Titan issues challenge to Ford truck champ

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...04-titan_x.htm

 

Um... riiiiiiiiiiiight haha... When will these japanese car manufacturers realize that they don't really make "trucks"...at least not so much as they make "lifted cars"... the Frontier was a joke, Toyota's Tundra isn't actually a "full-size" truck, even though it comes with a v8 and near matching F-150 Lariat pricing... I've read about the Titan and I think the only difference it really has is that it's a 5.6L compared to Ford's 5.4L...but then again, when has any japanese vehicle under $50,000 performed as well as the stuff under the hood should have?

 

Good article. I especially liked these parts:
"Lack of grab handles near the ceiling in back makes it harder for some passengers to get in and out, and means there's no place for a fi****l of hangers. A week's worth of shirts and slacks from the dry cleaners kept sliding from the wimpy hook onto the floor."

"The high-utility bed also includes a storage cubby in the left rear fender just behind the rear wheel. It'll hold tow hitches, jumper cables and other items easily stolen from the bed or too grimy for the passenger cab.

Caution: The cubby door opens far enough that it'll get used as a step — "Not a step" warning notwithstanding. Everybody who has one will want it to work as a step, try to use it that way, gripe that it opens at the wrong angle to be a good step, break it or bend it using it as a step. Then owners will complain on the J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey and the Consumer Reports survey that it was faulty or troublesome, undermining Titan's quality scores. You can see this one coming miles away.

Gripe: Nissan failed to catch one fat rabbit that Ford snared — a torsion spring in the tailgate to ease lowering and lifting the heavy gate. "

Yeah, I'm worried. Bwah ha ha!

 

have you guys seen the video/flash presentation on FordDirect with that radio talk show host guy? I like the demo he does with bending the frames and seeing which on is stiffest. The 04 F-150 frame is 12x stiffer than the Tundra. no thanks Nissan and Toyota, i'll pass.

 

I hope the US centric view of the Titan is correct but do not underestimate the Titan. Most of you are too young to remember but I recall the first Honda I saw and thought to myself, who in the world would purchase one of those things. The Titan will be the west coast, and west coast wantobes, trendy thing to purchase by those already driving foreign vehicles - and that is over 45% of all red, white, and blue Americans. Price wise, compare the top of the line Titan 4X2 4 door verses equal Larait Screw and you will find the Titan to be 4k less. Maybe the Titan will keep the US truck makers honest and hold prices down.

 

I wouldn't be so quick to judge the Titan. This appears to be Japan's first real fullsize truck. It's not a 7/8's like the Tundra. The size and numbers of their v8 powerplant are there to prove that.

The biggest challenges I think that Nissan is going to face are: 1) the lack of an entry-level "work" truck package will relegate it to something not considered to be a serious workhorse by some and 2) the lack of knowledge Nissan salepeople have in selling "real" trucks to "truck" people.

The Titan will likely eat into equal parts of some Ford, Dodge and GM market share. As for pricing, I seem to recall reading that on the high end, I believe the loaded Titan will cost more than a loaded Lariat. And, from some of my recent discussions with folks in Dearborn, there is a bit of fear of Nissan right now...

 

Dont underestimate the titan. First of all the new truck trend and other sources (pickuptruck.com) say that the 5.6 will be near 350hp. I love ford trucks but I think the titan deserves a good look.

 

You can't tell these guys anything. I mean, I know this is a Ford lover's site, but these guys have their heads so far up Ford's buttocks that they'll not even entertain the mere possibility that Nissan (Who partners with Ford from time to time) can make a truck to compete.

I love Ford's, I have two of them- but, I love Nissan's too- and I believe the Titan deserves a look. When the dust settles, it may not be as good as the Ford, but- I'll bet dollars to doughnuts on this-


It'll be better in every way, than a Silverado 1500, Sierra 1500, or Ram 1500.

Oh, and a side note- the 2004's frame may be 12x stronger than the 2003 Tundra- but guess what- it's also 9x stronger than the 2003 F-150.

Don't believe it, you can read more about it!

 

It is time to change my truck eventhough it is like new, like the day I first got it, I have a 2000 Explorer Limited and a 2002 Eddie Bauer, I have taken both explorers for a off road test drive and theres a big diffrence the 2002 has a better ride, but I feel my F150 to ride much better than both Explorers, a couple weeks ago a friend of mine whose company bought him a 2002 Pathfinder full, loaned me the pathfinder, he was going away on a busines trip, I took it for a wild ride thru some very harsh roads, that day it rained and the roads got slippery I tried the 4x4 and I was surprised of the ride and the way the pathfinder behaved in the 4x4 mode, the Explorers could not compare the ride, the highway ride was like a sedan and the horsepower it has, 245 compared to 210 from the explorers, you feel it when you press the gas pedal,remember know I only mentioned ride or confort and horsepower from the Pathfinder, since I have been driving the explorer more lately I feel the F150 heavy and lack of H.P., my thoughts, since I will change my truck I was thinking on ordering mine ( F150 Lariat Screw)sometime next year when all the bugs or problems with the new truck are solved if any arises but I will make a research on the Titan, I am no Japanese car man but the Pathfinder made me think twice.

 

Here's just a brief comparison chart based on the info Nissan has put out about the Titan compared against the 04' F-150, which they didn't compare their truck against:

Nissan Titan:
5.6L V8 with Estimated 300+horsepower (nothing official)
Max Payload: 1,780lb
Max Towing: 9,500lb
- 6.7ft & 5.7ft bed (2 inches longer than Ford)
- Interior resembles Maxima (good or bad? depends on you)

04' F-150
5.4L V8 with 300 horsepower
Max Payload: 3,000lb
Max Towing: 9,900lb
- 6.5ft, 5.5ft & 8ft bed (SEVERAL inches deeper + tailgate assist)
- Interior resembles a truck (good or bad? depends on you)

I find it interesting (well, not really) that the Titan has the bigger engine on the spec sheet but can't tow or carry as much as the F-150...which only goes back to my original point about foreign cars (mostly nissan, honda and toyota) never performing as their spec sheets show that they "should". All in all it's a great sounding first attempt by Nissan, but with a nearly identical price match as the F-150 and other better vehicles, anyone who knows anything will just go with the better vehicle.

Not only that but do you really want to put your money on a 'first attempt' vehicle by a manufacturer that isn't exactly currently qualified to produce a competitive vehicle in the truck market? Had the price been more friendly it sounds like it'll make a great first truck for a newcomer, but not for a truck enthusiast...

My guess is that it'll probably actually drop below that before the vehicle actually comes out.

And if you're wondering I took both of these specs from each official site.

 

If Nissan is only producing 100K of these trucks in the 1st year and they will be competing with Ford, Chevy & Dodge, I ask you this. How much of an impact can the Titan have with such limited production dispersed amoung the other manufacturers?

 

i am not disagreeing with you, because i have no info of my own, but i was wondering where got this the pricing info for the Titan to be 4k less? in the article they say pricing won't be available until closer to the release date. post you source if you can. thanks.

 

You can price them on Nissan's web site.

 

The pricing on Nissan's website is only to give you an "idea" of how much they are going to cost. They give a disclaimer on the site stating as such. The prices can change from day to day. As somebody already said, the official prices won't be out until just before launch.

 

Hmmm...

Just curious, why is the towing comparision always consist of the maximum towing capacity of "Heavy Duty" version of the 2004 f150 (9900 lbs) vs normal Titan? Most of us will not even buy that model (xlt with an 8 ft bed) If you compare two compable models such as the 2004 f150 scab and the 2004 titan king cab, you will notice that the titan pulls more (9,500 to 9,300).