Titan Priced Lower than Competitive Full-Size Pickups
Fierce winds buffeted the Motor City uprooting trees and felling power lines the night of November 12, perhaps portending the arrival of Nissan's new entry into the full-size pickup market with pricing that may rock the office towers of General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler.
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| The 2004 Nissan Titan is expected to draw 25-30 percent of its estimated 100,000 per year buyers from current Nissan owners. (Photo: Nissan) |
Launched in October from its new North American assembly plant in Canton, Miss., the 2004 Nissan Titan is expected to draw 25-30 percent of its estimated 100,000 per year buyers from current Nissan owners. The rest will be "conquest buyers" taken from the automakers that are already producing full-size pickups, notably the American Big Three and Japanese rival Toyota, according to Nissan officials during the Automotive Press Association luncheon held at Stroh's (Detroit) River Place office building.
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| "Nissan is ready to meet the future as a mature full-line player," said Jed Connelly, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing. (Photo: Nissan) |
With products like the Titan and the new Murano, two of eight new vehicles launched for Nissan and its Infiniti brands in 2003, "Nissan is ready to meet the future as a mature full-line player," said Jed Connelly, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing.
The big news that Connelly dropped on Detroit's lap was the Manufacturing Suggested Retail Prices for the Titan that start at USD$22,400 and USD$25,100 for its King Cab and Crew Cab XE 4x2 models respectively. In Canada the new Nissan starts at CAD$31,900 with more options as standard, while the Crew Cab isn't available in a 4x2 configuration and therefore starts higher again at $38,200. The four-wheel drive Crew Cab LE retails at CAD$47,500 (USD$34,200), about USD$3,000 below a comparably equipped Ford F-150 pickup in the U.S. In Canada Nissan is clearly not even attempting to go after Ford's old-style F-150 Heritage 2WD Regular Cab customers. The bare bones truck starts at $22,850 (USD$19,225), almost $10,000 less than the much better equipped Titan.