When the Nissan
Titan was released, its power output and advertised capabilities were near to
those of the Dodge Ram, and owners of Titans and Rams had out their differences
on the street and on the track, with mixed results. However, sales of the Titan have not been
doing well so for the next generation Titan, Nissan has taken on the approach
of "it you cant beat'em, join'em".
That's
right. The next Nissan Titan will be
little more than a re-skinned and rebadged Dodge Ram. The deal, which was announced in August of
2008, stated that the new Titan will use the chassis and mechanical workings of
the new Dodge Ram. Immediately,
speculation turns to the question of whether or not the new Titan will be
Hemi-powered and while Nissan sources have insisted that there has been no
decision made thus far about the engine offerings, Chrysler representatives
have commented that the Titan will pack the Hemi engine.
So, new Titan
owners, you will finally have a real shot at keeping up with a Dodge Ram, but
only because you'll be driving one. This
comes with unfavorable opinions from many Dodge faithful, and many hope to see
the Titan not carry the Hemi name whether it has the engine or not, but this
will help Dodge in their tough times as all of the new Titans are slated to be
made in Chrysler factories.
This also creates
more interest in the old rumors that Nissan and Dodge might be working
something out for the next generation Dodge Viper, as Dodge has announced that there
are several persons interested in helping to keep the model in production. This is not Dodge's first workings with a
Japanese based manufacturer, as many vehicles in the Chrysler family tree were
Mitsubishi based.
Remember
Dodge-faithful, while it is blasphemy to see a Hemi engine in a Nissan truck,
keep in mind that this is the only way that Nissan can offer a good truck, and
its helping to get the Dodge brand back on track and keeping employees working.
