Stellantis
Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automaker formed in 2021 through the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of the Italian–American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group, PSA (Peugeot S.A.) Group. The company's hea ...
North America, more commonly known as
Chrysler
FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
, operates
proving grounds
A proving ground is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and automobile prototypes are experimented with or tested. Proving grounds can be operated by government bodies or civilian industries. They ...
around North America for development and validation testing of new vehicles.
Arizona Proving Ground (Yucca, Arizona)
Location:
The Arizona Proving Ground is a vehicle test facility established in 1955 in
Yucca, Arizona
Yucca is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 96, down from 126 at the 2010 census.
Located along Interstate 40, it lies southwes ...
. It was owned and operated by
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
based in
Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Dearborn borders Detroit to the south and west, roughly west of downtown Detroit. In the 2020 United States ...
, until Chrysler LLC announced on November 2, 2007 that it had purchased the facility for $34.9 million. APG is located at the foot of the
Hualapai
The Hualapai ( , ) are a federally recognized Native American tribe in Arizona with about 2300 enrolled citizens. Approximately 1353 enrolled citizens reside on the Hualapai Reservation, which spans over three counties in Northern Arizona ( Coc ...
Mountains near Yucca, Arizona, 120 miles (200 km) southeast of
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, situated between
Lake Havasu
Lake Havasu () is a large reservoir formed by Parker Dam on the Colorado River, on the border between San Bernardino County, California, and Mohave County, Arizona. Lake Havasu City sits on the Arizonan side of the lake with its Californian coun ...
and
Kingman, Arizona
Kingman is a city in and the county seat of Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is named after Lewis Kingman, an engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The population was 32,693 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
Hi ...
.
The facility was originally
Yucca Army Airfield
Yucca Army Airfield is a former military airfield located about west of Yucca, in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. It is on the east side of Interstate 40, south of Kingman. It is now used as a private facility owned by Fiat Chrysler ...
, an
Army Air Corps training base, used during World War II. The field was declared surplus land by 1946 and the ownership was turned over to Ford in 1954.
Harley-Davidson Motor Company has entered into an agreement to use the vehicle test facility to test their motorcycles. Harley-Davidson currently occupies several buildings at the test facility, including at least one they custom built.
Features
Arizona Proving Ground has more than of concrete and earthen surfaces on that are continuously maintained. It includes a five-mile (8 km) high speed banked oval track, with a myriad of other road testing surfaces. With extended operations in the nearby mountain range, at elevations ranging from above sea level, and varied terrain and annual temperatures ranging from , APG provides a wide spectrum of vehicle testing conditions.
Details about the facility:
*An vehicle dynamics area
*A water ingestion test area
*Vehicle corrosion test chambers
*Special test roads/surfaces for vehicle durability testing
*A water leak test facility
*A low friction facility suitable for ABS system testing
*Light truck structural durability
*Accelerated vehicle corrosion testing
*Car and truck thermal management
*Hot fuel and octane testing
*Splash testing/water ingestion testing
*
FMVSS
The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) are U.S. federal vehicle regulations specifying design, construction, performance, and durability requirements for motor vehicles and regulated automobile safety-related components, systems, and ...
brake certification for car and light truck
*Tire traction testing for car and light truck
*Elevation - 1,950 feet (590 m)
*Average maximum summer temperature - 103 °F (39 °C)
*Average minimum winter temperature - 32 °F (0 °C)
*Average annual precipitation - 6.4 inches (160 mm)
Chelsea Proving Grounds (Chelsea, Michigan)
Location:
Details about the facility:
*The facility covers an area of
*Sled-impact testing site
*Covered crash barrier
*Skid traction area
*Mileage accumulators
*Emissions certification Center
*Wind tunnel
*Corrosion testing facility
*Curb hit testing
*32% grade and 15% grade
*New "spaghetti" road being constructed
Florida Evaluation Center (Naples, Florida)
Location:
Stats: 530 acres (2.1 km²), 6.2 miles (10 km) of roads
Major facilities: Straightaway, lane change area, handling course, sound test area
Major testing: Warm weather performance and handling
This facility has been taken over by Chrysler in early 2013 with Harley-Davidson leasing parts of the facility
Former Facilities
Arizona Proving Ground (Wittmann, Arizona)
Location:
Covers an area of , of which are fenced.
The facility also includes an area to test sun exposure on vehicles and components, a city traffic course, a corrosion-preparation facility and access to mountain grades.
This facility is being retired as it has been sold to home builders / land developers.
According t
MacRumorsApple bought this proving ground, north west of Phoenix, in 2021 to test Apple cars.
External links
* http://www.chryslerllc.com/pdf/about_us/Global_Facilities.pdf
* http://www.allpar.com/corporate/chelsea-proving-grounds.html
* http://www.chryslertestservices.com/services More Chrysler Proving Grounds Info
References
*
{{Chrysler Group LLC
Chrysler
Road test tracks by manufacturer