Nissan is trying to reengineer the old D22 Frontier platform to meet current crash test standards, to try to put some price and size difference between the Frontier and Titan.
It sounds ridiculous, but TTAC don't typically post unsubstantiated rumors. The old D22 Frontier is still sold in Mexico - see here.
I saw that this morning (before going off on a very sad tangent about sub prime auto back securities). I'm kind of excited as I lament the loss of our compact truck segment, but there is so much askew here I'm not sure it's worth it. The old Hardbody was not the best compact truck on the market, retrofitting 20 years of safety on a truck that wasn't safe to begin with has GOT to suck, and if there actually remained a compact truck segment you'd think all the participants wouldn't have died out. At least if someone was going to build the future on the past I'd hope it was Toyota or Mazda, not Nissan. Anyway, while I don't think it's a good idea I wish them huge success with it. More people in smaller vehicles is AWESOME. However, if I were Nissan I would use some of that cost savings and distinct market placement and build a hybrid or EV version of the truck. A true "city truck" might resonate with a lot of people. Of course, if I were Nissan I'd be looking for a way to put a bed on the IDx and leverage that RWD drivetrain and size to spread out costs. A Nissan Za Camino might push a lot of buttons. It pushes mine just thinking about it.
Toyota's older Tacoma truck platform suffers from terminal frame rot. To get around that, you need to go back to the pre-Tacoma, which is as old as the Nissan.
Mazda's truck platform dates from 1986. I don't know if the BT50 still uses a version of this chassis or not. It's co-developed with Ford, but apparently they don't share many parts. It's bigger than the old B-series, regardless.
Now, I happen to think the Mazda was the best driving of the three, but they're all really old. The Nissan really does have the most recent development.
Of course, now I'm dreaming of my B2600i, restored, with the 2.5L SkyActiv engine under the hood. 185 hp would be plenty.
I keep forgetting about the IDx...for better or for worse...
You mean we're like the land where corporations test-run their world domination schemes before putting them in practice?
January 2014 new car sales:
As you can see, the Nissan B13 is still taxiing people around and the A4 VAG keeps taking low-income professionals to their jobs.Code:Model Units Sold Chevrolet Aveo 5,582 Nissan Tsuru 3,995 Nissan Versa 3,725 Volkswagen Clįsico 3,254 Volkswagen Jetta 2,760 Chevrolet Spark 2,546 Volkswagen Vento 2,244 Nissan March 2,214 Nissan Sentra 2,162 Nissan Tiida 2,019
acket.
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