News out of Toledo is that Chrysler plans to drop either the Jeep Liberty or the Dodge Nitro within four years and merge the two vehicles into one. These two 'utes are built on the same exact platform, use basically the same engines and are built in the same Toledo plant. There is no good reason for both of them to exist, which makes us wonder why they ever did in the first place and why it will take three years to correct. Regardless, considering that Jeep will always be the off-road brand, it would make most sense to keep the Liberty name going. Losing the Nitro, meanwhile, might actually help Dodge improve its image as a volume performance brand. This convergence of duplicate vehicles is part of Chrysler's Project Genesis plan. Under the plan, dealers will begin to offer Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles under the same roof. Other nameplates that are or should be converged include the Jeep Compass/Jeep Patriot and Dodge Durango/Chrysler Aspen, the latter of which could see themselves replaced by a new model with Jeep underpinnings.
Employees at Jeep's factory in Toledo, Ohio reported back to work this week after two months of mandatory downtime. The good news is that they still have their jobs; the bad news is that they've been told to expect another four weeks off before the end of the year. This time, however, the shutdowns will be scheduled in week-long intervals instead of covering an entire four-week period. The slowdown of SUV sales has been widely covered and the Jeep brand has not been immune, including its bread-and-butter Wrangler model that had proven extremely popular a short while back when the first-ever four-door version was unveiled. Of course, back then gas was below $3 a gallon. Besides the Wrangler, Jeep also makes the Liberty and Dodge Nitro at the Toledo plant.
When one of KGP Photography's crew happened on a fairly innocuous looking Dodge Nitro in downtown Detroit, it was only a small badge on the rear lift gate that gave notice to this Nitro's hidden secret. Sporting the "SRT8" emblem, this high-po Nitro is likely packing the automaker's 6.1L HEMI V8 underhood. From what we can tell, the vehicle appears to be wearing the 20-inch wheels from the Mopar accessories catologue. Also, those front fender events that are usually capped with three chrome cross bars may be mesh on this particular vehicle and imply (gulp) actual functionality. Other than that, this Nitro SRT8 looks to have been modified very little on the surface, and unfortunately the camera man couldn't get a shot of the front end, which might be festooned with vents, slats and perhaps a deeper chin spoiler.
While the badge on the rear lift gate could be a ruse, we do know Chrysler is trying to do as much as possible with the vehicles that remain in its line up, and the Nitro could use some attention, for sure. A 425-horsepower Nitro, however, is just kind of nuts. Perhaps it's the poor man's Grand Cherokee SRT8.
