My local Dodge dealer told me that the facgtory is closed for orders on "certain Nitros" He said this 3 weeks ago and now still claims they are shut down until the end of the month.

When I asked this of another dealer I was told no such shutdown existed.
I think the first dealer may be feeding me a false story because they are trying to close a deal with me on a car in the lot or another dealer.

I am ordering a 6speed manual SXT.

Who is telling the truth here?

Can anybody verify this?

Can anyone suggest a number that I can call to get the correct story?

Ken

Cary, NC

KenCary, I am not going to lie to you and tell you that I completely swear by what I am about to tell you, but arifleet news indicates that the last day to place an order for an '07 Nitro is this Friday the 13th. It also says you can place an order for an '08 on/after June 11th. These dates may be only for fleet orders, but they shouldn't be too far off the mark for all orders. So, your dealer could be telling you the truth.

Thanks for the info.

There may be some truth in what he said to me, but if I were my hot shot salesman, I would use the 4-13 deadline to push me to order in time: win- win for both of us. God knows these guys push in every other way!

The dealer who told me this was Hendrick Dodge in Cary, NC

Not sure if anyone out there has feedback on how truthful these guys are.

Ken

The plant where the Nitro is built was temporarily closed but my fleet manager believes it is back up and running. "just trying t ohelp"

Thanks for all of your help.

I e-mailed and called Chrysler customer care and they confirmed that the Nirto factory is and has been taking orders all along.

It seems that Hendrick was either grossly misinformed or just giving me a line to push me to buy something in stock. I e-mailed my Hendrick salesman again last week and his story was that the factory would not be open until after April.

I got tired of hearing this from Hendrick and began to negotiate with the other dealers all of whom were very willing to take a factory order.

Just ordered a My new nitro from a very respectable dearlership---- Not Hendrick Dodge.

I got a great deal and picked out exactly what I wanted along with custom leather seats.

I like to do my own shifting so I ordered an 6-speed 4X4 SXT loaded with pretty much all of the options.

Mine will be black with grey interior. The leather will be dark grey sides with red inserts (like the RT seats).

When mine arrives I plan to add:

- Bull bar/skidplate
- rock rails (maybe)
- Maganflow cat back exhaust
- Stage II Jet Power Module
- K&N intake kit (or maybe homemade-- need to check out the underhood plumbing first)

I am going to be like a Kid before Christmas during the 6-8week wait.

Ken

Hey Ken, that's great news. Did you order it with the appearance package (body color fenders and bumpers) or stick with the dark gray?

Sounds like you will have a nice ride. I'll be waiting with you because I would like to see pics if you can manage.

I had mixed feelings about the painted fenders. I like the way they look, but I like the durability of the molded color ones, especially because I will be one of the few to take my Nitro for a mild off road session now and then.

One or 2 brushes against a bush could put a nasty scratch in the shiny fenders.

It turns out that the factory made my decision for me as they no longer offer the SXT appearance package. It may come back with the 2008 models, but for me I could not order it.

The one thing I have heard from many sources is that the 2008 base price is going up now that people seem to like the Nitro.

This is my first "foreign" car purchase, but it still feels like Dodge is an American company even though the Germans own it.

The Nitro is not a foreign car. Sure its got some Mercedes design elements, but it is 90% US/Canadian content and built in Ohio. Diamler will sell Chrysler, most likely within the next 12 months. Some corp. in North America will purchase Chrysler, they will still be building Nitros and all will be well in Dodge country.

I realize the production location, but let's face facts, the profit goes to a German Company. In my book that make Dodge a foreign company. The Japanese and Koreans make cars in the US, but I would not call them American car companies.

On the other hand, Maza is not a Japanese company as they are majority owned by Ford.

In any case, It will be intersting to see who buys and bails out Chrysler. I am an old muscle car guy and I would love to see them return to an American-owned company.

If not, than I hope the new buyer keeps the product plan as it is because Chrysler has more cars that interest me than anyone else. Enough that they got me, a die-hard Chevy guy to buy a Nitro.