Regardless of what type of car or truck you're talking about, all the parts need to come together, be of high quality and do their jobs without complaint or noise.

Also, the exterior design has to carry out the manufacturer's theme and the interior has to work well with the exterior in every sense.

If all that happens, you have a successful car or truck.

While Dodge's all-new Nitro passes the exterior design test with flying colors, something got lost in the execution of the parts and how they work together.

The exterior looks very much like Dodge trucks of old, clearly influenced by the company's Power Wagon concept of a few years ago. I also liked the convenience and ingenuity in such features as the Slide 'n Go pull-out storage floor in the back of the Nitro.

Nobody else offers anything like that.

The interior design also continues the tough, ready-for-action theme. But beauty, style and ambiance only go so far.

Our Nitro was a rough customer on Pittsburgh's pothole-filled roads. The Nitro pitched and shook as it made its way down the road, leaving passengers feeling tossed around.

And the handling felt sloppy, not unlike the first generation Jeep Liberty before big improvements were made on subsequent models.

In the small-details department, the power door locks on the test model were the loudest I've ever heard, rattling nerves and causing passengers to jump when the locks slammed into place with a sound that was akin to guns going off. This racket says "cheap" to anyone who experiences it.

The door handles on the Nitro are the old "handle with a button" design; they could be designed to go with the retro styling of the Nitro. Getting in and out of the Nitro was not exactly a pleasure either.

The door openings seemed narrow. Combined with the limited interior space, the entire ergonomics seemed off.

All in all, I was disappointed with the Nitro.

Perhaps it was simply that the test model that I drove was poorly constructed, but in my experience this cool-looking vehicle is badly in need of some refinement.