David Vs. Goliath: armageddon for full-size pickup trucks

Automotive Industries, July, 2003 by Don Sherman

A battle of biblical proportions is brewing in full-size pickup trucks. After decades of tranquility--with Chevy/GMC, Ford and Dodge sharing the profits from a 2-million-plus market--forces are building to ravage the status quo.

One decade ago Toyota served notice on the domestic brands by quietly slipping its 7/8s-scale T100 into the category. That truck evolved into the new-for-2000 Tundra, which adds a crew-cab version this fall, but Toyota must wait two more years for a third-generation design to stand fully toe-to-toe with the domestics in terms of exterior size, hauling capacity and breadth of offering.

While Toyota implemented its flanking move, Nissan formulated a frontal assault by engineering the first import-brand large pickup with no apologies attached. This is one of those rare cases when the name says it all. The Nissan Titan has the size, strength and will to muscle into one of the few remaining domestic-brand strongholds.

Of course the incumbents don't intend to yield without a fight. Ford Motor Co., in current possession of a 38-percent market share, would love to elbow Titan onto the ropes. A new from road-to-roof F-150 lineup, bolstered by $18-billion of reengineering and facilities investment, arrives this summer with that task on its busy agenda.

While Titan versus F-150 has certain parallels with the biblical David vs. Goliath, today's fight is not with sticks or stones and there's no chance of a first-round knockout. But studying the two new mega contenders is the best means of assessing the state of the pickup truck art.

Nissan Titan.

Chief Product Specialist Larry Dominique didn't bat an eye when Al asked why Nissan recycled a nameplate from Chevrolet's past for its new big truck. Never mind that GM used the same badge on Chevrolet heavy duty trucks in the 1970s and early '80s. Dominique insists that the evocative name GM abandoned was the perfect one-word summation of Nissan's intentions to step into the large pickup arena in a forceful, effective manner.

"To earn credibility in a full-sized pickup truck, you need real truck horsepower and real truck torque," asserts Dominique. "We gave our Japanese colleagues performance targets and asked them to meet those objectives at the lowest possible cost."

One of those objectives--a 9,400-pound towing capacity--was especially ambitious. Fortunately, Nissan had a V-8 engine and 5-speed automatic in production for Infiniti Q45 and M45 luxury sedans to serve as a suitable starting point.

The initial plan was to convert the block material from aluminum (with cast-iron cylinder liners) to iron as a cost-savings measure. That idea was scrapped when weight and fuel economy became an issue, so the final VK56DE V-8 keeps the light-alloy block and head from the parent Infiniti VK45DE design.

In the interests of durability, the forged steel crankshaft supported by cross-bolted main bearings also made the leap. Two features that did not were the exotic titanium valves used to sustain the vehicle's 6,700 rpm redlines and variable valve timing.

To meet torque and power requirements, Nissan engineers stretched bore and stroke dimensions to their practical limits. Boosting the bore from 93 to 98 mm and stroke from 82.7 to 92 mm bumped piston displacement from 4.5 to a more meaty 5.6 liters.

Topping the reconfigured V-8 is an ultra-long-runner composite-plastic intake manifold, the second measure aimed at plumping up the torque curve at the low end where pickup truck owners live and work.

Lowering the compression ratio from 10.5 to 9.8:1 dropped the fuel requirement from premium to regular unleaded.

Nissan hesitates to expose its hand at this stage of the game (Titan doesn't arrive in dealer showrooms until December), 50 output is currently rated "over" 300 horsepower at 4,900 rpm and "375-plus" lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm. For reference, the Infiniti V-8 produces 340 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 333 lbs.-ft. of torque at 4,000 rpm. Dominique adds that 90 percent of peak torque is available from 2,500 rpm to give Titan excellent off-road towing, hauling and driving capabilities.

Now that Hemi, Vortec and Triton are part of the modern pickup-truck family's vocabulary, the new Titan engine had to have a handle as well. The "Endurance V8" name that was chosen doesn't have much ring but Dominique is holding some of his options--such as variable valve timing--in reserve for the future. A dedicated line built as part of a $500-million expansion of Nissan's Decherd, Tenn., facility manufactures this powerhouse.

At launch, the Titan's 5.6L V-8 powers the whole show. It's teamed with the first 5-speed automatic transmission in the light-duty pickup truck class. Also borrowed from the Infiniti Q45 and M45, what Nissan calls its IK transmission has been reinforced inside and out for this tougher assignment. Three out of the five gear ratios were altered to meet Dominique's ambitious throttle response, acceleration, towing, gas mileage and highway cruising performance targets. Following GM's lead, a tow-haul mode is provided.