DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi Combine Forces for New Pickup

New Mitsubishi Midsize Pickup Designed and Built in U.S.A.

More and more DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group and partially owned Mitsubishi are taking advantage of economies of scale that result from sharing components and chassis architecture.

DaimlerChrysler and Mistsubishi are once again teaming up to produce a pickup truck. This artist's rendering depicts a new sport truck concept to be shown soon. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

The inherent cost savings are exactly what each automaker needs, while both garner benefits by having the ability to choose the best component or platform to do the job.

Chrysler is expected to unveil a new Mitsubishi Galant-based Sebring sometime soon, improving the current model dramatically, while new small car initiatives are also underway.

What about trucks? As expected the automakers are once again joining forces to produce a pickup truck, but unlike the Japanese made Dodge D50 compact that came out in 1979,

Mitsubishi's new midsize truck will share most of its components with the next-generation Dakota planned for the 2005 model year. The current Dakota is shown here. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler)

which was nothing more than a re-branded Mitsubishi, the new midsize model will be built at Chrysler Group's Warren, Michigan Truck Assembly Plant.

The announcement comes just before the introduction of a completely revised 2005 Dodge Dakota, inspired heavily by the all-new Durango but with sharper edged front fenders. A forthcoming Mitsubishi truck will differ dramatically in styling, being penned in the Mitsubishi Motors Design Studio in Cypress, California, but share the Dakota's architecture as well as the majority of its components. It will arrive in dealerships in 2005, as a 2006 model.