Autoblog

Forbes releases 2011 Worst Cars on the Road list

Aaron Richardson — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, Hybrid, Sedan, SUV, Truck, Etc., Crossover, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, GM, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Smart, Luxury

Forbes' Worst Cars on the Road - Click above for high-res image gallery

Forbes has released its 2011 Worst Cars on the Road list, and the outcome is not pretty for American manufacturers. With the exception of the 2011 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the 2011 Smart ForTwo and the 2011 Nissan Titan, the cars on the list are all American-made. Worse than that, they all come from two manufacturers: General Motors and Chrysler. Ford managed to avoid the list completely.

To determine which cars get the dubious honor and which don't, Forbes compiles results from six studies by Consumer Reports including the Most Reliable Cars Report, Best and Worst Safety Performance Survey, Best and Worst Fuel Economy, Highest Cost of Ownership, the Best and Worst Values Report and Consumer Reports' overall scores for new cars.

Chrysler made the list with the 2010 Chrysler Town & Country, which racked up dismal scores for reliability and cost of ownership. Both the 2011 Jeep Wrangler and the Jeep Liberty made the cut, with the Liberty scoring poorly for reliability and fuel economy. The Wrangler joined the Liberty in the reliability department, and also ranked for worst value, and made a spot on Consumer Reports' Worst Cars list. The 2011 Dodge Nitro and Dodge Dakota made the list for similar reasons.

The picture is almost as bleak at GM, where offerings from Chevrolet and Cadillac crowded the picture. The base model 2011 Cadillac Escalade earned spots on the Worst Value, Highest Cost of Ownership and Worst Safety Performance lists. The 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid hung with the Cadillac for Worst Value and safety, and earned a spot on the Least Reliable roster as well. The Chevrolet Aveo and Chevrolet Colorado rounded out the worst General Motors offerings for 2011.

Though the results make it seem like General Motors and Chrysler still can't do anything right, there are plenty of vehicles from both manufacturers that didn't make the list. Added to that, luxury vehicles like the Escalade are at a disadvantage in the value and cost of ownership categories. Head over to Forbes for further explanation on how the worst cars are weeded out. Thanks for the tip, Irving!

Gallery: 2011 Forbes Worst Cars on the Road

[Source: Forbes]

Forbes releases 2011 Worst Cars on the Road list originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Marchionne admits Dodge Nitro "needs to be replaced"

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:28:00 EST

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

Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]

Report: Marchionne admits Dodge Nitro "needs to be replaced" originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dodge stops selling Nitro, Caliber in UK

Dan Roth — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, SUV, Europe, Crossover, Hatchback, UK

2010 Dodge Caliber - click above for high-res image gallery

Here in their homeland, the Dodge Caliber and Nitro can't get much lovin' from critics, but parent Chrysler has gone and kicked the two models right out of the UK altogether. Hitting up Dodge.co.uk shows but a single vehicle, the Journey, for sale in Blighty. Even the seven-passenger MPV, seemingly well suited to the UK market, has been struggling to find buyers, and the model has had its lineup rejiggered with more standard equipment added to entice addtional prospects.

Try as it might, Chrysler just hasn't been able to close enough sales of the Nitro and Caliber in the UK. Things must be slightly better on The Continent, as consumers can still find the two exiles available on Dodge's websites for such far-flung locales as Russia, France, and our favorite, Italy's Dodge.it. Company officials tell Autoblog that the "Caliber [is] still sold in most all continental European markets, Nitro [is] for sale in most major markets there."

Gallery: 2010 Dodge Caliber

[Source: Autocar]

Dodge stops selling Nitro, Caliber in UK originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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