Topic: Dodge Nitro and Ram Dakota bite the dust for 2012

[conwelpic]

not hard to see the reason behind it

http://www.auto123.com/en/news/car-news/dodge-nitro-and-ram-dakota-bite-the-dust-for-2012?artid=132998

[5 Wheel Drive]

I didn't even know they were still making the Nitro.  Oh well, no big loss....

[Erik]

Out with the old...

[Mike]

Out with the old...

and in with the nothing   

Seems automakers are fully abondoning the mid-size pick up market in North America

[Erik]

Out with the old...

and in with the nothing   

Seems automakers are fully abondoning the mid-size pick up market in North America

Ain't the automakers who are abandoning it. It's the customers.

[Mike]

Out with the old...

and in with the nothing   

Seems automakers are fully abondoning the mid-size pick up market in North America

Ain't the automakers who are abandoning it. It's the customers.

True enough.  Bring back the truly compact 4 cyl pick-ups.  Mighty Max FTW

[Erik]

Out with the old...

and in with the nothing   

Seems automakers are fully abondoning the mid-size pick up market in North America

Ain't the automakers who are abandoning it. It's the customers.

True enough.  Bring back the truly compact 4 cyl pick-ups.  Mighty Max FTW

I always thought something the size of a Dakota made all kinds of sense. Something like that with a torquey diesel would work great for most folks.

[TopGun]

[
I always thought something the size of a Dakota made all kinds of sense. Something like that with a torquey diesel would work great for most folks.

When the economies of scale bring an F150 to near the price of a compact pick-up, many people go the F150 route.  Now if the fuel economy was significantly better...

[ktm525]

I always thought something the size of a Dakota made all kinds of sense. Something like that with a torquey diesel would work great for most folks.

It works for me. I had two Dodge Dakotas (97 club cab and an 02 Quad Cab). Perfect size for me as it was narrow and short enough to easily fit in the gargae yet still performed moderate hauling/towing and off-road duties. The decline in the Dakota's quality forced me into a Honda Ridgeline. In the mid size catagory there is really only two options with decent rear seat room (Dakota and Ridgeline).

[life in the slow lane]

not hard to see the reason behind it

http://www.auto123.com/en/news/car-news/dodge-nitro-and-ram-dakota-bite-the-dust-for-2012?artid=132998

Hooray, the NITRO is no more. Now if they would only get rid of the equally ugly Caliber.

[Gardiner Westbound]

We have a GMC Canyon 4-cylinder pickup. Narrower and shorter than a big honkin' pickup, it's ideal for commuting, shopping, hauling stuff from the garden center, and it fits in the garage. It didn't cost a fortune to buy, and fuel and maintenance costs are reasonable. Big pickups are not much fun around the city, parking one is like docking an aircraft carrier.

Life without a smallish pickup would not be as good. It doesn’t have to be cutting edge, just reasonably priced, reliable and durable. Nonetheless GM is discontinuing the Canyon/Colorado twins, Ford is killing the Ranger, and Chrysler has announced the Dakota's demise. That makes our next one a Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier or Hyundai when it starts selling pickups.

As gasoline prices increase the midsize pickup market will return. Too late! The domestic automakers with their typical shortsightedness will have gifted it to the foreign automakers.

[Shnak]

Out with the old...

and in with the nothing   

Seems automakers are fully abondoning the mid-size pick up market in North America

Ain't the automakers who are abandoning it. It's the customers.

Customers don't have problems with mid-size pick ups, they have problems with mid-size pick-ups almost as big and expensive as full size pick ups. Look at Ford and its $20k Ranger, they're selling tons of them! That's the recipe. A small pick up for cheap.

[TopGun]

.....
As gasoline prices increase the midsize pickup market will return. Too late! The domestic automakers with their typical shortsightedness will have gifted it to the foreign automakers.

I like them too, however, the economies of scale, as dictated by the market, meant that the prices for full-size came DOWN close enough to the smaller pick-ups that the smaller ones didn't make sense.

The Nissan Frontier King Cab with a 150hp 4 cyl is $25,000...with the 260 hp V6 it's $28,000...which, oddly enough is what you can get an F150 SuperCab for with the 3.7 V6.

I can see an argument to just keep making the Ranger - gosh, the equipment must have been paid for 10 times over.