Nissan Titan may be on last legs
I’ve been working on my latest installment of the Ultimate Lineup - a series I used to do where I decide which of a brand’s models to keep, and which to axe. This time around Nissan got the nod, and it’s been one of the toughest UL’s yet. An article I read at Newsweek points out that I’m not alone in my thinking, at least on one of the vehicles.
It seems that Carlos Ghosn ( Nissan’s CEO ) hinted that he is considering axing the company’s full-size pickup - the Titan. On paper the Titan performs fantastically well - it holds it’s own against all the big names, and excels in quite a few areas. The problem is that paper battles don’t always translate into sales - and that’s where the Titan has fallen short. Year to date, Nissan has moved less than one quarter the number of Rams that Dodge has been able to move. And I doubt that anyone would say that the Ram is a better truck than the Titan - that’s ridiculous. But pricing and “Americanness” come into play. Nevermind that the Titan is built on American soil, while quite a few Rams are not.
During a recent press conference, Ghosn had this to say -
“The name of the game is going to be more fuel-efficient cars,” he says. “And when you make your product plans for the future, you can’t say, ‘I’ve always had a pickup truck, so I’ll just keep improving it.’ If you can’t make it profitably, you have to get out.”
In other words, no vehicle is sacred, and the Titan less so than others. Sales are poor, and its’ extremely inefficient. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nissan let the Titan run it’s course without any addition refresh or redesign cycles. Once sales dwindle to the point of unprofitability, it’s bye-bye Titan.
It’s bark means business, just leaving the stop light.
Endless hours with a commercial plow upfront, you don’t feel as beat up.
The interior is very well done.
Where Nissan should take this performance level a step further is the one ton plus. The Skid Steer still needs to get from point to point and done so safely.
One zone that I thought was a bit exposed is the door switches with windows slightly open. Rain and snow land there. A $500 repair on my Isuzu.
Perhaps typical of most 4 door cabs, with one body feature that could stand an upgrade is the way the front doors close.
It’s a flex bounce action when front doors latch into the rear doors. You think the door did not latch completely.
With the rear door latched, it should form a more solid pillar.
One other point is the rear bumper. A small walking pace hit is causing more damage than should be. Buckling the lower rear fender. Typical Street Rod.