With Or Without You: Nissan reportedly commits to new Titan even if Dodge goes down
It's comparatively old in the marketplace, its sales are down, and the Nissan Titan is/was slated to be replaced by a Dodge Ram-based replacement in 2011. Chrysler is distracted at the moment, trying to work out its government-mandated deal with Fiat, and Nissan is making contingency plans for the Titan in case its pickup hookup goes belly-up. PickupTrucks.com caught up with Larry Dominique, Nissan's vice-president of product and advanced planning, at the New York Auto Show, who indicated that Nissan intends to continue offering a full size pickup truck even without a rebadged Ram.
Rather than give up, Nissan is prepared to extend Titan production at Nissan's Canton, Mississippi facility. Plans for the Ram-based next-generation are nearly complete, so Nissan would have to swing into action quickly to stay in the game, and Nissan says it can go it alone and design and build a new Titan if it has to. The most likely plan, should the planned Chrysler-based Titan fail to materialize, would be a revised and refreshed version of the current Titan to bridge the gap and attempt to bump sales.
The Titan's sharp sales decline reflects a pickup market that's brutally competitive, and the Titan, while pleasant and capable, has never managed to attain either the volume or the critical acclaim of most of its competitors. Nissan has adjusted production to meet demand, but reportedly say they could ramp up quickly if they can find a way to whip up sales excitement.
[Source:PickupTrucks.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jamie 11:15AM (4/10/2009)
Does Nissan really believe that a Dodge Ram based pickup would sell better than the current Titan? I don't think so.
If a customer wants a Dodge Ram pickup, that's the beast they're gonna buy; not a Nissan copycat. Note the 'absolutely amazing' sales record of the Isuzu I-350 version of the Chevy Colorado, for example.
Nissan should stick to refining the Titan bit by bit; year by year until the market shifts more in their favor.
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Kimura 11:34AM (4/10/2009)
Or how well the Mitsubishi Raider has done.
MikeW 12:10PM (4/10/2009)
Nissan has the VQ40 V6 & 7 speed automatic to drop into the Titan.
and the transfer case from the Armada.
Jj 12:12PM (4/10/2009)
The plan was that the Ram based Titan replacement would have unique, Nissan designed sheetmetal and interior, making the relationship less obvious to those are are not closely following the industry.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/02/new-infod-on-nissans-ram-based-titan-pickup/
clicc916 12:17PM (4/10/2009)
I agree.
So Nissan's Frontiers are being rebadged by Suzuki...and then Nissan wants to use a Dodge Ram for their new Titan. I'd expect the Titan to be more upscale than the Ram...Because I don't think you can get any more inexpensive than the Dodge Ram without hurting cutting into profit. I say Nissan should shift their resources into the Frontier until the truck market picks up again. Spending quality time in developing one model will help others (a la the Tacoma and Tundra). I've never seen the benefit of cross-company rebadging...
James 12:28PM (4/10/2009)
"Nissan reportedly commits to new Titan even if Dodge goes down"
Yep, even if it goes down...like the Titan(ic).
Tony 4:59PM (4/10/2009)
I agree with Jamie on this. Nissan could very well take advantage of Chryslers predicament, the poor reviews and problems of the Tundra, the boring Silverado and the not so new F-150 to come out with a new truck based on the lessons learned from the first Titan. Toyota learnt a few lesson from the T100 debacle and the result was the first gen Tundra which in my book was the best truck out there, not too big or too small.
Trucks just got too big and when gas hits $4.00 a gallon again having a 7/8 ths truck may not be such a bad idea. I just hope Nissan supplies a small diesel engine for it.
Forget the Ram and all the quality problems and longevity issues that truck will have, build on what you have learned not from others mistakes.
UltimoDragon 1:09AM (4/11/2009)
@ Jamie & @ Kimura: Nissan has much more brand awareness and market share than either Mitsubishi or Isuzu, so your comparisons to the I-Series or the Raider just don't work at all. In fact, I'd almost guarantee you that Titan sales have always been higher than combined I-Series and Raider sales during years that all three trucks were available.
Frank 11:26AM (4/10/2009)
I thought Nissan pulled out of this because of $ issues? Chrysler was all for it. Are they reconsidering it now?
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Cellien 1:00PM (4/10/2009)
The Titan has looked the same since it released in 2004, gets terrible gas mileage, is pricey, and less capable than the competition. They need to do something.
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Other Man 1:59PM (4/10/2009)
I'm not convinced using the Ram platform is going to give it the rep or sales that they think.
I'd also like to see Nissan use their own 4.0L and a newer 5.6L.
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RedBeauty84ZX 6:08PM (4/11/2009)
DO IT NISSAN! Forget rebading a Dodge, build your own 2nd gen Titan! When the current Titan was released back in what...03? It was a great truck, most powerful truck in its class. This time around throw in more engine options....the new 5.0L V8 would make a great mid size engine, the award winning 4.0L V6 would make a great base engine and a redesigned 5.6 or bigger V8 would make a great line of engine choices. With the D3 continually losing market share a 2nd gen Titan would almost undoubtably do better then the first...how much better though depends on how the markets going....
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Jared 3:10PM (4/10/2009)
Given how badly it is selling, I don't understand why they would spend the money to replace it.
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Cash 3:38PM (4/10/2009)
The titan is ok looking, it's just build like a damn import sedan. The front end is held together with bailing twine, the bed bolts are thinner then pushpins, and it's cab is a visual mess of cheap plastic. Now if it was cheaper then the competition, all of the above could be seen as a fair trade off, but that isn't the case. I think it was stupid of Nissan to get into the truck game to begin with, but I would have rather seen them do it right if they were going to do it at all.
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imoore 2:09PM (4/11/2009)
If Nissan does attempt to contunue the Titan without Dodge, then it needs to (1) offer a standard size cab, (2) offer a 6-cylinder engine, and (3) lower the prices. Otherwise, forget it. Nissan pretty much dropped the ball with its limited selection Titan when it first arrived on the market in 2004.
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