Photo: cardesignworld / Instagram
The last time we heard anything about Nissan and its American pickup truck exploits, things could have been better for the mid-size Frontier and quite disastrous for the full-size Titan and Titan XD.
Following the release of the Q3 sales reports, we discovered that Toyota's Tacoma lost the lead in the mid-size US sector to GM's revamped Chevy Colorado. Aided by the posher GMC Canyon, GM held a comfortable lead against the Tacoma and Jeep Gladiator, while Nissan's Frontier wasn't doing too great either after them.
Meanwhile, according to the rumor mill, the Nissan Titan series will drive into the sunset and check in with their designated retirement garage, possibly as fast as the end of the current year. An internal memo circulated on the Internet and was subsequently confirmed to several news outlets, with the Canton plant in Mississippi set to be transformed "with the latest in EV manufacturing technology."
That, and abysmal sales from the Titan and Titan XD, have probably sealed the full-size pickup truck's fate. As such, we might not see the Titans surpass their second generation. Well, depending on the point of view that you are using, this might be sad or welcome news. Nissan, after all, has announced the assembly facility will be repurposed to produce two all-new all-electric vehicles. Thus, it might not be too surprising to see the Japanese automaker join the full-size EV pickup truck lifestyle.
After all, the US market already accommodates the GMC Hummer EV, Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning, and a lot more are coming soon. By that, we mean the Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, Ram 1500 REV, plus the eternally late Tesla Cybertruck. Of note, all of the models from the Big Detroit Three are quite traditional in terms of layout and design, even if they were thoroughly adapted for their EV powertrains. Only the Tesla Cybertruck dares to stand out in any crowd – no matter if they're the good or the bad ones.
As such, why should they alone reap the benefits of daring to choose a different path? Maybe Nissan could also do the same – without actually copying Tesla and their brash Cybertruck styling. Well, the thought has already crossed someone's mind, as it turns out. Only it's coming from the imaginative realm of digital car content creators; bear in mind. So, the good folks over at Car Design World (aka cardesignworld on social media) tipped us off to this independent design project by artist Peiheng Zhang – aka jacksonzhangph on social media, an expert in automotive design & visualization.
His idea is simple – because Nissan has trouble maintaining sales in the traditional mid-size and full-size sectors, maybe it's best to imagine a new EV model that can do both setups simultaneously. As such, his 'Nissan Xander' design project has about the same dimensions as the current ICE-powered Nissan Frontier, making it nimbler around town and when parking in the garage. But it also comes with a skateboard EV platform to allow for a modular body style with an expanding bed footprint that can give it full-size capability.
Plus, it also looks decidedly edgy in a futuristic way – all without stealing any of the Tesla Cybertruck's trademark styling DNA. However, there's a question that remains unaddressed – if this project were to come to life, what would happen with the Nissan Frontier? Would it also go the way of the dodo like its larger siblings Titan and Titan XD?
Meanwhile, according to the rumor mill, the Nissan Titan series will drive into the sunset and check in with their designated retirement garage, possibly as fast as the end of the current year. An internal memo circulated on the Internet and was subsequently confirmed to several news outlets, with the Canton plant in Mississippi set to be transformed "with the latest in EV manufacturing technology."
That, and abysmal sales from the Titan and Titan XD, have probably sealed the full-size pickup truck's fate. As such, we might not see the Titans surpass their second generation. Well, depending on the point of view that you are using, this might be sad or welcome news. Nissan, after all, has announced the assembly facility will be repurposed to produce two all-new all-electric vehicles. Thus, it might not be too surprising to see the Japanese automaker join the full-size EV pickup truck lifestyle.
After all, the US market already accommodates the GMC Hummer EV, Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning, and a lot more are coming soon. By that, we mean the Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, Ram 1500 REV, plus the eternally late Tesla Cybertruck. Of note, all of the models from the Big Detroit Three are quite traditional in terms of layout and design, even if they were thoroughly adapted for their EV powertrains. Only the Tesla Cybertruck dares to stand out in any crowd – no matter if they're the good or the bad ones.
As such, why should they alone reap the benefits of daring to choose a different path? Maybe Nissan could also do the same – without actually copying Tesla and their brash Cybertruck styling. Well, the thought has already crossed someone's mind, as it turns out. Only it's coming from the imaginative realm of digital car content creators; bear in mind. So, the good folks over at Car Design World (aka cardesignworld on social media) tipped us off to this independent design project by artist Peiheng Zhang – aka jacksonzhangph on social media, an expert in automotive design & visualization.
His idea is simple – because Nissan has trouble maintaining sales in the traditional mid-size and full-size sectors, maybe it's best to imagine a new EV model that can do both setups simultaneously. As such, his 'Nissan Xander' design project has about the same dimensions as the current ICE-powered Nissan Frontier, making it nimbler around town and when parking in the garage. But it also comes with a skateboard EV platform to allow for a modular body style with an expanding bed footprint that can give it full-size capability.
Plus, it also looks decidedly edgy in a futuristic way – all without stealing any of the Tesla Cybertruck's trademark styling DNA. However, there's a question that remains unaddressed – if this project were to come to life, what would happen with the Nissan Frontier? Would it also go the way of the dodo like its larger siblings Titan and Titan XD?
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