As far as I am concerned, I will not buy ANY truck that does not have a diesel in it and a 5 speed (true, no overdrive) tranny. THE END. I have heard that the Titan will in time get a diesel as the F150 may get in 2005. If this happens we are in for a revealation to see who has the best truck for the best price.

 

Lots of "test drives" here from the specifications brochure. I own a 99 F150, and last week went with my son-in-law test driving all the new pick-ups. Drove the Titan and the new F150. The Nissan dealership had a full leather F150 with 5.4 for you to test drive with the Titan. They felt the same to both of us. Also drove Dodges, Chevy, Tundra. I have had Ford pickups, Chevy pickups, and even in International Pickup. (became an expert on adjusting the column shifter after owning the IH...) Anyway, the Silverado was our favorite. Much crisper throttle response. I also like the way the front fenders stick up, as when you turn in tight quarters, you can see where the corner of the truck is. Impossible to tell on the Dodge and Ford. The Titan had lots of squeeks, and the door didn't shut right. I think would be best to let them make them awhile before laying down your own $$.

 

I get a kick out of some peeps. Saying the Japanese dont have quality.

I'll say this once, Nissan makes damn good automobiles!

I was in and looked at the Titan. The sales man was all over me to drive it. But I just said, later. I asked if they were planning an 8' box in the future. He said, "No, but they're planning a diesel engine and a 3/4 ton suspension, in 2 years." If you've never heard about Nissan diesel engines, dont even start. They are prolly the best diesel engines built on the planet.

Nissans and Toyota's have been used oversea's for decades. They've proven themselve's thousands of times in the bush, desert and mountains. Some of you peeps need to dig your heads out of the sand, and take a look around.

Mark my words, the Titan will be climbing the sales chart inthe next few yrs. Nipping at Ford and GM. Not a problem in my book. Maybe the domestics will wake the he!! up and start building trucks the way they used to. Not just marketing to soccer moms and weekend warriors.

I need a heavy duty half ton. Not some frilly 4 door,5.5' boxed POS.

 

You already have a real truck.....why stray away into rustbucketland with a Nissan (previous experiences) when you already have something fully capable, with maybe a few battle scars (surface rust, scratches, etc.) (your F-250 diesel)?

The Titan is really ugly in my opinion. And most people looking at trucks now don't really think about the motor, they just want the look.

 

Maybe - I had a 1981 Datsun 4X4 that was a really very decent little truck, but it was a rust bucket. Then, also my 1985 F-150 4X4 was exhibiting a lot of signs of rust too by the time it was 10 years old. I think Nissan has probably figured out the rust bucket think more or less like Ford has done as well. I agree that it is very good and rather exciting that the domestics have some real competition again. After seeing some of these posts, I looked once again at Nissan's Diesel division and yes they do make commercial vehicles that are well-respected. The Titan really isn't their first shot at a decent, strong truck - just the first time they tried confronting the U.S. light-truck market. It's a good solid first effort and worthy of consideration for anyone that gets tired of Ford's spotty quality of late.

 

Interresting how many Nissan fans spend a lot of time here at a Ford Enthusiast Forum. Maybe things are slow at the ricertrucklet.com forum. They claim Nissan superiority while still driving 11-19 year old Fords. NOT many 19 year old Nissans still on the road around my area.

 

Here is my personal experiance.

I owned one nissan in my life had lots of problems that the dealer never could fix and I finally unloaded the piece. I have had honda's that gave me great service.
In the 80s the import cars made Detroit wake and smell the coffee. We all benifitted from that. If the Titan and the future honda truck are what they are made out to be then maybe we will again benfit from the big 3's response.

As of right now I own a 92 f150 supercab xlt with 225,000 miles
and I mean hard worked miles. It has had nothing done except routine maintenance. (4.9 L 6cyl with 5spd) . The best vehicle bar none that I have ever owned. I now own a 04 f150 supercab 5.4l auto. I have been very impressed and expect no less service from it. I just haven't had the heart to sell the 92 yet...
I live in Louisiana and I can tell you this truthfully, as of today I have not seen 1 titan on the road. See new chevys, dodges, and fords all day long. If you don't think you have to reduce the prices on import cars to sell them, You need to come listen to a Shreveport radio station for about an hour. They had 2,000 off tundras just a few days ago, along with many others. If you are going to make claims lets try to keep it at least somewhat believeable. Wait and see the truth will come out in time. Until then I will work my 04 f150 until it cries "UNCLE".

 

I also own a 16 year old Nissan. '87 300ZX Not a spot of rust on it. Course it's never seen a Minnesota winter, either.

I am a Nissan fan, but without an 8' box, I wont be buying a Titan.
I'm kind of waiting to see what happens with all the 03 F150's.

 

fonefiddy, why wait. They are dealing on the 04 F150 Heritage (03 F150). They have been giving great deals on there remaining 03 F150. If you meant the 2004 F150's, I would say their prices will be going up after the crash test praise and the Motor Trend Award. The big deals are gone. In the ***** or get off the pot senario, you may be paying for the constipated build up. The Nissan's are probably good trucks, but since they are not a clearly superior truck, I buy Ford.

By the way, a garaged Nissan sports car that sits often because it is too small to be useful doesn't count especially in the winter.

 

I think it is great that Nissan has entered the market. I hear that Honda will be entering soon as well. The more the merrier as far as I am concerned. When the imports came to the US in mass quanitity they made the big 3 wake up and start the process of building better cars. Now the big 3 will have to wake up again and meet the competition head on and earn our business. I am a died in the wool ford man, and always have been. However, if I were going to buy a new car today in the 25K price range, I would not even consider anything other than a Honda. Why? It is very simple to me, reliability and resale. In that price range of new vehicles a Honda cannot be beat, and they are really nice cars as well. Since the big 3 have owned the truck market in the US from the beginning I suspect we as consumers will be the winners here. Ford has been the manufacturer setting the bench mark since the 70's, and with the new 150, they have raised the bar again. They have more in the coffers to continue raising that bar, and in years past Ford would only change when they had to. Now they will have to more quickly than before.

 

Change is good, I guess if nothing else the Titan(ic) will let Ford realize that the Japs are serious about full-size competition and we'll all end up with a better American made truck (be it Ford, GM or Dodge). No manufacturer is perfect, I mean even though every body seems to think Hondas and Nissans are "perfect and superior", I'm sure they have plenty of problems as well.

 

It's not to small to be usefull. It serves a very specific purpose. Stress relief!!

I actually hate driving trucks. To big, bulky and wallow around. But I have a need for them.

I'll be in to check on the 03's. The 04's are just to frilly for me. I know it's, ***** or Get off the pot time. But our 2 local dealers must have 50-60 new 03's. The 04's are going faster than the 03's now. I've got an appointment with my Tax Accountant on Mon. I'm sure their going to tell me I need some deductions. So maybe a new truck is in order before the first.

 

There's not much doubt that Nissan built a competitive full size truck on the first try. It's quick, quicker than the Hemi according to Popular Mechanic's tests. I do have some reservations about the Titan's towing abilities. The Titan claims a 9500 lb towing capacity with the "Big Tow" package which consists of a 3.36 axle ratio (instead of the standard 2.94), heavy duty battery, tranny temp gauge, and VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control), an electronic stability system. The rear axle is a Dana 44 (8.5" ring gear) which strikes me as pretty small for that kind of power and weight. There seems to be very little in the way of upgrades for the Titan to handle that kind of weight. To get Ford's 9900 lb tow rating requires the heavy duty payload package which has stronger 7 lug steel wheels, upgraded frame, springs, and shocks, 10.25" rear axle (4.10 ratio), and D range tires among other things.

 

Yes, I agre with you jgcjr.

If you compare component for component, you will find that the F-150 is the better built truck. No Ranger parts in the F-150, so why have Hardbody parts in the Titan(ic)?

 

LMAO, now where'd that come from?

There's no hardbody parts on the Titan. Heck, the hardbody went out, when the Frontier came in, in 00.

You guy's!