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Written by Bill Visnic
At February"s Chicago auto show, Nissanrevealed the 2017 light-duty (half-ton) version of the Titan pickup asthe promised follow-up to the 2016 Titan XD quasi-commercial model that straddles the line between light- and heavy-duty pickups.But the Chicago unveiling wasn"t entirely conventional: Nissan showed onlyphotos of the half-ton version of the Titan and said it will be in showroomsthis summer. Nissan found reluctance from consumers regardingthe first-generation light-duty Titan, which was launched in 2003 on the pickup-specific "F-Alpha" ladder-frame chassis and continued through2015. So the company decided to take a different vector with the Titan XD (http://articles.sae.org/13829/) in anattempt to address the market space between light-duty pickups which theDetroit Three automakers dominate (to the ongoing chagrin of Nissan and Toyota) and the larger heavy-duty models that areincreasingly popular with both commercial and "business-personal" buyers. The half-ton Titan will compete in the heart of the full-sizepickup segment, while the XD provides a unique solutionfor customers by bridging the cost and capability gap between traditionalhalf-ton and full heavy-duty pickups. Together the two Titans "will covernearly 85% of the total full-size truck market," said Rich Miller, director ofproduct planning for Trucks, SUVs and Commercial Vehicles at Nissan NorthAmerica and chief product specialist for Titan pickups. A major differentiator for the Titan XD has beenits Cummins-made 5.0-L turbodiesel V8, the first North America-sourced diesel for a Japanese pickup. The new half-ton "standard"Titan won"t offer that engine (never say never, we"d wager, given thatFCA"s Ram unit does nice business with the V6 turbodiesel in thehalf-ton Ram), instead fitting Nissan"s 5.6-L gasoline V8 at launch. That well-known unit develops 390 hp (287 kW) and 401 lb ft (544 N m). The 2017Titan"s horsepower, in particular, represents a marked increase from this engine"s 317-hp(233-kW) rating in 2015. (Nissan officials told Automotive Engineering there will be no2016 model of the half-ton Titan). The V8 will transfer powerthrough a 7-speed automatic transmission, a two-gear upgrade over the previousTitan"s 5-speed automatic. At some as-yet undetermined time after thelight-duty Titan is launched, a gasoline V6 will be added to the mix, althoughthe company wouldn"t say much more. Structurally, the coming half-ton Titan shares no chassis components with the Titan XD model, which rides on a modified version of the F-Alpha architecture Nissan oriented toward commercial-vehicle applications. "Even the lug nuts are different," quipped Miller. He noted that the light-duty 2017 Titan chassis"is a refined version of Nissan"s existingfull-size truck platform," which itself is a variant of the F-Alpha structure. Thus some of the similarities incritical dimensions for the outgoing 2015 Titan and the new 2017 model: Wheelbase,for example, is the same at 139.8 in (3551 mm) for the crew cab body style. Overall length, at 228.1 in (5794 mm) is just 3.5 in (89 mm) longerthan the previous-generation truck. Nissan officials said the 2017 Titan will return a standard-cabconfiguration to the body-style lineup that also includes crew and king cabvariants. The cab choices also dictate three cargo-bed lengths: 5.5 ft (1676mm), 6 ft (1829 mm) and 8 ft (2438 mm). The light-duty Titan will bebuilt at Nissan"s Canton, MS, plant and its V8 will be assembled at thecompany"s engine plant in Decherd, TN. The light-truck chassis shuffle also includes Nissan"s full-size SUVs. The 2017 Armada abandons the Titan platform, jumping onto the company"s global Patrol chassis. See http://articles.sae.org/14567/ .
Date written: 17-Feb-2016 03:16 EST
More of this article on the SAE International Website
ID: 2192
At February"s Chicago auto show, Nissanrevealed the 2017 light-duty (half-ton) version of the Titan pickup asthe promised follow-up to the 2016 Titan XD quasi-commercial model that straddles the line between light- and heavy-duty pickups.But the Chicago unveiling wasn"t entirely conventional: Nissan showed onlyphotos of the half-ton version of the Titan and said it will be in showroomsthis summer. Nissan found reluctance from consumers regardingthe first-generation light-duty Titan, which was launched in 2003 on the pickup-specific "F-Alpha" ladder-frame chassis and continued through2015. So the company decided to take a different vector with the Titan XD (http://articles.sae.org/13829/) in anattempt to address the market space between light-duty pickups which theDetroit Three automakers dominate (to the ongoing chagrin of Nissan and Toyota) and the larger heavy-duty models that areincreasingly popular with both commercial and "business-personal" buyers. The half-ton Titan will compete in the heart of the full-sizepickup segment, while the XD provides a unique solutionfor customers by bridging the cost and capability gap between traditionalhalf-ton and full heavy-duty pickups. Together the two Titans "will covernearly 85% of the total full-size truck market," said Rich Miller, director ofproduct planning for Trucks, SUVs and Commercial Vehicles at Nissan NorthAmerica and chief product specialist for Titan pickups. A major differentiator for the Titan XD has beenits Cummins-made 5.0-L turbodiesel V8, the first North America-sourced diesel for a Japanese pickup. The new half-ton "standard"Titan won"t offer that engine (never say never, we"d wager, given thatFCA"s Ram unit does nice business with the V6 turbodiesel in thehalf-ton Ram), instead fitting Nissan"s 5.6-L gasoline V8 at launch. That well-known unit develops 390 hp (287 kW) and 401 lb ft (544 N m). The 2017Titan"s horsepower, in particular, represents a marked increase from this engine"s 317-hp(233-kW) rating in 2015. (Nissan officials told Automotive Engineering there will be no2016 model of the half-ton Titan). The V8 will transfer powerthrough a 7-speed automatic transmission, a two-gear upgrade over the previousTitan"s 5-speed automatic. At some as-yet undetermined time after thelight-duty Titan is launched, a gasoline V6 will be added to the mix, althoughthe company wouldn"t say much more. Structurally, the coming half-ton Titan shares no chassis components with the Titan XD model, which rides on a modified version of the F-Alpha architecture Nissan oriented toward commercial-vehicle applications. "Even the lug nuts are different," quipped Miller. He noted that the light-duty 2017 Titan chassis"is a refined version of Nissan"s existingfull-size truck platform," which itself is a variant of the F-Alpha structure. Thus some of the similarities incritical dimensions for the outgoing 2015 Titan and the new 2017 model: Wheelbase,for example, is the same at 139.8 in (3551 mm) for the crew cab body style. Overall length, at 228.1 in (5794 mm) is just 3.5 in (89 mm) longerthan the previous-generation truck. Nissan officials said the 2017 Titan will return a standard-cabconfiguration to the body-style lineup that also includes crew and king cabvariants. The cab choices also dictate three cargo-bed lengths: 5.5 ft (1676mm), 6 ft (1829 mm) and 8 ft (2438 mm). The light-duty Titan will bebuilt at Nissan"s Canton, MS, plant and its V8 will be assembled at thecompany"s engine plant in Decherd, TN. The light-truck chassis shuffle also includes Nissan"s full-size SUVs. The 2017 Armada abandons the Titan platform, jumping onto the company"s global Patrol chassis. See http://articles.sae.org/14567/ .
Date written: 17-Feb-2016 03:16 EST
More of this article on the SAE International Website
ID: 2192
