Stellantis Media Site Sound Of Quality: New 2005 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan Will Offer Most Refined Driving Experience                                                Contact:                                                                                                                                                Sound Of Quality: New 2005 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan Will Offer Most Refined Driving Experience                                                                                         Chrysler Group invests $40 million in order to make quietest minivan even quieter   Interior is more than 16 percent quieter     For 2005 Chrysler and Dodge minivans, Chrysler Group engineers further improved refinement levels in order to enhance the driving experience and communicate overall vehicle quality.  One important measure of refinement is in the area of noise, vibration and harshness.  “Reducing noise, vibration and harshness is critical to any new vehicle launch,” said Mike Donoughe, Vice President, Family Vehicle Product Team. “But it’s especially critical for the minivan, a special space where family communication and bonding takes place. For our new 2005 Chrysler and Dodge minivans, we’ve essentially created a library-like atmosphere to ensure that conversation may occur anytime with anyone anywhere in the vehicle.”Noise level measurements taken on 2004 and 2005 Chrysler and Dodge minivans prove that new 2005 minivans are more than 16 percent quieter.State-of-the-art technology is used to ensure quietness in all seating positions for 2005 Chrysler and Dodge minivans. By combining computer simulation techniques with vehicle testing in Chrysler Group’s state-of-the-art Auburn Hills wind tunnel and on environmental four-post shakers, Chrysler Group engineers were able to create the quietest minivans in the marketplace. Following are initiatives that Chrysler Group engineers took to make today’s minivan even quieter:     “Quiet steel” technology (visco-elastic treatment sandwiched between two steel layers), structural ribbing and spray-on dampener were integrated into the recessed floor design to reduce vibration, road noise and stone impingement    Robotically applied liquid spray dampener provides additional barriers to noise that would otherwise enter the passenger compartment through the roof or floor    Wind noise was reduced by incorporating triple door seals, molded gaskets, aerodynamically configured roof rack cross bows, and a spiraled antenna    Expandable polyurethane foam and baffles, UltraLight® acoustic material, and molded silencers were applied to the structural and interior systems that perform as barriers, absorbers, and dissipaters against road- and powertrain-generated noises    New minivans built for the international markets with the diesel engine feature silencers in the engine and passenger compartment. The engine compartment consists of a thick underhood silencer, a decorative cover over the engine includes a liner of acoustic material, an acoustic “belly pan” that virtually covers the entire engine compartment, plenum treatments, and fender silencers. The passenger compartment includes instrument panel silencers, an upgrade to the toe-pan dampers, and A-pillar silencers      “Without question, our engineers sweated the details to make the quietest minivan even quieter,” said Donoughe. “We want our customers to enjoy the driving experience and the ability to easily communicate with one another, and they can do this in this special vehicle that we developed.”