2016 Nissan Titan Overview

Nissan has a big challenge in front of it, maybe even bigger than when it decided to enter the half-ton segment almost 15 years ago. Remember the Alpha-T concept truck at the 2001 North American International Auto Show in Detroit? Not only does Nissan have the oldest and worst-selling half-ton pickup truck in the segment — the Titan — but there's also momentum building in the marketplace for new pickup sales to explode once again. It would behoove Nissan to take advantage of this.

And consider this: in the last two years, every half-ton manufacturer has completely re-engineered or significantly upgraded its products. Can any segment in the auto universe say that? If there's a truckmaker that has everything to gain with its next-generation full-size competitor, it's Nissan. So the reveal of the 2016 Titan next week at the 2016 NAIAS is a highly anticipated event.

We've spent quite a bit of time with the truck team at Nissan to watch how they've approached this daunting project and to see how this truck will either jump into the fray or continue to circle the battlefield.

"We know we can't be at the top of every single category with this new truck," said Rich Miller, Titan team leader, "but where we're not leading, we certainly want to be near the top — we want this truck to compete head-to-head with our competition in every category that a solid pickup truck needs to be in."

Naturally, we'll be fighting for every piece of information and the chance to get behind the wheel of the new Titan. You can be sure we'll be writing about what we find in the months to come. In this package of stories we're sharing information we've gleaned from a recent backgrounder and the most up-to-date press materials from Nissan.

The 2016 Titan will be available late this year, and in order to slowly and progressively ramp up its production mix, Nissan has decided to offer the Titan XD with the new 5.0-liter V-8 Cummins first, and then roll out non-XD models in 2016. It's our understanding that you won't even be able to purchase a gas-equipped Titan until the first quarter of 2016, more than a year from now.

With the 2016 Titan, it looks to us like Nissan is pursuing buyers who want something more than a half-ton but less than a three-quarter ton: a "half-ton plus" or "three-quarter-ton light," if you will. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

News Source: http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2015/01/2016-nissan-titan-overview.html