Autoblog

More details have emerged about the next-generation Dodge Ram-based Nissan Titan pickup. Questions about how similar the two trucks will be have been partially answered, as Pickuptruck.com reports that the Titan and Ram will share only their doors and roof panels. The next-gen Titan will feature an exterior and interior designed solely by Nissan, which should put to rest concerns about a rebadged Dodge Ram. The two trucks will, however, share platforms, the Ram's new coil-sprung rear suspension, the cool RamBox storage compartment (despite hearing previously that the Titan wouldn't get this feature), and engines. In fact, in addition to a 3.7L V6 and 4.7L V8 sourced from Chrysler and a Cummins light-duty diesel V8, Nissan may offer Chrysler's 5.7L HEMI V8 rather than its own 5.6L 'Endurance' V8. Apparently the HEMI costs several hundred dollars less to build than the Endurance engine. Pickuptruck.com reports that the 5.6L V8 would still live on in the Nissan Armada and Infiniti QX56 producing 400 and 450 horsepower, respectively.

Nissan is also reportedly going to produce a three-quarter-ton and one-ton Heavy Duty Titan, though these trucks will share no components with Chrysler products and be built alongside two other yet-to-be-announced light commercial vehicles at Nissan's plant in Canton, Mississippi.

[Source: Pickuptruck.com]

Despite the fact that the beleaguered automaker has not yet turned a profit since its unceremonious departure from Daimler to Cerberus, Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli says that the company is still on track. "Through the first quarter we are still on plan relative to the pro forma and the targets we established for 2008, in spite of some of the economic winds that are hitting us," he says. In order to turn last year's $1.6 billion loss into positive cash flow, Chrysler will be relying heavily on joint-partnerships like the one it just announced with Nissan (but probably not Fiat) as well as with new and advanced engineering. Nardelli highlights interiors, upcoming technology integration and alternative powertrains as potential new incoming-generating features for their line of vehicles.

[Sources: Automotive News / The Detroit News]