Dodge has confirmed the death of its 2 heavily criticized models with the end of the year 2011. It is believed that the retirement of these models, Nitro and Caliber would pave the way for Dodge’s new brainchild, Dart which is a compact sedan built based on the platform of Alfa’s Giulietta to enter the market starting with its debut next month at the Detroit Motor Show.
Needless to say, the Caliber was introduced by dodge 5 years ago replacing the Neon to compete with other C-Segment cars but never reach the glory. The sales of Caliber achieved the highest figures in May 2008 with 12856 units but in November 2009, the number dropped to just 412 units.
The story behind the Nitro model is not so different compared to the Caliber. With its cheap interior and poor driving pleasure, this pitiful model received a lot of critics throughout its life time. Compared to its linemate Jeep Liberty, Nitro suffered an aging evolution whereas the Liberty continue to be improved as a better SUV. In March 2007, Nitro’s sales peaked at 7532 units but the dark month arrived in July 2009 with just 1115 units sold.
