TomServo92 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 If Dodge ends up going belly-up, the Titan is in for a world of hurt (not that it isn't in one already). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 If Dodge ends up going belly-up, the Titan is in for a world of hurt (not that it isn't in one already). Yeah, it's already a bottom-feeder in the segment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armadamaster Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 That or they'll be in an ideal place to snap up some Dodge Ram tooling when the Chrysler selloff takes place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 That or they'll be in an ideal place to snap up some Dodge Ram tooling when the Chrysler selloff takes place. What good does that really do though? By the time they set up any of that tooling, the truck will need a redesign again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 What good does that really do though? By the time they set up any of that tooling, the truck will need a redesign again. I was going to say, geesh, if/when Chrysler goes belly up, Nissan is going to start R&D on a pickup that will eventually replace their already archaic entry? Man, now THAT'S reassuring! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97svtgoin05gt Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I really don't know why Nissan continues to try to compete in the pickup truck catagory anyway. I don't know the numbers, but I bet the Titans best year isn't as good as the F-150s worst year by a long shot. It just seems pointless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 (edited) I really don't know why Nissan continues to try to compete in the pickup truck catagory anyway. I don't know the numbers, but I bet the Titans best year isn't as good as the F-150s worst year by a long shot. It just seems pointless. I think Titan sales peaked at somewhere around 120,000 in probably its second year. It has been downhill ever since. Edited April 13, 2009 by NickF1011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97svtgoin05gt Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I think Titan sales peaked at somewhere around 120,000 in probably its second year. It has been downhill ever since. If that number is right, its respetable. I believe the last time the topic came up though, the titan was running at less than 5,000 units a month which makes the whole case a LOT tougher. Nissan just isn't on the "trucker" radar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Now...to just play Devil's Advocate for one moment. If Nissan took that attitude, then why shouldn't Ford or any domestic automaker just give up on small cars since nobody took them seriously for the past 20-odd years? Don't count anyone out as they may have the next "big thing" that overtakes the established products. Let's hope cars like the Fiesta do that for Ford. Let's hope that whatever Nissan has in the future doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkoko Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 But Ford doesn't have to waste millions of R&D to design from the ground up small cars just for NA. Ford already needs those small cars for europe and the rest of the world. Nissan only sells the titan in NA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 But Ford doesn't have to waste millions of R&D to design from the ground up small cars just for NA. Ford already needs those small cars for europe and the rest of the world. Nissan only sells the titan in NA. We have a winner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 If the Fiat/Chrysler deal falls flat and Chrysler goes bankrupt, Nissan may come in and buy the Dodge brand to get their hands on Ram. Hyundai would go after Chrysler and Jeep brands to give them an upper end vehicle (Chrysler) and a foot in the door of the lucrative SUV/CUV marketplace with Jeep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucky2 Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Mahindra....they should buy Dodge just for the Ram name to import their trucks over in. Us American's like to have an air of patrioticness (I just made up a word, I know) when times are lean, and buying a Mahindra pickup instead of a Dodge pickup is going to be a lot less palpatable...even though the Mahindra will sell well because of it's mpg and dimensions. Chuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97svtgoin05gt Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 We have a winner! :banmolest: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 "Nissan says it will waste its own money if it can't waste Chrysler's." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSFan00 Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 The Titan is actually a pretty nice truck. Dodge trucks only value is the Cummins engine agreement. Not sure if that can be sold/transferred. The Titan plant in Canton, MS actually also builds small cars so it's not a big loser for them, I don't think. I think the Titan's unlikely to be a complete product line any time soon but it's probably the second or third best in it's limited position. That Nissan's not gonna abandon it in the face of the demise of GMC/Chrysco isn't really a story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 The Titan is actually a pretty nice truck. Should say, "The Titan is actually a pretty nice car, as far as trucks go." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSFan00 Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I don't see anything car-like in the Titan, from the frame, to the engine, or transmission. Maybe to you it's styled more like a car, I dunno. Dana 44 axle, Tower fully-boxed steel frame, and 385lb torque V8, up to 9500lb tow capacity. I mean, compared to the last-generation equivalent F-150 it was basically on par. It's not really the Ridgeline of trucks, in any way (other than some dubious styling). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_fairmont_wagon Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Nissan also does something that most of the rest of the industry doesn't, they share a lot between the Titan and the Frontier. The frontier platform is basically a reduced titan one, as is the frame under the Xterra and a portion of the pathfinder. Nissan's biggest mistakes, in order, are... 1) They failed to offer the Titan as a stripper model with the 4.0L V6 from the Frontier. That would have pushed a great deal more volume for them, especially in the fleet space. 2) They had poor launch quality control, that gave a lot of their first customers in that market a bad taste for their future products. 3) They did not lead ANY class in their respective market, save for most powerful base engine, which really isn't that big of a deal there. The Titan, in its second year, was a wholely competent and capable entry into its market segment. It just didn't offer the flexibility of configuration that the domestics do and was fighting an uphill battle in an entrenched market. Then, with the rise in oil prices, they didn't have a model that offered better fuel economy, which hurts. Follow that up with a recession that takes out a lot of recreational buyers, and you're left with just a market of bargain hunters and Nissan loyalists. That's not how you build a brand or a model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I mean, compared to the last-generation equivalent F-150 it was basically on par. Yeah, it in 2004 was about on par with the '97-03 F150s..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSFan00 Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Exactly. And the F-150 was not a car, it was the best truck on the market. The Nissan is a good, but not class-leading, product, with limited marketing and configurations/base/fleet options. They're not a real threat to Ford but compared to the Toyota, or Dodge products for that matter, I'd rather have the Nissan if I were shopping for a truck and for some reason ruled out the F-150. With Dodge/GMC prospects Obama'd, I would expect more consumers to realize that as well. Why kill off a half-plant product which might see 1.5 larger competitors evaporate (and more if Toyota gives up, which isn't completely improbable given their much higher goals)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Anyone likely to refuse to buy a GM/Chrysler product due to the bailout is probably of a mindset to go look at a Ford next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_fairmont_wagon Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Yeah, given the Titan's earlier issues and Nissan's limited following in the US, it seems to me that they have a rather uphill climb ahead of them. They're going to need a complete external makeover and a marketing campaign that pushes it as "all new!" to be able to start moving the metal more. Supposedly, there is an upgrade for their engine in the works (especially since it looks less and less likely that their deal with dodge will happen) that will bring it about mid-pack with the competitors. I'm filing that in the "I'll believe it when I see it" catagory. IF that does come about, however, that will leave the 5.4L squarely in the dust of the competitors. We do know that the 5.0L is coming out, but, I am finding it difficult to imagine that it will have competitive torque numbers with the competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 If the Fiat/Chrysler deal falls flat and Chrysler goes bankrupt, Nissan may come in and buy the Dodge brand to get their hands on Ram. Hyundai would go after Chrysler and Jeep brands to give them an upper end vehicle (Chrysler) and a foot in the door of the lucrative SUV/CUV marketplace with Jeep. that has to be the only reason Ghosn hasn't thrown his hat in the ring yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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