Chrysler LH Platform - Development

Development

The LH platform was based on the AMC-developed and Renault-derived Eagle Premier. According to Bob Lutz, "he Premier had an excellent chassis and drove so dammed well that it served as a benchmark for the LH ... the spiritual father, the genetic antecedent of the LH is the Premier." Like the Premier, the LH-cars featured a longitudinally-mounted engine with a front-wheel drive drivetrain, unusual in most American front-wheel drive cars, but a hallmark of Renault's designs.

The LH platform team was headed by François Castaing, who was previously responsible for product engineering and development at AMC. Working with an engineering team of only 700, it took just over three years from the styling studio to the showrooms. To give focus for the platform engineering team, the benchmark target was the Eagle Premier. The LH platform and engine design were also benchmarked against the Ford Taurus and Nissan Maxima; while the Acura Legend, Toyota Camry, Lexus ES300, and the BMW 5 Series also were targets, but to a lesser degree.

A rumor at the time was that LH stood for 'Last Hope'. This was because Chrysler faced an uncertain future that its engineers were allowed to do what they felt was innovative. The LH vehicles were, generally, a great success for Chrysler and the cab-forward look influenced other car designs in the 1990s. Although the real gold mine of Chrysler's acquisition of AMC was the Jeep brand, their minivans and LH sedans also helped to bail the company out of almost certain bankruptcy in the 1990s.

Chrysler advertised the advantages of the LH's "cab-forward" architecture (short, sloping hood and long windshield), and even used the platform name for the Chrysler LHS sedan. This look dictated one major design decision: the LH uses a longitudinal engine rather than the transverse engine position, which is more typical for front-wheel drive cars. This arrangement meant that the design team had to use a chain to connect the automatic transmission with the front differential, a design reminiscent of the original Oldsmobile Toronado. The transverse engine position generally uses a chain to connect the engine with the transmission, a higher-velocity application subject to greater wear and noise.

The Dodge and Eagle LH cars competed directly against the Ford Taurus and other mid-size cars, largely replacing the K-based C-bodies, The Chrysler models competed with upmarket domestics such as Buick and Oldsmobile. The LH cars debuted in 1993, and were updated in 1998. The LH platform was replaced with the rear-wheel drive Chrysler LX platform for the 2005 model year.