Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly. My old Jeeps have hard, scratchy interiors, but they're over 25 years old with over 180,000 miles each and don't show much (if any) wear. Meanwhile, all the cars my family has had with "nicer" interiors when new, all the soft touch eventually wears off and the interiors are left looking (and feeling) disgusting. If I'm keeping a car for a long time (which I tend to), I'd rather durable materials.
I dont care if i sit on a fruit box and it has a square steering wheel... All cars break down, but how often??? With the history now behind it... GET TO THE POINT which you never did... Waste of time...
this is actually a pretty good car but only if you can get it in the higher trim model that came with the 4 liter v6. it got rid of a lot of that cheap-looking Chrome on the outside and instead was color matched with the rest of the body. the better trim would also come with leather interior seats instead of the grody fabric ones. sure it still had the lackluster plastic Interiors, but the jeep liberty's that came out around the same timeframe and was pretty much the sister car of the nitro, weren't much better.
Enjoyed this. Right length and David always makes things interesting, entertaining, and enjoyable. Perhaps alternate between, piles, cool vehicles, and ones David will dislikes.
I bought a 2 year old used one back in 2012. They were the cheapest 4wd SUV at the time with a decent towing number that seemed suitable for towing motorcycles. And it did so well. Was the interior hard plastics? Yes but kids trash car interiors anyway so hard plastics was a plus in my book. And the steering wheel deterioration is normal on alot of cars in sunny climates. It had adequate power. I towed a double axle U-Haul trailer full of camping stuff from East TN to the Everglades and never felt like I was risking my life. It did get pretty rough gas mileage though. I think it was mid to high teens. I felt like it rode like a truck which is not a compliment. It gets all it's hate because of the styling which is very subjective. My now ex wife thought it looked tough. Personally I could have cared less. It did what I needed and I made some good memories driving it to vacations. All that said I think this will be a fun series to watch!
I actually like the delivery of your presentation and enthusiasm to your work. But hell im going to buy a Dodge Nitro seen as my current car is about to pile in, they are cool af! I see so many really good reviews on this vehicle in the UK and the price is pretty good.
The crappy interior looks like it held up well, other than the steering wheel. Never underestimate the average person's ability to trash out a car's interior. No cracks in the dash, though. Ultimately, someone wised up and got themselves a Honda. Hopefully, it serves them well.
At this point I find the world of shit cars and poverty in the US pretty depressing. I wish transit/biking/walking was an option for a lot more people.
That is a lot of hate on the Nitro. I have a Nitro with the 4.0 V6 and the NAG 1 (Mercedes) automatic transmission and part time 4WD. It is decently speedy and has a lot of room. MPG not great but can tow 5000 lbs and is good off road (not great, since no low range). It is not a front drive SUV pretender but a real truck.
The Nitro is a good truck with very few reliable issues. The 3.7 V6 was pretty shitty in anything it went in. The Dakota, Liberty, Commander, etc. The correct engine for the Nitro is the 4.0 V6. Much more powerful than the 3.7 and very few issues. Most people only ever have to replace the water pump and radiator at some point. There’s nothing wrong with the Nitro.
Sadly, I’ve noticed we’re back to cheap cost cut interiors on new cars to offset the cost of all the “tech”….even in new Hondas. Hard plastic door panels and the exposed sound deadener that passes for carpet these days….jeesh!
I guarantee it will go to auction. They may sell it to an intermediary to spiff up before the auction. (pipe, cleaning, replace steering wheel from junkyard)
I think the styling was supposed to be reminiscent of classic off-roaders such as Toyota Land Cruisers and Willys wagons... which just makes it extra sad. It's a crappy off-brand version of aspirational vehicles, that aspires to nothing itself. Also a waste of a good name, "Nitro" would sound cool if it was applied to anything else.
Personally I kind of like the styling of the Nitro. Otherwise though, I completely agree, the cheapest, hardest, scratchiest plastics everywhere they aren't supposed to be, being dragged along by an ancient (not in a good way) V6 and 4spd slushbox.
Of course, what was left unsaid was that if you still lived in Detroit, you wouldn't have found one of these as the rust monster would have devoured it long before now. I"ll just add that if I found a guy underneath my car with a cordless sawzall, he'd be singing soprano for a really long time. This can be a good series, David and I look forward to more.