Abstract: In a front-wheel-drive vehicle having a powertrain with a transversely positioned engine and transmission and independent front wheel suspensions each with a control arm, there is provided a cradle forming a subframe supporting the power train and having the control arms pivotally mounted on the cradle. The cradle is cushion mounted on the vehicle body and has the powertrain components cushion mounted on it. The cradle includes side-rails connected by disconnectable front and rear cross-rails, each cross-rail being affixed to respective ones of the side-rails and being disconnectable from the other side-rail forming a substantially L-shaped section of the cradle. The cross-rails can be disconnected so that one of the L-shaped sections of the cradle can be pivoted away from the powertrain. This permits servicing of the powertrain components. Since the front wheels are supported on the side-rails, positioning the cradle is critical to the alignment of the front wheels.

Abstract: In a front-wheel-drive vehicle having a powertrain with a transversely positioned engine and transmission and independent front-wheel suspensions each with a control arm, there is provided a cradle to which the drive-wheel suspension control arms are swingably mounted. A plurality of cushion mounts support the cradle at high impedance points on the vehicle body and provide a soft substantially linear spring rate at small vibratory amplitudes of the cradle in both a fore and aft direction and a vertical direction relative to the vehicle and a stiff substantially linear spring rate at all vibratory amplitudes of the cradle in a lateral direction relative to the vehicle. The powertrain is directly supported on the cradle by a plurality of cushion mounts which have soft substantially linear spring rates in the same directions as the cradle mounts.