The LHS's design can be traced to 1986, when
designer Kevin Verduyn completed the initial
exterior design of a new aerodynamic concept
sedan called Navajo. The design never passed the
clay model stage.
It was also at this time
that the Chrysler Corporation purchased bankrupt
Italian
sports car manufacturer
Lamborghini. The Navajo's exterior design
was reworked and became the
Lamborghini Portofino, released as a concept
at the 1987
Frankfurt Auto Show. The Portofino was
heralded as a design triumph, setting in motion
Chrysler's decision to produce a production
sedan with the Portofino's revolutionary
exterior design, called "cab-forward".
The
cab forward design was characterized by the
long, low slung windshield, and relatively short
overhangs. The wheels were effectively pushed to
the corners of the car, creating a much larger
passenger cabin than the contemporaries of the
time.
Design of the chassis began in the late
1980s, after Chrysler had bought another
automaker:
American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1987.
During this time, Chrysler began designing the
replacement for the
Dodge Dynasty and
Chrysler Fifth Avenue as well as a potential
Plymouth. The initial design of Dodge's LH
bore resemblance to the Dynasty, and this design
was scrapped entirely after
François Castaing, formerly AMC's Vice
President of product engineering and
development, became Chrysler's Vice President of
vehicle engineering in 1988. The new design,
under Castaing's leadership, began with the
Eagle Premier, also sold later as the
Dodge Monaco.
The Premier's longitudinal engine mounting
layout was inherited, as was the front
suspension geometry, and parts of the braking
system. The chassis itself became a flexible
architecture capable of supporting front or
rear-wheel drive (designated "LH" and "LX"
respectively).
The chassis design was continually refined
throughout the following years, as it
underpinned more Chrysler prototypes: the 1989
Chrysler Millennium and 1990
Eagle Optima.
The transmission was inspired by the
Premier's Audi and ZF automatics. Borrowing
heavily from Chrysler's A604 (41TE) "Ultradrive"
transversely-mounted automatic, it became the
A606 (also known as 42LE). This "Ultradrive"
transmission however was not without critics as
The New York Times reported on January 25, 1991
that Consumers Union would publish in the
February 1991 issue of the magazine Consumer
Reports a warning for consumers to NOT purchase
a vehicle with this "Ultradrive" transmission
citing poor reliability and safety hazards.
By 1990, it was decided that the new
technologically-advanced car would need a new
technologically-advanced engine to power it.
Until that time, the only engine confirmed for
use was Chrysler's 3.3 L
pushrod
V6, which would be used in the three
original LH cars, the Intrepid, Vision, and
Concorde, in base form. The 3.3 L engine's 60°
block was bored out to 3.5 L, while the
pushrod-actuated valves were replaced with
SOHC cylinder heads with four valves per
cylinder, creating an advanced 3.5 L V6 optional
in the three smaller cars, but standard in LHS
and New Yorker.
The general LH appearance, still based on the
cab forward exterior design of the 1987
Lamborghini Portofino
concept, with its aerodynamic shape, made
for little wind noise inside this large car.
This sleek styling gives the LH cars a low
drag coefficient which was ahead of its
time.
The "Second Generation" LH car design was
introduced in 1996 as the Chrysler LHX Concept
Car. This
concept vehicle had large 20" wheels, a
centrally located instrument cluster and a
closed-circuit television system within the
windshield pillars replacing conventional rear
view mirrors. The wheelbase was expanded to 124
inches (3,100 mm) to allow for rear passenger
supplement restraints, rear occupant
entertainment center and storage compartment.
First generation: 1994–1997
Originally released in 1994, a year after the
Chrysler Concorde,
Dodge Intrepid and
Eagle Vision were released, the LH 207
(Chrysler LHS and New Yorker) used a version of
the LH platform with a five-inch (127 mm) longer
body, and took the place of the
Imperial as the largest and most high-end
car in
Chrysler's range and viewed as its
"flagship" model. While the wheelbase of all the
LH models remained the same, the 5-inch (130 mm)
longer body allowed the engineers to push the
rear seat even farther back. This gave the LHS
an almost limo-like rear seat room, analogous to
the various stretched "L" models from BMW or
Mercedes. A very similar
New Yorker model was also built as a
replacement for the
New Yorker Fifth Avenue and
New Yorker Salon. It shared much in common
with LHS, only with a less monochromatic
appearance in trim and body cladding, and a
softer tuned suspension. It also featured many
of LHS's standard features as "optional". From
1994 on, all three Chrysler LH models used the
mid-level "Touring" suspension. An even stiffer
"Performance" setting was an available option on
the
Dodge Intrepid and
Eagle Vision.
The Concorde, which differed substantially
more, was seen as the base full-size Chrysler.
The five-passenger LHS was differentiated from
its counterpart chrome-trimmed sibling, the
six-passenger
Chrysler New Yorker, by a floor console and
shifter, an upgraded interior and a sportier
image. The New Yorker was dropped in favor of a
six-passenger option on the 1997 LHS. The LHS
received a minor face change in 1995 where the
Pentastar was changed in favor of Chrysler's
current medallion logo.
Being the top-of-the-line Chrysler, many
features came standard on the LHS — features
optional on its siblings. Some of these options
included a 3.5 L
EGJ 24-valve 214 hp (160 kW)
V6 engine, body-colored grille, side mirrors
and trim, traction control, aluminum wheels,
integrated fog lights, and 8-way power
adjustable front seats, premium sound systems
with amplifiers, and automatic temperature
control. Like the New Yorker, leather seats were
an option, a velour-like cloth coming standard.
The LHS's leather mimicked the soft, gathered
style of its cloth seats, and projected a more
expensive look than the New Yorker's more
traditionally styled leather.
The headlamps on the 1994 models were very
poorly designed and many owners complained about
their poor brightness. Chrysler rushed the
redesign into the production for 1995 model
year. Chrysler's LHS used a projector-style
headlight beam, something that was still
somewhat uncommon for its time.
The LHS was sold in Europe on a special order
basis as it featured rear amber turn signals,
side turn signal repeaters, and headlamps that
incorporated different lens geometry and bulbs.
The first generation LHS was praised by
motoring journalist
Jeremy Clarkson, who is well known for
criticizing American automobiles but described
the LHS as "by global standards, right up there
with the best."[1]
Second generation: 1999–2001
The LHS was dropped after the 1997 model year
in anticipation of a new, redesigned LHS,
released for 1999. As was the case before, the
second generation LHS occupied its niche as
Chrysler's high-end car, although its interior
provided no more space than the slightly
longer-nosed Concorde. The differences between
the second-generation LHS and the Concorde were
far fewer and limited mostly to fascias and
equipment levels. Also released with the new LHS
was the
Eagle Vision replacement, the
Chrysler 300M. The addition of the 300M once
again gave Chrysler three full-sized models, all
based on the LH platform. The slightly smaller
300M ended up costing more than the LHS, but
became more popular, as did the less expensive
Concorde. Due to the restyling, the LHS interior
felt slightly more cramped than the previous
model. The side windows were more aggressively
curved into the roof, reducing the space between
the upper portions of the windows and the sides
of the occupants' heads. While all the stated
interior measurements equaled or exceeded the
first LHS's, the new car's interior lost its
predecessor's limo-like feel.
For 2002, Chrysler quietly dropped the LHS
nameplate from its lineup, with the 2002-2004
Concorde taking on the LHS's front and rear
fascia styling, as well as the LHS styled
interior on the Concorde Limited. The 2002-2004
Concorde LX and LXi retained the same interior
as the 1998-2001 Concorde.
LHS base prices
First generation
- 1994 • $30,283
- 1995 • $29,595
- 1996 • $30,225
- 1997 • $30,225
all figures in U.S dollars
Second generation
- 1999 • $28,950
- 2000 • $28,340
- 2001 • $28,680
