New Nissan Titan takes macho looks to extreme

DETROIT — In the pickup business, you can never go wrong by looking tough. In fact, the tougher, the better.

In introducing a new Titan at the auto show here on Monday, Nissan tries to take tough looks to the extreme. In trying to revive an aging truck that had almost faded from sight, Nissan is taking the bold approach.

Designers say they took inspiration from the truck's name and tried to make it emulate the toughest images of athletes and warriors that it could find. At Nissan's design headquarters in San Diego, those who imagined the new truck say they studied images of chiseled NFL players and armored, sword-wielding gladiators alike in creating their new truck. The photos of the he-men were pasted on walls. The iron mask of a gladiator became the the inspiration for the look of the grille.

The result is a 2016 Titan that Nissan says is meant to look like a heavy hauler even though it has the easy driving of a regular full-size pickup. The look also helps promote one of the key advantages that the truck brings to the market: a new 310-horsepower 5-liter Cummins V-8 diesel engine that will prove to be a rival to Ram's 1500 and its highly regarded V-6 EcoDiesel. Titan's diesel comes with a six-speed automatic transmission.

Nissan can afford to take chances because it has become such a minuscule player in the full-size pickup market. It sold only 12,527 Titans last year, down more than 20% from the year before, according to Autodata. Each of its major competitors sold more than 100,000 pickups last year. Ford's F-Series, the nation's most popular vehicle, sold 753,851.

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Diane Allen, Nissan's senior design manager, says that the truck has a "warrior feel."

Says Allen, "The goal was to be more modern, edgier."

The new Titan needed to be a truck that would be taken seriously by people who make their living off a pickup — construction workers, cowboys, electricians and others. The outgoing model, she says, was perceived as being too much of a "weekend truck."

Nissan says the new Titan carries through the capability as well. It can tow up to 12,000 pounds, offers more fuel efficiency and will come in three cab configurations.