

The Dodge Magnum RT offers athletic and nimble suspension characteristics tuned for greater handling performance. A well-damped ride with reduced body roll results in a precise and responsive driving experience.

State-of-the-Industry Crash Protection and Safety and Security Features
Innovative tire technology on the Dodge Magnum is a Chrysler Group safety and security first. A special sealant on the inner tire liner fills punctures up to 5 millimeters in diameter to minimize the loss of air pressure and significantly reduce the possibility of a flat tire.

Significant advancements in the technology inherent with rear-wheel drive created an opportunity to engineer the Dodge Magnum with a longer wheelbase for a safer and more balanced ride. The wider track also provides better stability, handling and traction control in a variety of surface and weather conditions.

Chrysler Group engineers used leading computer technology during the development of the Dodge Magnum similar to that used with the 2004 Chrysler Pacifica and Dodge Durango vehicles. The Dodge Magnum’s advanced restraint system encompasses the air bags, seat belts and sensors to optimize occupant protection in the event of a crash.

The Dodge Magnum is among the first Chrysler Group vehicles to offer advanced multi-stage air bags with an occupant classification system for the front passenger seat. This system measures the conditions for activation or deactivation based upon the weight of the occupant. (However, even with this advanced system designed to meet government requirements, the safest place for children is in the back seat.) The driver-side air bag works in conjunction with an energy-absorbing steering column to provide supplemental restraint in frontal impacts.

The Dodge Magnum’s front seat belts are equipped with belt pretensioners and constant force retractors. Pretensioners tighten the seat belt during the initial phase of a collision to keep the occupant in place, while constant force retractors balance the load on the upper body, reducing injuries from excessive seat belt forces.

2005 Dodge Magnum Safety and security Features

• Auto-reverse Windows: An advanced sensing system automatically reverses the window direction when it senses resistance.
  
• Advanced Multi-stage Air Bag System: Inflates with a force appropriate to the severity of the impact. Includes occupant classification system (OCS).
  
• All-speed Traction Control System: This available system enhances mobility and prevents wheel slip when accelerating on road surfaces by operating both the brakes and the Electronic Throttle Control (ETC).
  
• Anti-lock Brake System: Equipped with electronic sensors that help prevent wheel lockup, the optional ABS system offers improved steering control under extreme braking and/or slippery conditions.
  
• Body Structure: Crush zones and stiffeners engineered into the vehicle body help absorb energy, while preserving the integrity of the vehicle compartment. These reinforcements provide additional protection in an offset-type impact.
  
• Child Seat Anchor System: The Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH) system eases installation of compatible aftermarket child seats.
  
• Constant Force Retractors (CFR): The front seat belts include a mechanical device that distributes the force of a seat belt according to the load or force exerted on it. CFRs are engineered to force-limit the belt system, and gradually release the seat belt webbing in a controlled manner during a crash.
  
• Electronic Stability Program (ESP): This available feature aids the driver in maintaining vehicle directional stability, providing oversteer and understeer control to maintain vehicle behavior on road surfaces.
  
• Energy-absorbing Steering Column: Manual adjust steering column includes two hydroformed coaxial tubes that move relative to each other, which allows the column to move forward and provide more energy absorption during a crash. The power adjust steering column uses a calibrated bending element that deforms during column stroke for optimal energy management.
  
• Occupant Classification System (OCS): The OCS measures the conditions for activation or deactivation of the passenger side front air bag based upon the weight of the occupant.
  
• Pretensioners: During a collision, the impact sensors initiate the front seat belt pretensioners to immediately remove slack from the seat belts, which reduces the forward movement of the occupant’s head and torso.
  
• Self-sealing Tires: This optional tire has a special sealant on the inner liner which fills punctures up to 0.19 inches to minimize the loss of air pressure and significantly reduce the possibility of a flat tire.
  
• Supplemental Side-Curtain Air Bags: The side-curtain extends protection to all front and rear outboard passengers.

Dodge Magnum Exemplifies Chrysler Group’s Commitment to Quality
Magnum is the first Chrysler Group vehicle completely designed and engineered using the Chrysler Development System (CDS), a comprehensive, coordinated and disciplined product creation process that improves quality and speed to market, while reducing costs and encouraging innovation in new products.

CDS emphasizes systems engineering and up-front planning and design to avoid time-consuming and costly changes during the later phases of the product development cycle. With CDS, all product and process planning is completed and fully integrated before production tooling begins.

These improvements in quality are demonstrated in the seven-year/70,000-mile limited powertrain warranty on the Dodge Magnum and other Chrysler Group products.

Exterior Colors for 2005 Dodge Magnum
Inferno Red Crystal Pearl Coat, Mineral Gray Metallic, Bright Silver Metallic, Magnesium Pearl Coat, Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl Coat, Midnight Blue Pearl Coat and Cool Vanilla are the exterior colors available on the 2005 Dodge Magnum.

Manufacturing Information
Vehicle assembly takes place at the Brampton Assembly Plant in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.

The 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine is built at the Saltillo Engine Plant in Saltillo, Mexico. The 2.7-liter V-6 and 3.5-liter High Output V-6 engines are built at the Kenosha Engine Plant in Kenosha, Wis. The four-speed and five-speed transmissions are built at the Indiana Transmission Plants I and II, in Kokomo, Ind., respectively.