Might the Dodge Truck division be sold to Nissan?

estreka - it all depends on how this Chrysler thing shakes down. If it's a matter of spinning off pieces, then giving Nissan the already-developed Ram bits along with the plant capacity & everything would be a huge savings indeed b/c there'd be minimal R&D costs associated with the change. That takes care of the next 5-6 years, but it doesn't explain what happens after that. THAT is what I haven't read much about...Dodge sells & builds way more Rams than I think Nissan could sell. What will happen to that excess capacity? And what happens when Nissan has to revamp all of those mechanicals in 5-6 years? Won't they essentially be in the same position?

I'm already PO'd about the Titan becoming a Ram - I think the Titan is the better truck but you could argue otherwise. The Frontier (which I own) is a far superior truck to the Dakota - I believe it to be the best mid sized truck available. I will be completely PO'd if the Frontier becomes a rebadged Dodge too.....no matter who owns the company. I have the feeling that it might work the other way as the Frontier is sold in many parts of the world - incentive is there for Nissan to keep developing newer versions. I don't think/know if the Dakota is sold anywhere outside of N A.

I think it's a shame that Nissan would be able to get such a well developed platform for what is likely to be a fire sale price.

roar02ram has some very good questions about capacity. I'm sure Nissan would find a way to avoid the liabilities and somehow purchase the platforms and minimal manufacturing capacity.

I admit up front I have more than a passing interest being a Ram HD owner. Something has to happen soon. Chrysler has already run plenty of test mules for the redesigned truck, and it's tentatively scheduled to be revealed at NAIAS in January. If the 2010 Ram HD does not show up in Detroit in 2 1/2 months, that will be the kiss of death for the brand - and I will be at serious risk of losing a pickup-bed-full of resale value on my 2005. Remember, the Ram HD chassis-cab is also "re-grilled" and sold as the Sterling Bullet (Sterling is the second brand under Freightliner, owned by Daimler). So this brand and platform affects Dodge (Chrysler LLC), Nissan (Renault-Nissan), and Sterling (Daimler). The Ram HD is also a showcase vehicle for Cummins, and the engine builder makes a LOT of money on Dodge Ram HD sales. I would not be surprised to learn that Cummins wants a resolution soon as well, so they can plan their MY2010 production. Interestingly, Cummins has signed a contract with Nissan for their light-medium commercial truck platform. I would certainly like Nissan to acquire all of Dodge Truck, as that's the brand's best chance for survival. But Cerberus needs to do something within the next 2 weeks so people will know where they stand.

I don't understand why industry analysts are stating the sale of Dodge's truck division to Nissian as a good thing. Most of you guys are looking at this from the perspective of whether its good for Nissian or not. As a fan of the Big 3, I want to see Chrysler survive. If they take away Dodge's trucks, what models will they make money on? Dodge obviously makes better trucks than cars and makes money one trucks not cars. The Avenger was a huge miss and people are losing interest in the Charger because of fuel costs. That leaves the Challenger, which was intended to be fairly low volume. Because of fuel cost concerns, it will probably remain a low volume car.

Plus, hasn't it been reported that the Durango plant is to be shut down next year? How does Nissian benifit from getting this vehicle line?

This is getting ridiculous. Pretty soon we'll have one big generic American pickup produced, with 10 re-badged models available from several manufacturers.

Are we moving towards the generic truck?

that would suck big time. If Nissan ends up with it, as an owner of three Dodge vehicles, I will never buy another.

I think that this whole Chrysler thing will just blow over. They will probably be sold, but not in pieces. I think that would be the smart thing too, because no part of chrysler is that profitable, other than the minivans and a couple vehicles in the Jeep line-up.

And while some may think the Titan was is a better truck than the current ('08) Ram, the Durango is definitely better than the Armada.If Nissan simply rebadged the Durango I think it would do better than the Armada does.

All this "gossip" can't be good for Chrysler LLC's market share.

Spagle, Chrysler has been in a pickle for quit a while. I was hoping they'd continue down their recent path of outsourcing. They do some things very well. Other companies could benefit from that. It might be rebadging a minivan or sourcing diesel engines. It would be a different Chrysler, but it'd be a good Chrysler.

Chrysler announced today (Oct 23) the Newark, Del plant that builds Durango/Aspen SUVs will now close THIS December instead of next December, dismissing 1,000 employees. So a Durango-based Armada replacement is apparently out of the question.

I have to disagree with some portions of this. While the Titan has its plusses, I did not like it better than the Ram.

Here's why:

Ride
Road Noise
Manuevering
Interior
More choice of motors

Is it better built? I don't know. I've driven Ford F150s for the past dozen years. I just bought a new one.

The only reason why I bought another Ford over the Dodge was because the Dodge dealer I went to decided that they would rather play games and hide the price of the vehicle and never tell you. That's the same reason why I didn't buy a Tundra.

I told the Ford dealer that and I was in a truck, test driven, kicked the tires, and financed in less than 2 hours.

But isn't it a shame that we're losing the choice of either Nissan or Dodge? I know many guys who love their Titans. I know many guys who love their Rams.

It's just a shame dealerships help ruin the experience for the carbuyer.

kcram- I don't know how much longer the Sterling Bullet will last. Daimler just recently announced they are pulling the plug on the Sterling brand due to poor sales.They are closing the Sterling plant in St.Thomas,Ontario. They say they are going to expand the Freightliner division. So maybe that will be where the Bullet will wind up at.

I would hope that Nissan purchases Dodge truck and then retools the factorys for Titan. Having owned a Ram and many Dodge cars, I would like to see the Ram be a rebadged Titan. I think both company's could merge the trucks together and take the best from either design, and maybe Titan could pick up some optional engines. As for Armada being a rebadged Durango, all I can say is NNNNNOOOO!!!! The Durango is a POS! Not to mention it is pretty ugly. I know the Armada isn't to everyone's liking, looks wise, but reliability and build quality is SO FAR superior it isn't funny. Nissan was doing the deal to get access to Cummins Diesels.

I'm a proud owner of 2001 ram 1500. i have the sport and off-road package on that and i tell you that is the best truck ever. I have talked wit all of my friends around here and all of them and i agree on one thing. If Nissan were to get the right to make them trucks none of us will EVER buy another Dodge or Nissan. The only thing Dodge needs to do is make sure they have a really good transmission in their truck (even though i've never had trouble) and then i garuntee you people will start buying a lot of their trucks again.

I don't understand why this is happening, what's next... A HEMI-powered Nissan Titan? A Viper V10 in a GT-R?

I like both brands, but this is an outrageously risky move on Dodge's Behalf. As for Nissan, the same. This is going to be a bit of a challenge for both of them to work together and make something decent out of a combination of American and Japanese technology.
Nissan focuses on getting best fuel economy possible while maintaining performance, and has enough experience in Hybrids.
Dodge mainly focuses on durability, horsepower, and have little experience in Hybrids (Durango Hybrid is what they got so far, but is now a short-lived model)

Dodge and Nissan (if they manage to work on the same page) should combine what they do best if they want to keep it that way (have Nissan work on Aerodynamics and Fuel Economy and Dodge work on Durability. Both can work together on making a better Hybrid technology).
Yet to keep people happy to see no major sell-outs, Dodge should be able keep their Trucks and still be able to use the HEMI, while Nissan can work on what they do best on their cars and trucks

I'm a neutral on this Dodge-Nissan situation, but I didn't expect it too be so soon. I don't know what will happen now with Nissan working with Dodge, but if all Dodge trucks go over to Nissan, this will be a sad result for Mopar Truck fans (They never want to see day where they see their favorite Dodge Ram become the Nissan Ram).

Besides, I also would dislike the idea to see one brand start to vanish while the ones who buy them out start dominating (That would sound like automotive dictatorship to me). I would refuse to get a Nissan truck if they just let Dodge Trucks disappear when Nissan takes over Dodge's Trucks division.

As you may know , Cerebus washed its hands of Chrysler (with the exception of Chrysler Financial) and handed the equity over to UAW and other debtors . It will be interesting to see how UAW works with Nissan .
The Dodge 4500/5500 future is questionable . Their frames were designed and built by Sterling . Daimler has announced the end of Sterling production .

This would just be the beginning of consolidation and rebranding. We haven't begun cleaning out GM yet. The Titan is great, my Dad has one, but the Ram is now a much newer design. The Nissan has a cheap feel to it, of course,his is the first model year,lots of those problems have supposedly been corrected. I was pretty impressed by the new Ram one at NAIAS. As long as whoever winds up with it can keep build quality steady (something Nissan or Dodge is not known for ), the trucks will do well. The diehards won't buy Dodges if they are owned by Nissan and that will be bad.

No one wants to see brands or companies disappear, but this has been a long time coming.