CHICAGO - DaimlerChrysler AG could have had an easy sale yesterday if the 2007 Dodge Nitro were already in production in Toledo and if Alex Boyarskiy's wife would have let him buy the vehicle without a test drive.
The Chicagoan spent more than a half hour circling two Nitro prototypes, reaching over a rope at this city's auto show to open the back of an R/T version to examine the sliding rear cargo floor, asking various salesmen and spokesmen questions and simply admiring the SUV's medium size and bold design.
"I love it," said Mr. Boyarskiy of the sport utility vehicle and first non-Jeep to be built at the Toledo Jeep Assembly Plant in a decade. Production is to begin in the next few months, and the vehicles should be at dealership lots in the fall.
"I'm almost ready to buy it right now, but my wife ...," Mr. Boyarskiy trailed off.
Mr. Boyarskiy was among the first consumers to get a good look at the Nitro, unveiled this week to the news media and yesterday to the public at the show downtown at McCormick Place. The show runs through Feb. 19.
The Nitro's burly design drew lingering glances and praise even from showgoers who admitted they weren't in the market for an SUV, or at least not a compact one.
A black Nitro SLT, featuring a 4.0-liter V-6 engine, performance suspension, and 20-inch tires with chrome-clad aluminum wheels, rotated on a podium with a spokesman or two periodically giving talks or answering questions.
A similarly outfitted "inferno red" Nitro R/T stood in a roped-off area nearby, along with a model of the SUV's base 3.7-liter V-6 engine it will share with its Toledo Jeep factory mate, the slightly smaller Jeep Liberty.
Efrain Alicea of Chicago said he likely will trade in his Dodge Durango within a year for a small SUV, both because it would be cheaper as he nears retirement and would get better fuel economy. He tried a Liberty but wants a roomier ride.
"I'm hoping this one is, because I like it a lot," Mr. Alicea said of the Nitro.
Improving fuel economy but maintaining utility also were on the minds of showgoers Bruce Johnson of Chicago, who drives a Chevrolet Tahoe, and Mark Brojack of South Canaan, Pa., a Jeep Grand Cherokee owner in Chicago on business. Mr. Brojack said he still wants four-wheel drive and towing capability, both of which the Nitro will have.
Diane Whiting of Rockford, Ill., said she would buy a Nitro if Chrysler offers it with a diesel in the United States as it does with the Liberty. The Liberty, however, is too small, she said.
"This one looks a little bit bigger," the Ford Explorer driver said.
Other people wished for other options. Robert Rummel of Glen Ellyn, Ill., said he would prefer a pickup version of the Nitro similar to the Dodge M80 concept shown on the auto show circuit a few years ago.
But the Nitro alone was enough for Colleen Judge of Johnstown, Ohio, one of 150 people chosen from 6,200 online entrants nationwide to vie for a 2006 Dodge Ram Mega Cab during a musical chairs competition yesterday. After failing to win the pickup, Mrs. Judge toyed with the idea of trading in her Nissan Altima for a Nitro.
"This one would look good in my driveway and in my garage," she said.
Contact Julie M. McKinnon at:
jmckinnon@theblade.com
or 419-724-6087.
First Published February 11, 2006, 12:29 p.m.
