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Nissan and Chrysler may build cars and trucks together
Citing inside sources, Bloomberg reports today that Chrysler and Nissan are in talks to develop cars, trucks and engines together. Both companies happen to be the third largest automakers in their home market and both are used to collaborative efforts in car making. Chrysler is working with Volkswagen on minivans and Chinese automaker Chery on a small car, for instance, while Nissan-Renault continues to seek a partner in the U.S. after a proposed partnership with General Motors fell through. Chrysler and Nissan, however, are reportedly not considering acquiring any type of ownership in each other. The co-development would be limited to truck development for Nissan, small car development for Chrysler and joint development of new engines. Nissan is likely hoping that tapping into a U.S. automakers' expertise on full-size trucks will lead to changes that make its Titan pickup more competitive. Chrysler, meanwhile, is still without a car smaller than the Caliber and could benefit from Nissan's experience selling small cars in Japan and Europe. Again, the talks are private so neither company has confirmed they're in discussions, but collaboration on this scale seems to becoming more common in the industry, especially for automakers that aren't the biggest, but aren't the smallest, either.[Source: Bloomberg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Menice 11:38AM (12/14/2007)
oh shiz what a dumb move......thats like Macy's asking to swap/share ideas and goods with the The .99 cent store.
nissan is just itching to pair with anyone still i see.
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Gregg 11:50AM (12/14/2007)
Um, which is Macy's and which is the .99 store? I'm assuming you meant Nissan is Macy's, but both automakers have strengths that the other can tap into. Both are weaker totally on their own.
Pauls45 11:55AM (12/14/2007)
“Nissan wants to tap Chrysler’s expertise with large trucks”
It might make sense for Nissan to throw in the towel on the Titan/Armada/QX56. Looks like the sales are about 5K/3K/1K per month.
“Chrysler seeks access to Nissan’s small cars.”
That would be better than using some Chinese platform, for sure.
If I was Ghosn, I'd be wanting a 6.7L CTD and 68RFE for my Heavy Duty Titan. Instant cred' in the fullsize market.
Throwback 11:40AM (12/14/2007)
This makes sense. If sucessful this partnership may lead to Carlos the great running a 3rd car maker in a few years.
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geo.stewart 12:29PM (12/14/2007)
yeah, i was thinking this is prelude to a kiss.2-3 yrs of this working and Cerebrus getting things in order and Carlos will take chrysler off their hands.
John R 11:41AM (12/14/2007)
well...small car development is good, especially when the only thing you got is the Caliber.
here's to hoping that some of that VQ DNA makes it into Chrsyler V6s somewhere down the line.
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John R 11:44AM (12/14/2007)
i don't think so. Ram is a decent truck, and in this segement it could pay dividends to learn all you can.
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John R 11:45AM (12/14/2007)
^^ above was for menice
Menice 11:52AM (12/14/2007)
then carlos should buy the Chilton manual for the
'decent' truck. not go hanging out with the smelly kid in the school.
Calebe 11:53AM (12/14/2007)
this would be much better source for a small car than chery. The Note or the Micra could be used for Chrysler.
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rar 12:02PM (12/14/2007)
Maybe they could combine the Challenger and the GT-R. Ha Ha.
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nissanfreak87 12:39PM (12/14/2007)
Challenge-R!!
that would be scary! in a good way, haha
BLS 12:04PM (12/14/2007)
Because the Chrysler Sentra sounds like a winner.
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Rocketboy 12:26PM (12/14/2007)
What's next? Cats sleeping with dogs?
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lalaland 12:26PM (12/14/2007)
Correction: Chrysler is not the third-largest car company in their home market. It's No 4, with Toyota having passed it in sales. I know what you were getting at, Chrysler is the third largest American-owned car company, but your syntax is inaccurate.
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James 3:08PM (12/14/2007)
dude, the syntax is fine. Home market for each automaker is different, i.e., home market for Chrysler is USA, while home market for Toyota is Japan.
Can we all just leave Autoblog alone on grammar? As long as the point of the story gets across, who really cares? If you want to read Pulitzer worthy stuff, go somewhere else.
500 12:34PM (12/14/2007)
Great Chrysler, giving away your most profitable product to the enemy. And for what, small cars that you'll likely never make a dime on, just to meet CAFE standards?
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DDL 1:18PM (12/14/2007)
Cerberus is going to follow true to form and split Chrysler up and sell. There moves with the UAW contract, plant allocations and proposed Chrysler/cars, Dodge/trucks, Jeeps/SUVs all fit this strategy. Nissan could very well buy Dodge trucks and some needed US plant capacity. VW would be another interested suitor. Who wants to buy Jeep? Chrylser cars could just die and go away.
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MK 1:09PM (12/14/2007)
Hmm, last time Chrysler & Renault got together, we got the Encore. Motor trend's COTY for that year (???) Fortunately, Carlos is Midas & Chrysler's got some smart people too. The Titan doesn't seem like a bad truck, but I'd never buy one, Chrysler needs the help with small cars & V6's.
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Stéphane Dumas 4:21PM (12/14/2007)
MK
when Renault did the Encore and the Alliance (who was Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1983), it was AMC not Chrysler. Chrysler however inherited of a Renault design when they buyed AMC in 1987, it became the Eagle Premier (and 1990-92 Dodge Monaco)