THE 2011 VERACRUZ!
591 Monadnock Highway
East Swanzey, NH 03446

![]() | |
| BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE MICROSCOPE An ongoing debate at our design center is, which is more attractive, the Veracruz's exterior or the engineering underneath? Truth is, they go hand in hand. Early prototypes of the Veracruz not only had to please the eye, they had to withstand test-drives of over 100,000 miles, through some of the ugliest conditions on the planet. Then we disassembled the cars and inspected their parts under a microscope, looking for insights that could enhance quality or reliability. Or consider the Veracruz's body panels. As sleek and seemingly perfect as they are, we still take the extra step of scanning them with lasers calibrated to detect variances of less than a millimeter. If gaps are too wide-thus causing excessive wind noise-or there are any other aberrations in alignment, we'll find and fix them. | A PAINT JOB BEYOND COMPARE The toughest part of a Veracruz may well be its eye-catching paint job. Far from being merely decorative, it actually increases durability-repelling sun, snow, and rain-while reducing corrosion. During manufacturing, its unibody is electrically charged and immersed in a bath of primer with an opposing electrical charge. Opposites attract, as the adage goes, and the chemical reaction pulls primer into even the tiniest nooks and hidden surfaces, resulting in a peerless, long-term resistance to corrosion. Such painstaking care then allows the following coats of paint to bond as tightly as possible, creating a luminous, chip-resistant surface. It takes significantly more time to do it this way, but then, doesn't anything that's worth doing well? |

A SAFER SKELETON
![]() | |
| THE LATEST THING IN ALUMINUM 3.8-LITER FASHION The Veracruz serves up luxury of an altogether different sort: adrenaline. Its robust 3.8-liter V6 engine delivers plenty of smooth, effortless power, outputting 260 horsepower and 257 pound-feet of torque. The more technically minded will appreciate the engine's Continuously Variable Valve Timing, which perfectly times the intake and exhaust valves to widen the power band and boost fuel efficiency. They'll also welcome the iridium-tipped spark plugs used for more efficient combustion and thus improved acceleration and throttle response. But even those who are less inclined to peek under the hood will enjoy the easy acceleration afforded by 24 finely tuned valves working in harmony, or that the Veracruz produces less noise, vibration, and harshness. After all, performance, like all luxuries, is always easy to spot. | HORSEPOWER MATCHED ONLY BY IQ Muscle without control is counterproductive, so the Veracruz's engine is mated to a silky smooth six-speed automatic transmission with SHIFTRONIC®. It's adaptive, able to adjust to your particular driving habits. If, for instance, you accelerate rapidly, the transmission takes note and moves the shift points upward to maximize power and acceleration It also includes preset shift patterns for specific conditions, such as uphill or performance driving. The power steering is also intelligent, providing more assistance when it's needed, at slower speeds or while parallel parking, say, and less assistance at highway speeds, where turns are not severe. Even the wheels have brains. Their highly attuned speed sensors report constantly to the available all-wheel-drive system, announcing quickly when it needs to activate. Considering all this intelligence, it would appear that the thinking person's crossover is, in fact, a thinking crossover. |
A REFINED RIDE