Originally Posted by bobs
I have to agree with you there. I have driven several Pacificas and I can say that the engine is quite stout. I guess the reason that we have the 3.2L is just that it came with the rest of the drivetrain. DC already had the engine and chassis sorted out in the SLK 320 so that is what they went with. Personally, I find the engine suits my needs just fine, but like someone else said, another 50 HP wouldn't hurt. . .
Truly, the only way to build a Crossfire was to use as much of the SLK tooling as they could. I mean, the SLK was in production for many years before the Crossfire came around, so it must have been paid for! I enjoy the 3.2L Mercedes mill as well; it sounds great and is plenty powerful for me. It has just occurred to me that given the above specifications, a lot more could have been accomplished. After all, Chrysler has certainly done more with less. Really, what I am doing is comparing two equally old engines. The 3.5L debuted in the first LH cars, but was substantially revised for 1998. The Benz 3.2L debuted in the ML320. I wish I could give the 3.2L engine the excuse that it was the older of the two...