joeyr

CASCAIS, Portugal — Nissan announced last month that it's made a deal with Chrysler to build the next-generation Titan pickup at a Chrysler plant in Mexico. The question on our lips was simple: Does that mean the future Titan will get the famous Hemi V8?

The matter of whether the next Titan and Chrysler's Ram will share engines is "still being worked out," William J. Krueger, Nissan North America Inc.'s senior vice president for manufacturing, purchasing and supply chain management for The Americas, told Inside Line at a recent media event here.

Krueger concedes that Chrysler's invested heavily to build the Hemi's brand equity and may not be willing to share the engine, even though the next-generation Titan will be built on the same architecture as the new-for-'09 Dodge Ram coming this fall. Although Krueger will not comment further, other than to say of engine-sharing between the two trucks, "Initially, maybe it doesn't make sense," speculators have suggested Nissan may have insisted on the Hemi as part of the deal — despite the fact that Nissan developed its own 5.4-liter V8 for the Titan.

One of the main reasons Nissan wanted to build the next-gen Titan on the Ram chassis was to broaden the number of configurations for the Titan, which currently is limited to a single engine — the 5.4-liter V8 — and just two body styles. So it's likely the next Titan will have access, at the very least, to Chrysler V6s, which have nothing like the dominating market presence of the Hemi.

Krueger says the Chrysler-built Titan, slated for a 2011 launch, will have Nissan-specific sheet metal and most of the consumer "touch points" will be unique to Nissan as well. The Titan will be built at Chrysler's assembly plant in Saltillo, Mexico.

What this means to you: If Chrysler gives Nissan access to the Hemi, it's another indication that V8 dominance is coming to an end — or private-equity-owned Chrysler is past the point of caring. — Bill Visnic, senior editor, Edmunds AutoObserver


http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=126372

DK challenger

I hope they don't put the Hemi in a freakin Nissan.[:'(]

DSkippy

True that. It's downright un-Amurrican.

lear4406

I'm sorry but the Hemi belongs in cars with a pentastar period. Let Nissan use its own engines, thats what makes a Dodge a Dodge. I shudder to think of the coined words... does that Nissan got a Hemi?

lear4406

I'm sorry but the Hemi belongs in cars with a pentastar period. Let Nissan use its own engines, thats what makes a Dodge a Dodge. I shudder to think of the coined words... does that Nissan got a Hemi?

RLSH700

Good grief Edmunds is getting very sloppy. The 5.4L is used in the F-150, the 5.6L Endurance is the engine that goes into the Titan. I've said this before and I'll say it again, it is foolish for Dodge to trade their two "bread and butter" products for third rate models in return.

MrKrisSullivan

yeah that's weird it's def. a 5.6. On the other what the heck!!!! If they put a Hemi in a Nissan pick-up I'm not gonna buy another Dodge product ever!!! Never ever, that's betrayl. Where's the brand loyalty??? This is giving me a bad taste in my mouth just thinking about it. What the??? Jeez im so pissed right now.. I don't know if you guy's feel like me but whatever Dodge!!! If you go through with this count me out. Don't do this, you will comprimise everything with a Hemi in it.

RoswellGrey

Uhhhh ...aren't there several Dodges running around with Mitsubishi engines in them? You know -- Mitsubishi, the same company that built the Zero that was hurled against our brave forces in the Pacific during WWII?? Wait...wasn't the Zero actually designed by Howard Hughes, a legendary (if somewhat eccentric) American who undoubtedly owned a Dodge or two in his day? Oh, where will this all end?????

RLSH700

The way I look at it. It is far more offensive to rebadge a product and call it a Dodge when it is something else than it is for another brand to offer a Dodge underneath their skin. What I'm upset about is that Dodge is currently exercising the negotiation skills of U.S. Grant. They are trading their best products for the weakest offerings on the market. If Dodge was at least gaining a car that was competitive in this field like the Civic (wait until the end and you will understand where I'm going), they could drop in their own powertrain and utilize their performance minded engines and modify it for AWD to make an SRT-4 that could provide better refinement in the market to succeed in both worlds. What they are going to get is a lame offering that needs a lot of work to be competitive in fuel economy versions and even more work in performance versions. If they were at least getting a car from Nissan that is actually competitive with the best offerings like the Altima, this would not be such a bad deal.

mopar2ya

Wasn't it Datsun that purchased the patent rights to the Hemi from Chrysler back in the eighties? Didn't Datsun get renamed to Nissan? So... hasn't this already happened once??