A full-size pickup truck to compete with the Toyota Tundra is under strong consideration by Nissan, according to Jed Connelly, general manager of Nissan division.
Connelly was here to unveil the redesigned 2000 Nissan Sentra and 2001 Pathfinder sport-utility vehicle at the Detroit Auto Show before sending them to the Chicago Auto Show next month and putting them on sale in March.
“We aren’t prepared yet to say how soon we’ll have a full-size truck, but to grow in this market we want incremental sales because they don’t take away from any of our existing products. And to have incremental sales we’d have to be in a market that we currently don’t play in, and we don’t play in the full-size truck market now,” Connelly said in an interview.
“Our dealers indicate they want one, that it’s a high priority, and Mr. (Carlos) Ghosn (chief operating officer of Nissan Motor Co. in Japan) hasn’t said no,” Connelly said.
“If we only got 6 percent of the market in trucks like we now get in cars, that would be more than 120,000 units a year in incremental added sales, and that’s a lot,” he said.
And “if you come up with a full-size truck, a full-size SUV would be a natural,” Connelly said, hinting at something larger than a Nissan Pathfinder or QX4 from its luxury Infiniti division.
To avoid the 25 percent duty on Japanese-built trucks shipped here, U.S. production would have to be a consideration, too.
As for future products, Ghosn has said that 50 percent of all new vehicles being developed will be slated for the U.S., that Nissan and its partner Renault of France are talking about marketing a Nissan-badged Renault for the U.S. (perhaps a mini-van) and that the two are talking about Nissan building some Renault vehicles at its plant in Mexico for Renault to sell outside the U.S.
As for those new vehicle debuts, Sentra is now 6.5 inches longer at 177.5 inches, an inch wider at 67.3 inches, and an inch taller at 55.6 inches and comes with a new 1.8-liter 4-cylinder or refined 2-liter 4. Pathfinder also sports new sheet metal as well as a new 3.5-liter, 250-horsepower V-6.
2WD QX4: Infiniti showcased the redesigned 2001 QX4 sport-utility that comes out in March with a new 3.5-liter, 240-h.p., 24-valve V-6. For the first time, it will be offered in two-wheel-drive as well as four-wheel-drive, a move that will keep the price down on the base model.
Power on track: Dodge unveiled the NASCAR version of its Dodge Intrepid that will debut at Daytona next year.
Jim Julow, vice president of the Dodge Division, said the racing Intrepid makes a high-performance production version “an interesting proposition,” especially one carrying the same Charger name as the concept on last year’s auto-show circuit built off the Intrepid platform.
Julow offered that the NASCAR Intrepid “sets the stage for a Charger and having a rear-wheel-drive, high-performance Charger would certainly benefit from our involvement in NASCAR” but stopped short of confirming time, date and place for a new Charger.
Others less coy say that Charger has been approved, probably for production shortly after the NASCAR version takes to the track, and that the 5.7-liter V-8 that will power the NASCAR Intrepid has been approved for the production Charger, though offering less than the 700 h.p. in the NASCAR machine.
Sale bait: Thanks to the Beetle contributing sales of 83,000 units in calendar 1999, Volkswagen sold more than 300,000 vehicles in the U.S. last year for the first time since 1974, the year the automaker brought out the Rabbit to replace the Beetle.
Dr. Jens Neumann, VW group director of North American operations, said there is no timetable to transform the Advance Activity Concept pickup truck into reality. But if you should decide to enter the pool, you’d probably want to take a number around the 24-month timeframe.
Neumann pulled the curtain on the AAC, and media jaws dropped when he said it was powered by a 313-h.p. V-10 turbo diesel.
Special Windstar: The Ford Windstar mini-van lineup is adding a limited model that includes as standard most of the features offered as options in the SEL series, such as side air bags, reverse sensing system, power adjustable gas/brake pedals, floor console, trailer-towing package and traction control. It goes into production in February.
This IS Lexus: Lexus expands its lineup in July with the addition of the IS300 compact sport sedan and brings out the third generation of its luxury flagship sedan to be renamed the LS430 this fall, both as 2001 models.
The rear-wheel-drive IS features a 3-liter, 215-h.p. in-line 6 inherited from the larger GS300 sedan. It will be teamed with 5-speed automatic. Lexus says the IS is the luxury sport sedan (drilled aluminum pedals in keeping with the sports-car theme) companion to the ES300 front-wheel-drive luxury sedan. It will compete against the Audi A4 and BMW 3-Series. Only 25,000 will be built.
The LS400 becomes the LS430 in the fall with the addition of a new 4.3-liter, 290-h.p. V-8 with 5-speed automatic and a claimed zero- to 60-time of 6.2 seconds.
To provide more cabin room, the wheelbase has been extended 3 inches and inside that cabin you’ll now find climate-control seats that heat or cool, parking-clearance sonar system, power rear or side window sunshades, rear-seat air conditioning, rear heat/massage seats, voice-activated portable phone and seats that are heated on the bottom and back.
High Tek: More on the Pontiac Aztek SRV, or sports-recreation vehicle, that debuted at the show before it comes out late this spring or early summer as a 2001 model: Pontiac forecasts a 50/50 split between sales of FWD and AWD versions. With AWD, you can’t get traction control that’s standard on the GT, optional on the base Aztek. A mini spare is standard, but when used, the AWD system deactivates until a full-size tire is attached. A sunroof will be optional as will some items for pets, such as leash anchors and traveling cages.
A head-up display (HUD) that shows in the lower windshield in front of the driver not only provides digital speed readings and low-fuel warning, it also displays radio station or CD track from the sound system, which can be enjoyed by back-seat occupants with their own headsets.
Aztek also boasts 100,000-mile brake life, optional automatic self-leveling suspension, 3,500-pound towing capacity with AWD and 185 h.p. from its 3.4-liter V-6. The competing Honda CR-V gets 145 h.p. and Toyota RAV4 127 h.p. from 4-cylinder engines.
Expected Tekkies: The expected buyer for the Pontiac Aztek is 25- to 40 years old with $60,000 annual household income and one or fewer kids who wants a transition vehicle when moving out of sedan but doesn’t want to move into a mini-van.
The winners are: The Ford Focus was chosen North American Car and the Nissan Xterra sport-ute North American Truck of the year for 2000 by members of the automotive media. For 1999, the Volkswagen Beetle and Jeep Grand Cherokee won. The awards have been given since 1994, when the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan and Dodge Ram pickup were given the honors.
Mountaineer all SUV: How does J Mays, chief designer for Ford, compare the Lexus RX300 SUV with his new “feminine” 2001 Mercury Mountaineer SUV coming out this fall?
“The RX300 is more genteel but borders on being wagonesque,” Mays said. “The RX300 Is a (car/sport-ute) hybrid, Mountaineer is an SUV.”
Mays’ next big styling challenge? “Ford and Mazda cars and injecting more Americana into Lincoln.”
