Mitsu, Dodge Sharing Dakota

[hemidakota]

(TCC Staff) Japan's fourth-biggest automobile company, Mitsubishi Motors, announced Tuesday it will work with its DaimlerChrysler Corp. partner, Chrysler Group, to jointly develop a mid-size pickup truck to be built in Michigan starting in 2005. The project marks the first time Mitsubishi Motors North America has sold a pickup in the United States since 1996, when it sold a truck called the Mighty Max, according to U.S. consumer research group Kelly Blue Book. Mitsubishi will join Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler's Dodge division and General Motors Corp. as automakers selling pickups in the United States. The company, of which DaimlerChrysler Corp. owns a 37-percent stake, will get a version of the Dodge Dakota mid-size pickup, which will be built at DaimlerChrysler's Warren, Mich., plant. The Dodge version of the truck is being redesigned and the new version will go on sale in 2004. Mitsubishi's Cypress, California, design center will design the Mitsubishi truck off the Dakota platform, using many of the elements found on the Dodge product.

Eric Ridenour, Executive Vice President of Chrysler group product development, said in a DamilerChrysler press release that the joint effort is one of many such project collaborations going on between the two automakers in an effort to reduce costs and maximize research and development efforts. The two companies share product platforms as well as individual automotive components. "Ultimately, this will allow us both to reduce development, production times and costs while adding to our respective portfolios with distinctly different, high-quality products." Pickup trucks are known to be one of the highest-profit sectors in automobile sales.

The pickup will offer Mitsubishi Motors North America a potential positive step toward recovering from its recent financial bleeding. In October, the company announced it would cancel a plan, originally announced in March, to increase capacity to 300,000 units annually from the existing 240,000 and create some 300 new jobs by investing 200 million U.S. dollars in its Normal, Ill., plant. Poor sales in the United States forced it to suspend the expansion plan "until market conditions and product needs change (for the better)." In November, Mitsubishi announced it would slash 200 white-collar jobs at its Cypress headquarters and estimated another 450 job cuts to be made among the management and manufacturing employees in Normal. A Mitsubishi spokesman said that the Normal cuts haven't been finalized. The announcement came only days after Mitsubishi canceled its American rally racing program. Through November, Mitsubishi's sales in the United States are down 24 percent from the 11-month total in 2002. -John D. Stoll

[cj]

Very interesting

[drizze99]

It was only a matter of time.

[bikeluver43]

Hmm..I wonder if it will have that ugly front end and huge fender flairs like their new SUV's?

[DODGE DRAGON]

Yup.....

Here's a link to the specs and a very very concept pic of it...

http://media.mitsubishi-motors.com/p...detail950.html

[hemidakota]

[bigjmrman]

just curious, why pics of just the back seat?

[hemidakota]

[hemidakota]

Cool concept on how the back opens and the seats adjust outside.

[teenwlf28]

cool red x's

[hemihunter]

Quote:

Originally posted by hemidakota
Cool concept on how the back opens and the seats adjust outside.

is it possible that the new dakota will have a distinct look of the vehicle shown below?....i wondered if maybe this might happen........if it gets some past dakota highlights, so dakota owners can relate to it , it may catch on, if not its a whole different vehicle and most dakota owners will probably look elsewhere(unless)!!!!!!!!!! its overwhelmingly acceptable. i have a dakota now , ive grown accustomed to its every facet...you change that dramatically ,and its a different vehicle.

[hemidakota]

Not likely. Expect a blurr new Durango and mini Ram look.