Nissan nixes plan for Heavy-Duty Titan pickup
It looks like the challenges in the heavy-duty pickup truck market is too intense for Nissan, who has decided to steer clear of the potentially lucrative, yet highly-competitive, market. Heavy duty offerings from the Detroit three come in several different configurations to suit virtually every need, and Nissan seems to feel that they would have trouble selling enough HD trucks to make it worth their while. The scribes over at Pickuptruck.com quote Nissan as pointing out data that shows only one in three truck owners would consider a foreign truck. With limited sales opportunities, Nissan would have trouble matching higher-volume manufacturers on price, including domestics that will pile on incentives in order to move their bread and butter trucks.
Nissan has plenty of reasons for their decision, yet we think if the Titan had lived up to its lofty sales goals there would be an HD version on the way.
[Source: Pickuptruck.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dub 10:49AM (3/16/2007)
I think Nissan got scared off by the upcoming Tundra HD.
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Greek Boy 10:51AM (3/16/2007)
What???
I thought Toyota and Nissan were gonna eat the domestic lunches? LMAO.
Toyota is already selling at half its reduced projections with incentives and Nissan never made a dent. That because there are far better choices for less.
Oh well:)
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bernie 10:57AM (3/16/2007)
They announced this in December. Once again AutoBlog is right at the cutting edge of news!
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synergeist 12:30PM (3/16/2007)
Americans are loyal to their home-grown work trucks. Leave the "toy" trucks to the poseurs and pantywaists.
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mr.ed 1:04PM (3/16/2007)
Not crude enough for the knuckle-draggers.
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Steve 1:22PM (3/16/2007)
Toyota also got cold feet - the Tundra HD development program is on indefinite hold and could be cancelled completely.
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Guenther 1:22PM (3/16/2007)
Tundra HD is on hold as well. The reason there are incentives already, is because of the ludicrous pricing of the regular cab models. If they address that, they'll do fine. Fine=selling 1/5 as many trucks as GM or ford, but with much better profit margins.
If Nissan (and Toyota) could integrate a HD version of the Patrol (HD Landcruiser) front suspension, it would go a long way towards a proper 3/4ton
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G 1:52PM (3/16/2007)
Its quite likely they signed a deal with the Domestics, and are letting the Americans have that segment to avoid backlash from Rednecks if they become better than them.
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Bryan 1:56PM (3/16/2007)
Well well well....I am waiting for the foriegn lovers excuses for this one. I think Chris Shunk has it right. Never met sales goals. Why bother with a 3rd rate truck when there are better choices? Don't give me the V6 excuse and lack of reg cab model because the supercab and crew cab versions for all trucks sell better than reg cabs. I never found Nissan much of a threat. Looks like Toyota is not much of one either. Who wants a reincarnated 1997 F150 with mutilated taillights? And they say moving forward lol. Yeah with someone elses design from a decade ago.
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Gale 1:59PM (3/16/2007)
It just wouldn't be a Nissan or Toyota story without Bryan chiming in with baseless assertions and sweeping generalizations. Nice work Bry. The floors at GM have never looked so clean! LOL
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whofan 2:37PM (3/16/2007)
"It just wouldn't be a Nissan or Toyota story without Bryan chiming in with baseless assertions and sweeping generalizations. Nice work Bry. The floors at GM have never looked so clean! LOL"
If the shoe were on the other foot??? Like it often has been. We all hear plenty (sweeping gereralizations) in the Ford or GM stories. I doesn`t taste as good as it dishes does it?
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Bryan 3:17PM (3/16/2007)
Hey Gale, I don't even live near a plant. I am a Texan, but I am from Houston. Hmm..doesn't seem to be any plants near me..wonder why? I work at one as you state, so there must be one nearby. Oh, thats right, silly me drives to Arlington, Texas everyday! Man what a drive! Baseless assertions? I live in truck country, I was raised with trucks, and I drive a truck. Better luck next time though. How's that sludge coming along? Get everything out yet? Or is the new engine on the way? ;)
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far jr 6:24PM (3/16/2007)
Bryan ... Gale is a big Nissan fan. I'm not too sure about Toyotas.
As a Titan owner, my truck has both thrilled and disapointed me in many ways.
I love the accelleration, paved road ride and handling, and the transmission is amazing.
That said, the quality sucks, off road ride is like jello, and it drinks more fuel than a Saturn-V rocket.
I will likely always have a truck in my driveway because of need. Unless there are big changes, there will not be another Titan to replace this one. Tundra and Sierra, I am yours to woo.
Nissan sees the writing on the wall. The current Titan may soldier on with slight modifications (ala. Ford Ranger) for a decade or so then poof... it may become history book material. The first "true" full sized Japanese truck.
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Frank 8:20PM (3/16/2007)
far jr, if you're really in the market, and you want to be open minded, there's supposed to be a new Ram next year, that is if Daimler doesn't screw it up like almost everything else they've done with Chrysler.
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Barney 9:18PM (3/16/2007)
The day of putting up a Macho image is going by the wayside. People are looking at the price of gas and questioning if owning a pickup is an actual need or just a show piece. Those that actualy need a pickup may also decide a 300hp V8 is not needed. Toyota has small Hino's to fill the niche for those requiring a HD. Nissan and Toyota don't want to rely on a fad when it's being diminished. Leave the big gas guzzlers to the German and American truck builders.
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far jr 12:24AM (3/17/2007)
Frank... I like the styling of the current Ram and it was high on my list of consideration when I purchased the Titan. Numerous friends with transmission & axle problems, unfriendly seatbelts in the rear for child seats, and percieved poor fuel mileage led me away from Chryler. Can't say that I've done much better in the Titan in the fuel economy segment however.
Which leads me to Barney... I'm laughing... because my Titan gets terrible fuel economy. I frequently drive an F450 diesel weighing twice as much and get similar fuel economy numbers.
Why would Nissan build such a gas guzzler in the first place if they are so green? The only green Toyota and Nissan concerned themselves with in the full size truck market was green "Washingtons" in the pockets of American consumers.
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Barney 12:54AM (3/17/2007)
Which leads me to Barney... I'm laughing... because my Titan gets terrible fuel economy. I frequently drive an F450 diesel weighing twice as much and get similar fuel economy numbers.
Why would you keep the Nissan and not use the F450 in that case?
So you use this 450 as a grocery getter do you far jar?. My point is that pickup trucks will no longer be used as just as personal transportation. I had a Navistar 4900 with a DTA 466 and it got better milage then my Ford Econoline. If Nissan is giving you poor milage then why would you think a bigger Nissan would give you better milage. The F150 is selling better then the F450 and I bet your F450 wouldn't do better with a gas engine. My F450 (99) has a steel deck equipped with a Hiab and is a 4X4 with dual wheels. It don't do that great on Diesel fuel even with a six speed. I use a 1985 turbo diesel Toyota 4X4 as my personal vehicle. Until manufacturers put smaller diesels in their pickups, I'll stick with it.
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Bryan 1:39AM (3/17/2007)
Far JR--didn't know that about her. So instead of sludge she should have plenty of recalls to keep her busy lol. This is one thing I have always noticed about autos. You can have a good engine with crappy surroundings and it flops. The Camaro and Firebird were perfect examples. One of my friends grandpas has always owned a domestic truck. He bought a Titan to see what all the hype was about, and cannot stand it now. He says the truck bounces and hops over every little crack in the pavement. The quality from what I hear is horrible. You confirm this. In my eyes, the F150 is still the best truck money can buy, with the best looking interior. The new GM trucks are good, but not good enough to dethrone the F150. Aside from a couple of first year quality issues, my 04 non-heritage F150 has been rock solid. Nearly 70k miles so far and keeps on going. No that isnt much yet but I plan on keeping it and paying it off and putting at least another 40k on it before I let it take a break and I buy something new. I see a lot of talk about the GM trucks taking the Ford title away, but what a lot do not seem to understand is the super duties account for about 40% of F-series sales. With the new one out, that will keep Ford in the #1 spot until we see a new F150 next year.
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gerald 6:00AM (3/19/2007)
Good move on Nissan's part. They need to make the Titan a good light duty truck first. Then they can focus on HD trucks.
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