2009 Titan =/= Dodge Ram

Andrew Ruess · 03-07-2008, 08:23 AM

The news this morning is that Ghosn has now outright said that they are not working with Chrysler in any capacity here in America; i.e. the 2009 Titan will have nothing to do with the Dodge Ram.

So where does that leave us with the 2009 Titan? Are we still expecting a heavy-duty version with diesel? Or because of the significantly lower sales volume are they going to scrap the Titan?

I guess I have until late year to pickup a new Titan if they are going to scrap it... I've been itching to pickup a Crew Cab LWB.

Juday · 03-07-2008, 08:44 AM

First off, Welcome to TT!

Secondly, where is your source for this information?

Andrew Ruess · 03-07-2008, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juday

Secondly, where is your source for this information?

Heh, sorry about that. Wouldn't let me post a link until my 16th post.

Front page news at autoblog.com. Also been picked up by Edmunds. Original source is a Freep business article.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juday

First off, Welcome to TT!

And thanks! Been lurking for a long time. =)

Juday · 03-07-2008, 09:06 AM

Excellent, I'll post the link for you (if you don't mind).

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/07/g...with-chrysler/

**anmut** · 03-07-2008, 09:49 AM

That's great news for Nissan. Now they should spend less time with Ghosn talking about the Titan and more time ADVERTISING IT.

luvbelly · 03-07-2008, 09:54 AM

I have said it before and I will say it again. I do not understand why there is no information or no spy pics of the new Titan. If they really do plan a dramatic redo of the truck, there has to be test mules out there now. We have already seen production ready photos of the 09 Ford and Dodge. 2010 isn't that far away. Everyone keep a digital camera at the ready and go hunting. I want pics.

miketan · 03-07-2008, 09:56 AM

There won't be a heavy duty Titan model in the short term. The HD model has been cancelled from what I've read. However, the 4L V8 diesel sourced from Navistar is still in the works. With GM and Ford adding small diesels to their 1/2 ton lineups the next year or two. Nissan has to offer a diesel option if they want to remain competitive.

The reports of the Titan being scrapped seem to be false. From a tooling cost perspective, it wouldn't make sense to drop the Titan while leaving the more profitable Armada/QX56 intact. The more models you have under the same platform increases profits by reducing overall development costs and shortens the time until amortization is achieved.

The next generation Titan will probably be just a reskin like the '09 F-150. The chassis structure will remain basically the same except for reskinned body panels and a slightly revised interior.

**HudsonValleyTitan** · 03-07-2008, 10:23 AM

Titan stay competitive? You see the sales numbers?.....Titan is NOT competitive now. What you'll probably see is not a Diesel but a V6 offered first. They won't throw a Diesel in the 1/2 ton version....you watch. You'll have to wait for an HD model...if they're smart. And as for 2009, who's said anything about a new Titan in 09? I've not heard that.

**chieflikalotapus** · 03-07-2008, 11:55 AM

if you look at the new truckin magazine volume 34 no.5 thier is an article saying that nissan and chrysler to join.thier are even pics of a titan body with a ram front end emblem on the side says v8 titan.i'll type it out word for word "forbes has reported that nissan and chrysler are closer to an aggrement on nissan building small cars that would be sold as chryslers. earlier rumors hinted that dodge would handle the 2nd generation titan and essentially have a titan skin over ram underpinnings. we'd like to know whether or not the new titan will continue to offer it's 5.6 v-8 or have a version of the soon to be upgraded 5.7l hemi". end quote. if theat the case it would be a titan body with the new ram underneath it so we get a 5.7 hemi doing 0-60 in 6.0 sec faster then the tundra and more powerfull then the tundra. but yet get an additional 4% increase in gas milage. also the new ram does have a new rear suspension 5 link no leafs. what do you guys think

FourDoor · 03-07-2008, 12:08 PM

Although the no leafs suspension would be an upgrade for day to day driving, all of the rumors about a Ram/Titan mix is still just that. Rumor.

I agree with HudsonValley that if there is such a dramatic upgrade to the next Titan, we would have seen spy shots of some kind a year prior to release. Seeing as it is now 2008, we can probably safely bet that 2009 will not reveal a new Titan. Heck, I'll bet the 2009 Titan will be the 2008.5 with just different package treatments again.

Hopefully we start to see spy shot photos of the new Titan in the next few months as I would want Nissan to come out with a competitor to the current Tundra around 2010.

harrolldean · 03-07-2008, 01:27 PM

i'm glad to read that article. yeah, no ramtit. ha!

also, it seems to make sense that there wouldn't be a new titan in 2009. no spy shots (as previously stated) and they just did some pretty good changes in 2008. So I would guess that there will be some package changes, very slight modifications of interior/exterior. then in 2010, they can put out a new bad-azz titan to kill all the competition.

GO_VOLS! · 03-07-2008, 03:00 PM

All-new Titan will launch in CY2010, not in CY09. Development is in the final stages on the engines and sourcing is probably nearly complete. Body/chasis has probably already been tested / proven and also been sourced. Consider the fact most launches of any given part for any given vehicle takes ~24 weeks average to build tools & equipment, work your way back through sourcing, testing, development, and initial design.... there's no opportunity for Chrysler to have much influence on the next Titan at this point. Besides, as Ghosn already stated, they're not working together on trucks, only small cars (Versa).

Ghosn said that while the Titan isn't selling to original projections, we're getting ~65K sales more than we once had, so the vehicle is not a failure. It's creating more showroom traffic, which eventually translates into some other vehicle sales, if not a Titan sale. You can't tackle the truck market with your first attempt. Respect is earned and slowly adopted, ESPECIALLY in the loyal truck market. Look how many renditions the Tundra has gone through to get the ~190K sales it got this past year! Expect nearly the same path for the Titan. It takes time.

Treebasher · 03-07-2008, 04:45 PM

I've always said I'd be the first in line for a diesel 1/2 ton Titan. Today I saw diesel was at $3.90 and gas, $3.05. I used to think the diesel engine would pay for itself in gas mileage while towing and on long trips, I'm not so sure now...

Andrew Ruess · 03-07-2008, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GO_VOLS!

All-new Titan will launch in CY2010, not in CY09. Development is in the final stages on the engines and sourcing is probably nearly complete. Body/chasis has probably already been tested / proven and also been sourced. Consider the fact most launches of any given part for any given vehicle takes ~24 weeks average to build tools & equipment, work your way back through sourcing, testing, development, and initial design.... there's no opportunity for Chrysler to have much influence on the next Titan at this point. Besides, as Ghosn already stated, they're not working together on trucks, only small cars (Versa).

Ah, interesting information. I was really sitting on the fence about moving forward with a 2008.5 Titan purchase or waiting for the revised body style and possible new interior.

I think I'll wait until the New York Auto Show in two weeks and then put in an order for a custom build (I'm picky).

jljue · 03-07-2008, 05:12 PM

Go ahead with the '08.5. There are plenty of them out there ready to be bought. The new model won't happen until '10.