From a volume and market share stand point, the Nissan Titan will not have a tremendous impact in the near term, said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific, the California-based car analyst group. Nissan only has a 100,000 unit capacity to build the Titan at its Canton, Miss., assembly plant and cannot make more than a dent in the sales of GM, Ford and Dodge until the automaker adds another assembly plant, expands Canton, or cannibalizes production away from other products built at the plant, such as its new Quest minivan, the Pathfinder Armada SUV, or the new Infiniti SUV.
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| The Titan is the first Japanese full-size pickup that directly challenges the American brands. (Photo: Nissan) |
But, from an image standpoint, the Titan is the first Japanese full-size pickup that directly challenges the American brands with performance, styling and aggressive pricing, Peterson said.
"Everyone is going to be watching Nissan very, very closely," Peterson said. They want to see if the Japanese can get a full-size pickup truck right."
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| Buyers should be aware that among the Big 3, Nissan as a brand is considered more reliable according to the J.D. Powers and Associates 2003 Vehicle Dependability Study. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
The Titan will probably take more buyers away from Ford's "heritage" F-150s--the old style pickups that are still produced at the soon-to-be shuttered Ontario Truck Assembly Plant in Oakville, Ont., Canada--plus the aging Chevrolet Silverado, the oldest of full-size pickup trucks, he said. It will be harder for Nissan to take away Toyota Tundra buyers, who have similar loyalty to their trucks as Chevy buyers, and the recently redesigned Dodge Ram should be able to hold its own, though Ram buyers may like the Titan's aggressive styling.