Even though Titan sales in the last year were a bit short of their projected 100,000 unit target, Nissan seems very committed to this newest offering in the full size market. With the big 3 having been the only choice for 3/4 and 1 ton diesel trucks it seemed only inevitable that Nissan would plan to venture into the heavier truck classes.

My reliable contacts have recently informed me that yes indeed the Titan is going to be retooled for mid to late 2008. Which makes it the 2009 model Nissan stated they would build.

The most notable comments from my sources stated don't be suprized if the commerical Titan gets equipped with an optional 7.0 liter or larger diesel engine. The current 5.6 liter engine is also going to be beefed up but the performance specs have been very difficult to attain thusfar. I predict the new gas engine will be a 5.8L or 5.9L with a multi-displacement feature like GM and Chrysler. If this happens you all know who called it first!

When I asked "Who made this new diesel engine?... The reply was "The Nissan team designed this new engine themselves."

Personally I am inclined to think that the Renault Developement Team may have been quietly involved. Afterall Renault does own Nissan.

COPIED FROM A MOTORWEEK website.

AutoWeek | Published 03/14/06, 9:02 am et

"GENEVA -- Commercial versions of Nissan's next-generation Titan pickup will be aimed at the Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and Ford F-250 pickups.

The new Titan pickup will debut as a 2009 model. It will be developed on Nissan's re-engineered platform for full-sized trucks. The current Titan competes with the Silverado 1500 and F-150 pickups and is limited to two models: the King Cab and Crew Cab.

The Titan engineered for commercial applications will be "heavier than we have today; more substantial," Jed Connelly, Nissan's senior vice president of sales and marketing, said at the Geneva auto show.

It will be a truck that requires a "diesel application and some other things," he said. But he said that Nissan will not offer a heavy-duty model in that time frame to compete with the Silverado 3500 or Ford F-350 Super Duty pickups.

Francois Bancon, a manager in Nissan's product planning division, said here that the commercial models of the Titan will offer a diesel engine. The diesel supplier has not been determined.

Although a diesel is a requirement for the re-engineered Titan, a six-cylinder engine to create a lower-priced model is not. The 2006 Titan pickup comes standard with a 5.6-liter V-8. The base Silverado and F-150 come with a V-6.

"I'm not sure we are likely to have a six," said Bancon. "Do we need to expand the number of powertrains for the Titan if we have a diesel? We need to make that decision."

He said limited sales volume for a six-cylinder engine may not justify offering that engine.

The commercial versions of the Titan will be aimed at "smaller fleets, three to five trucks, plumbers, carpenters, those type of entrepreneurs," said Connelly."

As I learn more it will be posted here.

That makes me gitty in my pants!!!!!!!!! I've been longing for diesel Titans to roam the land. I want one.

Keep us updated!

-Dan

I got a call from Nissan wanting to know if I'd be up for a Q&A session, along with other owners, about our Titans. The North America design center is here in San Diego.

The first part was answering a bunch of phsyco bable questions over the phone. That qualified me for the second part.

I think I may have got in on a technicallity. Every one of the 6 others that showed up for the "round table" discussion had the tow package and made good use of it. My '04 had that package but my current '05 does not (I lemon law'd the '04) and the interviewers seem a little surprised at my being there. Anyways, lots of questions about what we liked best about the truck, what we hated, and what we would like to see different.

The final part (when I got paid $300 for my troubles) was a one on one with me and my truck. They wanted it to be in "every day, normal" condition. Not cleaned up and made pretty for the occasion. We walked around the truck and pointed things out, they asked about this and that, they took pictures of all of it.

At one point I told them I had heard that they were putting out a new, bigger Titan to compete with the diesel type big boys. He said some to the effect "well, I'd say your part right".

One funny thing that happened is that one guy in the round table said he'd like to see a special edition Titan made with lots of aftermarket Nismo goodies... Now, mind you, there were about 7 or 8 Nissan "people" sitting close by taking notes and interjecting questions now and then, when I said "Yea, how about making a Titan GT-R, that's what I want to see!" and 3 of the observers jumped out of their seats and started high-fiving, laughing, and giving me the thumbs up. They were obviously stoked on the idea and had not thought of it. I then asked for a commision should they run with the idea!!

Anyways, they were a bit secretive about the why but also asked if I would be intrested in coming back to see if what they came up with "fit" what we'd want to see in a new Titan. I'll keep you guys posted.

FYI - We also met the lead designer of the Titans exterior. She was a very nice lady .

'97 240sx
-Cusco links and rods -JIC Coilovers -ST Sways -B&M SS
-Kazama SF Collars -GReddy Strut bar

'05 Titan LE/Crew/4X4
-K&N Filter -ProComp 6"lift, 17x9, 35" A-terrains -Total Chaos A Arms
-RadFlow Coilovers -PRG traction bars -Deaver 1.5"leafs

The 'Titan' name was selected from a number of submissions and he was so suprised they picked the name he pinched himself in dis-belief!

This is awesome guys, I feel like part of a secret circle, hahaha

Keep the info coming!

-Dan