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It's been so long since we've heard anything new regarding the Dodge Hornet concept from way back in 2006 that you could be forgiven for assuming it was dead on arrival. Not so, according to Thomas Hausch, ChryCo's veep for international purchasing, who says that the automaker is hard at work developing its Hornet model. Not that it's particularly shocking that Chrysler would be doing everything in its power to bring more small cars to market, considering that sales in that segment are so strong in the face of $4 per gallon gasoline.

It has long been assumed that the tie-up with Chinese automaker Chery would yield the first Chrysler compact, but remember that Chrysler recently made a deal with Nissan. In that arrangement, Nissan would get a version of the Dodge Ram in exchange for a Nissan-built small designed and developed by Chrysler. So perhaps the Hornet will actually come from Nissan. Whatever the case, the American automaker is in desperate need of a good compact vehicle as quickly as possible.