Nissan won't update its aging Titan full-size truck for several more years, due to engineering delays caused by the March 11 earthquake in Japan. According to Automotive News, the truck's debut will be pushed back to 2014 while engineering work is completed.
The road to a new Titan has been long and fraught with troubles. The Japanese automaker initially planned to work with Chrysler to build a new full-size Nissan Titan based on the Dodge Ram. That vehicle would have debuted in 2011. Unfortunately, the joint venture between Nissan and Chrysler fell apart when the American automaker entered bankruptcy in 2009.
As a result, Nissan had to shoulder the entirety of development in-house in late 2009; the next Titan was thus said to be on track for a 2013 model year launch. However, fallout from the natural disaster in Japan means the truck has been delayed even longer. Nissan redeployed resources and engineers in order to restart production lines halted by the disaster. That meant Nissan didn't have the resources to develop the new Titan as quickly as originally anticipated.
When it does debut, the new Nissan Titan could offer some interesting new engine options. Former Nissan executive Larry Dominique said in 2010 that, "We could do downsized powertrains; we could do an enhanced V-8; and we could look at diesel powertrains" for the next Titan.
The current Titan was introduced for 2004. The 2012 model has a 317-hp, 5.6-liter V-8 engine and five-speed automatic transmission. With just 23,416 examples sold in 2010, the Titan lags far behind sales of full-size competitors like the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, Ram 1500, and Toyota Tundra.