Every year the automotive industry heads to Detroit for the North American International Auto Show, more commonly known as the Detroit Auto Show. Debuting in 1899, the Detroit Auto Show is one of the most important and prestigious auto shows in the nation, and the world. The Detroit Auto Show is different than SEMA in that instead of highlighting new aftermarket products, which is SEMA’s stated goal, the Detroit Auto Show unveils new car and truck stock models for the upcoming year. This year, 2015, the Detroit Auto Show started today, the 12th, and goes through the 25th, and the big news to come out of the show today is the 2016 Nissan Titan.
The 2016 Nissan Titan is the flagship truck model from Nissan powered by Cummins. While the Cummins equipped Titan is not news—it was first announced in 2013—what is news is how its turning heads at the show.
Traditionally, the Detroit Auto Show has been a bastion of American manufacturing and domestic vehicles. While the trend in the last few decades has been to include foreign manufacturers and brands, the show is still mostly known as an American institution for American vehicles. With the clout of the newly redesigned Nissan Titan, though, it appears that there might be a changing of the guard.
Horsepower
Horsepower is one of the three most important ratings a truck model can boast—along with torque and towing capacity. In this category the ’16 Titan lags behind all three big names in the domestic arena: GMC/Chevy trucks posts 420hp, the ’15 Ram has 395hp, the ’15 Ford has 385hp, while the Titan lags behind all with 310hp. However, Nissan seems intent to raise that figure before official production and release, and therefore the horsepower should increase accordingly.
Torque
Second in the holy trinity of truck ratings, the Titan scored quite a bit higher than it did on horsepower, taking the best in class from everyone else. With 555lb/ft of torque, the ’16 Titan reigns supreme. GMC/Chevy sits steady with 460lb/ft, and the ’15 Ford and ’15 Ram both sit at 420lb/ft of torque.
Tow Capacity
Comparing the Nissan to the big names, it’s easy to see why the Titan is already making a splash this year. With a tow rating just 200lbs weaker than the ’15 Ford, the Titans 12,000lbs tow load equals that of the ’15 GMC/Chevy, and 1,350lbs more than the comparable ’15 Ram. One of the important innovations of the Titan that achieves this tow capacity is their factory integrated gooseneck hitch, which distributes the tow weight over the entire vehicle.
Payload Capacity
In the payload category the Titan falls short of two of the big three domestic companies, however it still rates better than the ’15 Ram. Ford reigns supreme in the payload category, boasting an impressive 3,300lbs, while a GMC/Chevy comes in a distant second with 2,270lbs. The Titan scored third with 2,000lbs, while the ’15 Ram shortchanged the category with a low rating of 1,650lbs.
Fuel Economy
Another important category for trucks, and whose importance shouldn’t be disregarded with lower oil and fuel prices. Currently, Nissan and Ford haven’t announced the fuel economy of their Detroit Auto Show models. The ’15 Ram has its economy recorded at 20/28 and GMC/Chevy with an 18/24.
Looking Ahead
With the 2015 Detroit Auto Show still kicking off, and for all of 2015 for that matter, a lot can still change between now and the release of 2016 production models. But with bringing their A-game to the Detroit Auto show, as they have done, Nissan is announcing that they are seriously contenders and that they are here to stay.
B-Roll: 2016 Nissan Titan XD
The new TITAN XD, the first of the new generation of Nissan TITAN models, creates a new segment of the American market. It offers the effortless towing and hauling of the larger, more expensive heavy-duty trucks – yet has the fuel-efficiency and affordability of half-ton pickups. It is projected to go on sale at Nissan dealers nationwide in late 2015.