Dodge have gone to some remarkable lengths to promote the Dodge Nitro in recent times. You may remember having seen the Dodge Nitro at the 2007 Melbourne International Motorshow. All in all, it appeared to be just another "SUV". As a vehicle, I can't say it interested me all that much.

The one Nitro feature I did like (in theory) was the MyGIG, which uses a touch screen or voice commands to control all of Nitro’s entertainment and communication technologies, and includes satellite navigation as well as a 20-gigabyte hard drive where music and photos can be stored. Not sure why you'd need a hard drive for photo storage in your car, but a useless little feature like this is the only thing keeping the Nitro interesting.

What has interested me, more than the Nitro itself, is the viral marketing campaign that has surrounded the product.

First there was the Nitro, so tough it could crash right through the center of the earth...

Then there was the Nitro, so powerful it can launch other cars into the atmosphere...

And now there's the Nitro, enemy of pets worldwide...

I'm sure that last one would be popular with animal rights groups. It's a real shame that the Nitro doesn't look as interesting as its ads do. If the Nitro fails in the market, it won't be for lack of effort on the part of the Dodge marketing department!

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