FanaticZ
01-10-2003, 05:32 PM
<font color="brown[/img] Yes, Nissan's new pickup is a true full-size truck. With a name like Titan it better be.
But the Titan is not only big. Nissan promises the Titan will break new ground in functionality and performance its rookie year versus the veteran truck competition from Ford, Chevy, Dodge and Toyota.
PUTC was the first to speak with Nissan President Carlos Ghosn after he unveiled the Titan. We asked him why, with so many new Nissans being unveiled at Detroit, he appeared only for the Titan launch.
“This is the king of our lineup,” Ghosn replied. “The (2004) Maxima, the Quest, the (Infiniti) FX45 are all important products. But the Titan is our king.”
In developing the Titan Nissan engineers spent over 2-1/2 years researching what truck owners think a full-size pickup should be and they gave 14 examples to prove Titan is a full-size truck owners will embrace:
1. 300+ horsepower, which we estimate to be between 345 to 355-hp
2. 375+ pound-feet of torque, more than Dodge's new 5.7-liter HEMI motor
3. A 5-speed automatic transmission with tow/haul mode
4. 17-inch or 18-inch wheels and tires - Nissan engineers tested the Titan extensively off road. All that testing proved to the engineers that a higher sidewall was more important than a larger wheel. While the larger wheel may look a little better the decision was towards performance rather than looks
5. Four wheel disc, four channel ABS brake system that is used to assist traction on and off road
6. A full size 6 ½ foot bed with 50 inches between the wheel wells.
7. Lockable storage compartment outside the truck that can hold up to 3 cubic feet of hitch, tow strap, chains or other stuff
8. 9400-pound trailering capacity, the highest of any full-size extended cab
9. Rear doors that don’t trap you when you are parked next to a vehicle and need to open both doors at the same time. The rear doors open a full 168-degrees
10. A center console that can hold hanging files
11. 79-inches width - if it were one-inch wider it would require cab, tailgate and rear fender marker lights
12. Electronic rear locking differential for 4x4 that engages in low-range first-gear, otherwise the brake system limits slip
13. 29 gallon fuel tank
14. 140-inch wheelbase
The Titan isn't the radical departure in styling hinted at in Nissan’s Alpha concept from the 2001 North American International Auto Show but with precision milled industrial looks it’s quite a departure from other full-size pickups.
The front of the Titan shares familial design cues with the Nissan Hardbody, a version of the compact Frontier pickup sold overseas. Its V-framed Nissan logo, a traditional Nissan truck cue, sits squarely in the center of the mesh grille between two prominent angular headlights. A massive front bumper surrounds the lower air inlet with shiny chrome bordered by rounded fog lamps. The A-pillar and windshield are steeply raked and broad front fenders sweep back to meet the front doors.
Its sides are glass smooth with front doors that feature contemporary pull-type handles. The bed tightly hugs the rear of the cab. Just ahead of the rear wheels a vertical edge rises and then sweeps back to the tailgate as a sharply defined shoulder. Angular tail lamps balance out the front headlights.
Only the King Cab model was shown in Detroit - the Crew Cab will debut at the New York Auto Show.
The Titan is powered by a brand new 5.6-liter V8 engine sharing only its bore centers, the distance between each cylinder, with it’s Infiniti V8 cousin that also has the same displacement.
"Make no mistake," says Larry Dominique (http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/2004/nissan/fullsize/interview1.html), Titan chief product specialist, "this engine is designed as a truck engine with a high, flat and long torque curve that full-size truck customers demand. Nissan will be best in class when it comes to horsepower and torque," according to Dominique.
Dominique says Nissan is also gunning for best in class fuel economy. "We are looking to beat (Toyota) Tundra's figures."
A V6 engine will probably be added a few years after launch.
Nissan will not stop at engine power and efficiency in its quest to be recognized as a true full-size competitor.
Dominique says “We did not decide to enter the full-size truck segment as an also ran. The intention is clear. Go after the heart of the market with a truck that is more capable than any of the other offerings, with the most desirable cab configurations."
Inside the cab the Titan has a dash slightly similar to Ford's new 2004 F-150 (http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/autoshows/naias2003/ford/f1501.html). It features the first gated shifter for a truck, allowing drivers to switch between 4th and 5th and 1st and 2nd gears with left to right motions, preventing missed shifts that might occur when the shifter is pulled straight up or down.
There will be four trim levels for the Titan. E will be a spartan utility trim, XE will be geared for work trucks, SE will be for high volume sales and LE will be for luxury buyers.
A bench or bucket seats can be ordered for front passenger seating.
At its debut the Titan will also offer a factory spray-on bedliner. Unlike spray-on bedliners available through the automotive aftermarket that measure up to 8-mm in thickness, Nissan's spray-on liner will only be 2-mm thick. A special paint booth was created at the Canton, Mississippi factory to apply the durable coating which will also be covered under the truck's warranty.
The bed also features rolling dividers that move along channels and a rail system that provides cargo tie-downs in many different configurations. The tie-downs aren't special. You can buy from Home Depot, Lowes or other local suppliers.
There is a lockable storage panel on the driver's side rear quarter-panel that's nearly watertight to store items like a trailer hitch, cargo box tie-downs or other small to medium size items you don’t want in the cab or rolling around in the truck's bed.
Two bed sizes will be available at launch, 5-1/2 and 6-1/2-foot boxes, though the crew cab version will only be available with the short box.
Nissan expects to sell 100,000 Titan's in its first fiscal year of availability (August 2004 - March 2005) after the truck goes on sale December 1, 2003.
Dominique told us, "The goal is to get 1 truck to the top 800 Nissan dealers during the first four weeks of November."
Further reinforcing just how big a truck the Titan is, Dominique says, "As part of this prep time all Nissan dealers have been audited and their stores are being upgraded to make sure their dealerships and repair shop lifts can handle a truck as big as the Titan."
That's pretty big in our book.
We'll have a better idea if the Titan is full size contender or pretender after we drive it in June.
</font color>
cool how everything integrates nicely into the truck bed, almost like they designed the bed with them in mind http://forums.freshalloy.com/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif
http://www.pickuptruck.com/IMAGES/autoshows/naias2003/nissan/titan/titan13.jpg
But the Titan is not only big. Nissan promises the Titan will break new ground in functionality and performance its rookie year versus the veteran truck competition from Ford, Chevy, Dodge and Toyota.
PUTC was the first to speak with Nissan President Carlos Ghosn after he unveiled the Titan. We asked him why, with so many new Nissans being unveiled at Detroit, he appeared only for the Titan launch.
“This is the king of our lineup,” Ghosn replied. “The (2004) Maxima, the Quest, the (Infiniti) FX45 are all important products. But the Titan is our king.”
In developing the Titan Nissan engineers spent over 2-1/2 years researching what truck owners think a full-size pickup should be and they gave 14 examples to prove Titan is a full-size truck owners will embrace:
1. 300+ horsepower, which we estimate to be between 345 to 355-hp
2. 375+ pound-feet of torque, more than Dodge's new 5.7-liter HEMI motor
3. A 5-speed automatic transmission with tow/haul mode
4. 17-inch or 18-inch wheels and tires - Nissan engineers tested the Titan extensively off road. All that testing proved to the engineers that a higher sidewall was more important than a larger wheel. While the larger wheel may look a little better the decision was towards performance rather than looks
5. Four wheel disc, four channel ABS brake system that is used to assist traction on and off road
6. A full size 6 ½ foot bed with 50 inches between the wheel wells.
7. Lockable storage compartment outside the truck that can hold up to 3 cubic feet of hitch, tow strap, chains or other stuff
8. 9400-pound trailering capacity, the highest of any full-size extended cab
9. Rear doors that don’t trap you when you are parked next to a vehicle and need to open both doors at the same time. The rear doors open a full 168-degrees
10. A center console that can hold hanging files
11. 79-inches width - if it were one-inch wider it would require cab, tailgate and rear fender marker lights
12. Electronic rear locking differential for 4x4 that engages in low-range first-gear, otherwise the brake system limits slip
13. 29 gallon fuel tank
14. 140-inch wheelbase
The Titan isn't the radical departure in styling hinted at in Nissan’s Alpha concept from the 2001 North American International Auto Show but with precision milled industrial looks it’s quite a departure from other full-size pickups.
The front of the Titan shares familial design cues with the Nissan Hardbody, a version of the compact Frontier pickup sold overseas. Its V-framed Nissan logo, a traditional Nissan truck cue, sits squarely in the center of the mesh grille between two prominent angular headlights. A massive front bumper surrounds the lower air inlet with shiny chrome bordered by rounded fog lamps. The A-pillar and windshield are steeply raked and broad front fenders sweep back to meet the front doors.
Its sides are glass smooth with front doors that feature contemporary pull-type handles. The bed tightly hugs the rear of the cab. Just ahead of the rear wheels a vertical edge rises and then sweeps back to the tailgate as a sharply defined shoulder. Angular tail lamps balance out the front headlights.
Only the King Cab model was shown in Detroit - the Crew Cab will debut at the New York Auto Show.
The Titan is powered by a brand new 5.6-liter V8 engine sharing only its bore centers, the distance between each cylinder, with it’s Infiniti V8 cousin that also has the same displacement.
"Make no mistake," says Larry Dominique (http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/2004/nissan/fullsize/interview1.html), Titan chief product specialist, "this engine is designed as a truck engine with a high, flat and long torque curve that full-size truck customers demand. Nissan will be best in class when it comes to horsepower and torque," according to Dominique.
Dominique says Nissan is also gunning for best in class fuel economy. "We are looking to beat (Toyota) Tundra's figures."
A V6 engine will probably be added a few years after launch.
Nissan will not stop at engine power and efficiency in its quest to be recognized as a true full-size competitor.
Dominique says “We did not decide to enter the full-size truck segment as an also ran. The intention is clear. Go after the heart of the market with a truck that is more capable than any of the other offerings, with the most desirable cab configurations."
Inside the cab the Titan has a dash slightly similar to Ford's new 2004 F-150 (http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/autoshows/naias2003/ford/f1501.html). It features the first gated shifter for a truck, allowing drivers to switch between 4th and 5th and 1st and 2nd gears with left to right motions, preventing missed shifts that might occur when the shifter is pulled straight up or down.
There will be four trim levels for the Titan. E will be a spartan utility trim, XE will be geared for work trucks, SE will be for high volume sales and LE will be for luxury buyers.
A bench or bucket seats can be ordered for front passenger seating.
At its debut the Titan will also offer a factory spray-on bedliner. Unlike spray-on bedliners available through the automotive aftermarket that measure up to 8-mm in thickness, Nissan's spray-on liner will only be 2-mm thick. A special paint booth was created at the Canton, Mississippi factory to apply the durable coating which will also be covered under the truck's warranty.
The bed also features rolling dividers that move along channels and a rail system that provides cargo tie-downs in many different configurations. The tie-downs aren't special. You can buy from Home Depot, Lowes or other local suppliers.
There is a lockable storage panel on the driver's side rear quarter-panel that's nearly watertight to store items like a trailer hitch, cargo box tie-downs or other small to medium size items you don’t want in the cab or rolling around in the truck's bed.
Two bed sizes will be available at launch, 5-1/2 and 6-1/2-foot boxes, though the crew cab version will only be available with the short box.
Nissan expects to sell 100,000 Titan's in its first fiscal year of availability (August 2004 - March 2005) after the truck goes on sale December 1, 2003.
Dominique told us, "The goal is to get 1 truck to the top 800 Nissan dealers during the first four weeks of November."
Further reinforcing just how big a truck the Titan is, Dominique says, "As part of this prep time all Nissan dealers have been audited and their stores are being upgraded to make sure their dealerships and repair shop lifts can handle a truck as big as the Titan."
That's pretty big in our book.
We'll have a better idea if the Titan is full size contender or pretender after we drive it in June.
</font color>
cool how everything integrates nicely into the truck bed, almost like they designed the bed with them in mind http://forums.freshalloy.com/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif
http://www.pickuptruck.com/IMAGES/autoshows/naias2003/nissan/titan/titan13.jpg