Report: Marchionne admits Dodge Nitro “needs to be replaced”

Filed under: SUV, Crossover, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Fiat

Dodge Nitro Detonator – Click above for high-res image gallery

Some might argue that the Dodge Nitro was ready for replacement, oh, about the day after it was first released back in 2006. If that’s the case, then Dodge’s midsize sport utility vehicle is certainly well past its sell-by date now that our calendars tell us we’re sitting in 2011.

Apparently, nobody knows that truth better than Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne, who told reporters at the Detroit Auto Show that the Nitro and its platform mate, the Jeep Liberty, are “the most significant hole in our product portfolio.”

Noting that “it needs to be replaced,” Marchionne suggested that a decision on a replacement for the Pentastar’s uncompetitive midsize ‘ute platform will be made in the next 40 days… though there’s no indication whether that replacement will come from Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler or one of the other brands currently under the Fiat umbrella.

We also can’t yet say whether the new SUV will be built at the Toledo North Assembly Plant like the current Nitro and Liberty, or whether Chrysler will use Fiat’s C-Evo architecture as initially speculated.

Gallery: Dodge Nitro Detonator