After the plan to sell a new Titan derived from the Dodge Ram 1500 was canned a couple of years ago, Nissan's full-size pickup has remained somewhat in limbo. For the 2011 model year, the Titan will solider on with only minor updates, essentially 4×4 badging added to the tail gate of four-wheel drive models and revised names for trim levels – S, SV and SL in place of the previous (and familiar) XE, SE and LE.
For off-road fans, the Pro 4X will continue unchanged. Other than that, the 2011 will be much like the current Titan, employing just a single engine – a 5.6-liter single overhead cam V8 with 317 horsepower. It's a flex fuel engine with E85 capability and Nissan claims that with it, the Titan can tow up to 9,500 lbs, but the lack of change and options compared with some rivals, especially Ford, Ram and GM, is likely to further hurt sales, which have trailed off considerably in the last few years. Rumors indicate that their might be an all new Titan by 2014, but by then the original will have been on the market for more than a decade with very few changes, which might hurt Nissan's chance to gain new full-size truck customers.
Nissan is preparing to recall 48,700 trucks and SUVs for issues relating to the suspension on the U.S.-built vehicles. Some of, but not all 2010 Nissan Armada, Frontier, Titan, Pathfinder, Xterra and Infiniti QX56 models are expected to be involved in the recall. No official recall has been issued yet, however, as Nissan awaits information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The issue with the trucks and SUVs involves a lower suspension control link that may not have been welded properly and as a result cause the bushing collar to crack, creating a rough and noisy ride. The potential recall isn't so much a safety issue as a driveability issue and no accidents have been reported.
In the wake of the Toyota recall crisis, NHTSA has also been under increased scrutiny, issuing an alarmingly high number of recalls.
Rumors that the Dacia Duster could be sold as a Renault have been floating around ever since the vehicle's launch at the Geneva Auto Show last year, but now comes word that it may also be sold as a Nissan – in markets where Renault doesn't have a significant presence. "In a market where Nissan had a presence and Renault didn't, it would be a possibility," said a company insider to AutoCar. And the most notable of those markets is North America.
For those not familiar with the model, or the brand, the Duster is the first SUV build by Dacia – a sub-brand of Renault (which owns Nissan). It is built in Dacia's home-market of Romania.
Nissan already has a rather significant crossover and SUV presence in North America and has just added the Juke to that list. The Duster, however, is a true SUV with an optional 4×4 system and real off-road capability. In Europe it is offered with a diesel powerplant only making 105-hp and 266 ft-lbs of torque. And while the Nissan SUV lineup is quite full already, the Duster could fit in under the current Xterra model and really take the fight to Jeep.
It's been around what seems like forever, but the venerable Nissan Titan is proving that there's still some life left in it yet. After plans to offer a badge engineered version of the Ram were canceled last year, the original 2003-vintage truck has been soldiering on. Production of the Canton, Mississippi built full-size truck bottomed out last year, but so far, in 2010, sales have been on a rebound. Through the end of last week, Nissan has built 10,886 Titans for the model year, versus 1,256 over the same period in 2009, when overall Titan sales totals stood at a dismal 19,042 units in a generally bad year for the automotive industry.
According to John Schilling, a spokesman for Nissan North America Inc., "the general overall improving economy seems to be driving sales, which are trending higher. We're seeing more demand for Titan." No doubt helping are a number of incentives, including zero percent financing for 60 months and $5000 cash back on selected Titan models.
At a press conference earlier today a new partnership between Mercedes parent company Daimler and Renault/Nissan was announced that will see all three automakers working together to develop new products, while reducing overall costs. The partnership will see the German, French and Japanese automakers work together on future small car projects, engines and commercial vehicles.
The alliance also includes each automaker taking a share in the other with Daimler taking a 3.1 percent share in Nissan and Renault, while the Japanese and French automakers will each take a 1.55 percent share in Daimler.
Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said the asset sharing was "symbolic" and commented that unlike the unsuccessful deal with Chrysler, this one focuses on shared products first. He even confirmed that, as rumored, the two automakers have been working together for some time already.
Zetsche commented on how the deal will see initial benefits for Daimler in the small car area, while Renault CEO Ghosn said that he expects to save 2 billion Euros over the next five years in cost reductions – apart from the new revenue the partnership will generate.
In terms of specifics, the two automakers will work to co-develop the next generation of the Smart ForTwo and Renault Twingo, both of which are due out in 2013. Both models will be offered with electric engines at launch and new 3-cylinder and 4-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines will be developed for use in both vehicles.
According to a statement released by Nissan, the automakers will also work to develop the new line of premium small cars for Mercedes-Benz – presumably the A-Class and B-Class.
The Mercedes connection will also help Nissan's luxury brand, with... [Read More]
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