I sure hope this isn't going to happen. This p.u. truck has so much good going for it. Great 5.6 engine, and Auto tranny, and great towing ability.
I'm really concerned, as there are so many diehard Titan fans/owners that deserve better than this from Nissan. Seems like the Titan was just starting to get more product variety and refining, with the longbed, bigger brakes, etc., and this announcement just plain doesn't make sense.
The big hint is that there may be a continued Titan with platform collaboration with Dodge, using the Ram.
Think of a possible Cummins powered 3/4-1 ton Nissan Titan? Could be interesting, and it could really "one up" old Toyota and the Tundra.
No one doubts that selling full-size trucks in the U.S. is a tough racket. Nissan knows this firsthand, as it's sold only 60,961 units of its Titan pickup so far in 2007. Compare that to the third best-selling truck in the U.S., the Dodge Ram, which has sold 326,177 units, or the new-for-2007 Toyota Tundra, which has sold 177,336 units.
In a Newsweek article profiling Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of Nissan-Renault reportedly hinted that he may kill the Titan pickup. The fact is, it's becoming less and less profitable to compete in a full-size truck segment that's shrinking and becoming more competitive by the day. While Ghosn is far from hammering the last nail in the Titan's coffin, his reported comment simply highlights the fact that a smart company will build what it can sell for a profit.
Producing a pickup profitably is clearly on Ghosn's mind, and considering last Friday's rumor that Nissan is in talks with Chrysler on a possible collaboration, a Dodge Ram-based Titan that's cheaper to produce than the current truck is definitely a possibility going forward. Either that, or there won't be a Titan at all if Ghosn can't figure out how to make a buck off it.
Regards, Eightballsidepocket
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Asked to comment about the Newsweek story, Nissan spokesperson John Schilling tells PickupTruck.com, "We have no plans to do anything of this nature."
Newsweek is reporting that Nissan's CEO, Carlos Ghosn, recently hinted at killing the Titan because of slowing sales.
From the Newsweek story:
"Ghosn stresses Nissan's recent success with small cars, and hints he may kill the slow-selling Titan pickup (though Nissan officials say there are no such plans yet). "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.""
End Newsweek excerpt.
Connecting Ghosn's statements, above, with recent news, below, about an alliance with Chrysler, and it looks like the odds may have increased for the next Titan to be tied in some manner to the new Dodge Ram.
60,961 Titans have sold year-to-date, through November. That number may not be economically worth a dedicated production line at Canton, Mississippi, where the Titan is built (along with the Armada and Infiniti QX56 full size SUVs), but it's still large enough to consider keeping the truck alive if economies of scale can be leveraged elsewhere to reduce development and manufacturing costs. Cerberus Chrysler is sure to want to squeeze every unit of production it can out of its truck plants, by all avenues possible, to recoup its costs and build profits.
Now, if we carry this line of speculation out further, the real loser here could be Navistar - Nissan's long rumored partner for a diesel V8 for the Titan.
Navistar's current feud with Ford likely means we'll never see another Navistar produced Power Stroke engine again after the current 6.4-liter V8. Nissan could have picked up some of the slack from the end of that relationship. But if Nissan were to tie-up with Chrysler, it's likely that many, if not all, of the same engines used in the Ram would also power the Titan. That means a future Titan could receive a Cummins-sourced diesel motor, like the upcoming light duty Cummins V8 diesel expected for the Ram.
Whether the Titan is killed by Mr. Ghosn or there's an agreement between Chrysler and Nissan, it sounds like bad news for Navistar diesel fans.
It there is Dodge Ram platform sharing with Nissan, maybe we'll see a 3/4-1 ton, Cummins powered, Nissan Titan P.U. in the future?
Seems like that Navstar/Ford hookup is wouldn't be in the cars if Chrysler and Nissan are thinking seriously about collaborating.
This could be good for both companies in my opinion.
Bloomberg and the Detroit Free Press are reporting that Chrysler LLC and Nissan Motor Company are in discussions to share each other's expertise building small cars and sedans (Nissan's specialty) and pickup trucks (Chrysler's specialty). An agreement between the two auto manufacturers could lead to the exchanging of vehicles and engines with each other.
For over a year it's been reported that Nissan's CEO Carlos Ghosn has been interested in a tie-up with a U.S. vehicle manufacturer, to split supplier and production costs. Last year Mr. Ghosn held resource sharing discussions with General Motors that didn't pan out.
Nissan introduced the Titan in 2004. It's the only U.S. full size truck with fewer than 100,000 sales a year. Titan sales are about about one-third the volume of its next-biggest rival, Toyota's Tundra.
The Dodge Ram is ranked third in sales, behind Ford's F-Series and GM's Chevrolet Silverado. An all new 2009 Dodge Ram will debut next month at the North American International Auto Show and is expected to go on sale in late 2008.
By the end of 2008, the Nissan Titan will be the oldest full size truck in the segment, with all other models having undergone major revisions or received all new designs. A new Titan is expected for the 2010 model year.
Leveraging production economies of scale, similar to Nissan's agreement with Suzuki to produce the upcoming Equator midsize pickup, leads to speculation that the next Titan could be based on the all new Ram.
I see a collaboration between the two and think of the rebadged Dakota Mitsubishi, I don't even know the name of the model. Where would a Nissan Ram draw sales from? I doubt from the Toyota, Ford or GM/Chevy buyer, more likely split Dodge sales. Nissan seems never to have enjoyed the reputation for quality or sales success of Honda and Toyota, A Nissan Dodge? Maybe a Sterling Dodge but not a Nissan Dodge.
Capt Skup
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Capt Skup wrote: I see a collaboration between the two and think of the rebadged Dakota Mitsubishi, I don't even know the name of the model. Where would a Nissan Ram draw sales from? I doubt from the Toyota, Ford or GM/Chevy buyer, more likely split Dodge sales. Nissan seems never to have enjoyed the reputation for quality or sales success of Honda and Toyota, A Nissan Dodge? Maybe a Sterling Dodge but not a Nissan Dodge.
I don't see that they're thinking a "Nissan/Dodge" but would share the Dodge Ram platform, and then Nissan could still have their own identity with they're Titan with different sheetmetal, and running gear.
That 5.6 gasser V8 and 5 speed Auto tranny is a "honey" of a combo that Nissan developed. I don't see why one platform couldn't support both the Dodge engine tranny system and the Titan one for each manufacturer to allow for individual product identity?
If you noticed in the article, a Cummins engined Titan could result from this. I think most Titan owners would be much more enthused with that over the Navstar diesel possibilities, with all the debacle that has happened with Navstar and Ford.
Also the sneeked pics of the 09 Ram show a lot of design refinement on the exterior, and I understand the interior will be changed considerably to be more in line with GM and Ford's P.U.'s interior quality or offerings.
I think this collaboration could be the shot in the arm for the Titan, after their rocky start in the first couple years of production with differentials, brake rotors, and some plant quality issues that caused a bunch of Nissan quality folks to rush out from Japan to the American assembly plant to straighten out things a few years ago.
The Titan had a lot of potential, but got a rocky start with those issues........especially the differentails, (dana 40's) and the numerous warping rotors. That got addressed, but it made a lot of buyers "gun shy", and that was sad, as the latest Titan is very competent.
Any good product, priced competitively, will sell on it's own merits. If the price is perceived as too high or the quality is perceived as too low, the public will not buy it. We vote with out wallets. This is the basic premise of the free market system.
Even though the mechanical issues with the early models have been addressed, there is still the stigma of inferiority attached to the Titan.
The Titan currently has $5000 or more in incentives and still they don't sell well. I think at the price point at which the Titan is currently being sold that is is a great value. At the same time, I understand why Nissan would consider looking elsewhere for a marketable replacement.
It's hard to stay in business selling a full size truck at a price point in which Tacomas, Frontiers, and Dakotas compete.
If you are looking for a bargain in a 1/2 tonner, there is an opportunity here.
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mr61impala wrote: Any good product, priced competitively, will sell on it's own merits. If the price is perceived as too high or the quality is perceived as too low, the public will not buy it. We vote with out wallets. This is the basic premise of the free market system.
Even though the mechanical issues with the early models have been addressed, there is still the stigma of inferiority attached to the Titan.
The Titan currently has $5000 or more in incentives and still they don't sell well. I think at the price point at which the Titan is currently being sold that is is a great value. At the same time, I understand why Nissan would consider looking elsewhere for a marketable replacement.
It's hard to stay in business selling a full size truck at a price point in which Tacomas, Frontiers, and Dakotas compete.
If you are looking for a bargain in a 1/2 tonner, there is an opportunity here.
While searching/buying my Armada and getting plenty of looks at the new Titan, if I was in the market for a 1/2 ton TV, I would place it right at the top. The new ones really impressed me.
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One of the reasons Nissan doesn't sell a lot of Titans.... which I think is the biggest reason, is Nissan chooses not put any advertising or marketing behind it. The truck is a good truck. I have a first year model and all of the problems they had weren't that bad or I got lucky and really didn't have any issues. Look at how many times you see a Tundra commercial or even a Silverado or F150. When was the last time you saw a Titan commercial? Only way to sell something is to market it. Without that... why waist the time making it.
As eightball stated, the new 08 with the larger improved brakes, longbed and nicer interior isn't getting any sort of marketing behind it to improve sales. I think Nissan started out with a great product but gave up why to fast if this is true and Ghosn kills it off.
Then you have Consumer Reports that give it an unreliable rating? They haven't tested the Titan since the 04-05 (first year) and still says it has a lot of problems... where are they getting the numbers or ratings if they haven't tested anything since 05? Most people that own a Titan have nothing but great things to say.
Nissan received it's share of bad publicity concerning reliability of the Titan, Armada series whether deserved or not and those things can be hard for a relative new comer to overcome. Ford, GM and Dodge have all been fighting the same fight, even though the quality issues are a number of years in the past. They are still perceived as being inferior to the Japanese badges, even when DATA shows otherwise.
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OR 2004 F-150 HD (85,000 towing miles) Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
We have enough YOUTH...how about a fountain of SMART
Then you have Consumer Reports that give it an unreliable rating? They haven't tested the Titan since the 04-05 (first year) and still says it has a lot of problems... where are they getting the numbers or ratings if they haven't tested anything since 05? Most people that own a Titan have nothing but great things to say.
FWIW, the worse/much worse than average reliability rating that the Titan received from C.R. is based on owners filling out questionaires pertaining to the frequency and nature of their problems. I have filled out the questionaire for the last 3 years and know the nature of the questions they ask.
Their road tests rate the merits and design flaws that they percieve.
The reliability data is not related to the road test findings.
In a Newsweek article profiling Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of Nissan-Renault reportedly hinted that he may kill the Titan pickup. The fact is, it's becoming less and less profitable to compete in a full-size truck segment that's shrinking and becoming more competitive by the day. While Ghosn is far from hammering the last nail in the Titan's coffin, his reported comment simply highlights the fact that a smart company will build what it can sell for a profit.
So what has changed? I thought only pickups and SUVs were selling with big profit margins? Cars supposedly were selling with small profit margins.
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