Akron Beacon / Bloomberg News Story

Nissan may modify Titans for fleet sales

More affordable, less powerful versions could include V6 engines, fewer accessories, possibly by early 2008

By Alan Ohnsman

Bloomberg News

Nissan Motor Co., Japan's third- largest automaker, may sell a lower-price, less powerful version of its full-size Titan pickup truck as early as next year to increase sales to small U.S. business fleets.

Nissan unveiled modified Titans with new interiors and a long-wheelbase version with a truck bed as long as eight feet at the Chicago Auto Show this week. More affordable versions are being studied, including one with fewer accessories and another with a V-6 engine, said Larry Dominique, Nissan's North American product development chief. Currently all Titans are powered by V-8 engines.

``We're looking for more opportunities, especially small fleets that need business trucks for landscaping and construction,'' Dominique said.

The cheapest Titan now has a base price of $23,700, according to Edmunds.com, an automotive data Web site based in Santa Monica, Calif.

General Motors sells ``work-truck-style'' versions of its Chevrolet Silverado pickups for as little as $15,840, excluding incentives, according to Edmunds.com. Ford's lowest-price F-150 is $18,275.

When the Titan went on sale in 2003, Nissan touted it as the largest, most powerful Japanese pickup in the United States.

They really should have done this earlier. Having the most power standard engine is good but not at the expense of a having base price that isn't low enough. The VQ40DE (which I assume they'll be using) way outpowers any of the competitor V6s.

So they could still have the most powerful standard engine with the V6 and the most powerful standard V8. It works out even better.

They really should have done this earlier. Having the most power standard engine is good but not at the expense of a having base price that isn't low enough. The VQ40DE (which I assume they'll be using) way outpowers any of the competitor V6s.

So they could still have the most powerful standard engine with the V6 and the most powerful standard V8. It works out even better.

How much more HP will it have than the V-6's in the Ford, Chevy and Toyota?

How much more HP will it have than the V-6's in the Ford, Chevy and Toyota?

Nissan 4.0L V6: 266hp/288lb-ft

Toyota 4.0L V6: 236hp/266lb-ft

Dodge 3.7L V6: 215hp/235lb-ft

Ford 4.2L V6: 202hp/260lb-ft

Chevy/GMC 4.3 V6: 195/260lb-ft

Nissan 4.0L V6: 266hp/288lb-ft

Toyota 4.0L V6: 236hp/266lb-ft

Dodge 3.7L V6: 215hp/235lb-ft

Ford 4.2L V6: 202hp/260lb-ft

Chevy/GMC 4.3 V6: 195/260lb-ft

Besides a low base price, these smaller engines suck.

Most of the companies' smaller engines use as much gas as their largest V8.