Detroit Auto Show: Nissan goes big with all-new Titan XD truck

Nissan would like to remind everyone that yes, it still builds full-size trucks.

The Japanese automaker used the very American Detroit Auto Show on Monday to unveil the all-new Titan XD truck. On sale towards the end of 2015, it’s the first of several second-generation Titan trucks Nissan is bringing to market in the next 18 months.

Nissan has been playing in the full-size truck world since 2003, but you wouldn’t know it based on recent sales. Over the past three years, it’s averaged around 16,600 sales a year -- about the same number of F-Series trucks Ford has sold every week and a half.

Nissan hopes to use the Titan XD to get back on track, and tap into some of the massive profits that fullsize truck brands reap in for automakers. It’s a unique model with a few tricks up its sleeve in the difficult quest to grab a few customers from the industry stalwarts from Ford, Chevy, and Ram.

“The full-size truck market is the toughest market to crank in the entire industry,� Fred Diaz, senior vice president of marketing, said ahead of the Titan’s debut. “This new Titan XD is designed to offer buyer something others don’t.�

The XD’s key trick is its size. Nissan sees daylight between the normal half-ton trucks (Ford F-150, Ram 1500) and heavy duty models, and says there are around 150,000 buyers a year who switch back and forth between the two segments.

The XD hopes to fill that gap. It promises the towing and payload of a heavy duty truck but the efficiency and lower cost of a half-ton model. It comes with a an all-new V-8 turbodiesel built by renowned engine manufacturer Cummins. The 5.0-liter engine will make around 310 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque, and will be paired with a heavy-duty six-speed automatic transmission.

Compared to the regular Titan, the XD will have a beefier chassis with a longer wheelbase, and will ride about 1.5 inches higher. The truck will also come with a spray-in bedliner, a removeable, in-bed storage system, a 360-degree camera for backing up to a trailer, and a trailer light check system that cycles through a trailer’s lights

In a nod to the exploding luxury truck market, Nissan will add the Platinum Reserve model to the Titan range. Loaded with features like quilted leather seats that are heated and cooled, a touchscreen navigation system, and a Rockford Fosgate sound system, this model will take on other high-zoot trucks in the $50,000 range like Ford’s King Ranch, Chevy’s Silverado High Country, and Toyota’s Tundra 1794 edition.

Later this year, Nissan will unveil the regular Titan half-ton model. Similarly styled as the XD, the Titan will have a 5.6-liter, direct-injected V-8 that makes around 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. It will be paired with a seven-speed automatic transmission. A cheaper V-6 model -- primarily for commercial use -- will also be available.