Dan Stern reported that the Slant Six and 2.2/2.5 liter engines were both products of the engineering genius of (among other people) Willem L. Weertman. He was Managing Engineer--engine design from '55-'62, Assistant Chief Engineer--Engine Design and Development from '62-'76, and Chief Engineer--Engine Engineering from '76-'87. This means he also had a large role in just about everything we love, from the Slant 6 through the LA engines on up through the Hemi. They pulled him out of retirement for the V-10 projects. (Note that Charles Hagenbuch, who worked on both engines, wrote that "As far as I know there was absolutely no commonality between the 170/225 engines and the 2.2/2.5." The design philosophy may have held commonality, but not the actual design.)

The 2.2 is one of the most reliable four-cylinder engines ever made, and in all its forms, from under 84 hp to 224 hp, was a long-lasting sturdy piece of equipment (if you were willing to pay for the occassional head gasket).

Generally, the 2.2 was fitted with either a carburetor (early years), a turbocharger with multiple-port fuel injection, or a single throttle-body injector. The most common was the "TBI" (single throttle-body injector), though the turbos were fairly potent.

The 2.2 was introduced in 1981 as an all-new design, the first metric Chrysler engine. It was originally built at the Trenton Engine plant, which made the slant six and 440 RB.

There are several different 2.2 blocks. They feature siamesed cylinder bores (no cooling in between), a short crankcase skirt, and partial open deck; it was designed to be machined by milling to achieve lighter weight, but uses a cast iron (rather than aluminum) block because aluminum technology at the time was not what it is now. The oil pump is mounted internally. High performance versions, such as the Shelby engines, have modifications such as .8 mm milled off the top of the deck surface. Even on the 225 horsepower 2.2 Turbo III version, the engines had a timing belt. One of the engineers explained: "I always hated belts, but the weight penalty for chains was as big a factor as cost."