this will elicit enormous hate, let it begin.

Nice job Nissan!

YAWN...

So when can we expect to start seeing SUV sales mixed with truck sales? Seems silly to me to have SUVs and trucks compete for the same award.

Pointless

Good thing one of the jurors is from Playboy...wow I bet Playboy specializes in trucks/utility

Montands - - -

"So when can we expect to start seeing SUV sales mixed with truck sales? Seems silly to me to have SUVs and trucks compete for the same award."

I agree. This blending of two categories came from the era when SUVs were big vehicles based on a truck chassis as BOF designs. They are not anymore, and should have their own categories, especially with the advent of CUVs.

For example the differences now in size, function, design, and construction between the Honda Pilot and Ford F-250 or Ram 2500 pickups are absolutely HUGE.

====================

So how can a vehicle(Titan) be in the running when it is not even out yet? How is the reliabilty? Fuel mileage? Ride? Any recalls?

and for you guys asking about a truck in the same category as a SUV, well the 2 others are CUV's, Car based. but then again what do you think a crew cab half ton is? Just a SUV with a bed....

@Dave
I agree these awards should not be given out until a vehicle has been out for at least 1 year. The titan could be a complete p.o.s plagued with problems.

Or you guys could read the article that says they pick the best NEW vehicles, this does not mention anything about picking the best vehicle after its been out for a year, that would be a different award, and agree it should be done

3 seperate catagories should be used: Pickup Trucks, SUV and CUV.

You cannot compare a SUV or CUV with a pickup truck and vise versa.

I agree with one comment posted: in order to compete for "Vehicle of The Year", the vehicles nominated should be out on the market for at least 1 year in order to properly evaluate the vehicle. Don't do it when it is just coming off the manufacturers assembly line.

Well, if a PT Cruiser can be considered a "truck" why not a Focus or whatever.

The US does have funny ways in how it interprets what a vehicle actually is used for. Even SUVs aren't trucks.

A truck should be any vehicle designed to carry cargo or more than eight people.

I do hope the XD wins as it is the only truck amongst the group.

A an aside, why do you never see real trucks in these awards? I'm talking vehicles like prime movers, boggie drive HDTs, etc.

Even 75% of pickups are not used as trucks.

Ok........... Big Al......................... I'm sure the judges will be all over your comments and start testing Mack, Freightliner, Kenworth, Peterbilt etc.

75% of trucks not used as trucks? is that an extrapolation of your own narrow personal experience or are you just making sh!t up once again?

I hope the Nissan wins, just because it is the only truck in the group. With that being said, how does the writers in Canada think? Especially to leave the GM Colorado. Canyon twins out? Which are actually trucks!!!! But the Nissan truck, from all I can read about it so far is a very heavy, very expensive, fuel guzzling type, of which there are more than enough already! I will wait to see the whole line however before I make a final judgment though.

Sandman4x4 - you raise a good point about the GM twins. I'd be more inclined to buy one of those than a Titan XD.

Ok........... Big Al......................... I'm sure the judges will be all over your comments and start testing Mack, Freightliner, Kenworth, Peterbilt etc.

75% of trucks not used as trucks? is that an extrapolation of your own narrow personal experience or are you just making sh!t up once again?

Posted by: Lou_BC | Dec 10, 2015 4:08:01 PM

Without doing a survey on every truck owner in the states to gather that data im pretty sure he just pulls numbers out of his pouch......................................................................

When has Big Al NOT pulled info out his butt? I heard the new Ford Ranger(US version) was shown over in Australia, I'm sure Al was there holding up a sign that says, " No Aluminum, 90% of truck owners dont want it."

@Nitro - pro-diesel and pro-small truck and basing all of one's comments upon that is rather silly. I'd love an efficient torque heavey diesel in a roomy capable truck but no one makes such a truck. The Ecodiesel is cursed by being paired with a BOF sedan, the 5.0 Cummins is cursed by being paired by a bloated mid pack cargo capacity pickup and the baby Duramax is in a "too small for family" package.
The only one of the bunch that has an appropriate cargo and tow rating for its truck class is the Colorado/Canyon. They are rated at 1500-1800 lbs cargo with a realistic tow package.

Lou,
Again overstating load and tow. You tend to make many over and understatements to support the Ford line of pickups.

So, why do you need load when you can tow?

Ram has proven this formula works quite well. I mean 75% of pickups are not work trucks.

Why not have a comfortable vehicle when empty and when it's required hook up a trailer and tow it? You can still go to Lowes to buy a dozen screws, pickup up the kids, yadda, yadda, yadda.

It's a pity the new Ford aluminium F-150 only has one positive attribute to sell itself by.

What about FE? How well does the 2.7 EcoThirst perform when under load? Empty it is returning 15.6mpg! Imagine it's fuel bill when towing, even at two bucks a gallon!

I do think you Ford marketing types are scared of this Titan as it will do many things you want from a HD and do what a 1/2 ton can do, with the comfort and refinement of a decent half ton. Not like the over sprung or short sprung aluminium F-150.

When I'm in the States a couple times a year all I witness are full size pickups with 5 or 6 people on board with a fully loaded bed and towing a tri axle trailer with a excavator and bulldozer be dragged behind.

Why do you Canadians and Americans just want to tow and carry large loads to and from your daily drive to work?

BAFDU: Ram? you mean the same Ram that will not hold the weight a Colorado will? maybe tow more but that is all! Then you talk up the alum Ford, which by the way last time I checked has a much greater load capacity then the new Nissan XD, and will tow almost as much! as far as fuel economy goes, the last report I read on the Nissan tell it gets 17/22 mpg empty, or same as the Eco-boost, that has a 3000 load limit! and will tow 12000! or so, more than less than the Nissan, and can be bought now for almost half the price! Then as far as the GM twins go, there is mileage, and load to consider.

BARFO - you state you are an engineer? Ironically so does Z..ero or what ever alias he is currently using. Both of you do not comprehend Gross vehicle weight ratings nor do you understand gross combined weight ratings.

A max tow full bling Titan XD 4x4 towing at max capacity has little left over for passengers or any cargo on the truck. @ passengers with a full tow load means the Titan XD hits gross combined weight ratings.

My point IS and ALWAYS have been in relation to GCWR's. TOW RATINGS MEAN SH!T if GCWR is too low.

A 1500 lb cargo rating on a Titan XD 4x4 is too low for its trailer rating.

It has NOTHING to do with Ford. BTW GM's new 1500's with the max tow package have 1800-2000lbs ratings which allow for some margin with a 12k load rating.

I don't care what a person buys a truck for but I do care if they don't have the proper ratings and overload them. I've seen my share of carnage in my life due to stupidity and/or ignorance.

Blog engineers like you and Z..ero make no sense.

sorry @ should of been 2

Why do you Canadians and Americans just want to tow and carry large loads to and from your daily drive to work?

Posted by: Big Al from Oz | Dec
/QUOTE

Because thats how many people make a living here

I used to haul truck camper every summer, while living in it and working on construction..much cheaper then renting apartment..

The full size suvs from GM and Ford are on truck frames. Include their sales and GM will be first with Ford a long distant second.

Lou,
People are not buying pickups primarily for their load and tow.

It doesn't matter how you earn a crust.

It only matter to Ford as this is the only real attribute it has to offer the consumer at the moment.

If you want to load and tow more, you buy a bigger truck.

Why is this so hard for you to comprehend?

You don't buy a Transit Connect and expect it to tow 7 000lbs. Why do you think like this?

Actually if I were to tow 7 000lbs I would buy an XD Titan.

Lou,
People are not buying pickups primarily for their load and tow.

It doesn't matter how you earn a crust.

It only matter to Ford as this is the only real attribute it has to offer the consumer at the moment.

If you want to load and tow more, you buy a bigger truck.

Why is this so hard for you to comprehend?

You don't buy a Transit Connect and expect it to tow 7 000lbs. Why do you think like this?

Actually if I were to tow 7 000lbs I would buy an XD Titan.

Posted by: Big Al from Oz | Dec 12, 2015 11:08:08 PM

For one thing you do not know this. You throw out number with no meaning. They just come out of you butt. The only way to know this is a survey. Something you have not done. In my area on the weekends I see a rediculous about of F150 and GM 1500s pulling travel trailers. If I'm not camping I am at the lake and see similar trucks with large trailers parked at the boat ramp parking lots. Just because they are not pulling them full time does not mean truck owners don't use them as trucks on weekends. Sure you see 3/4 and 1 ton trucks towing but it is clear the movement to smaller tucks is occurring in these crowds. You just don't like load and tow because your favorite brand fiat is not as capable as the others. Fiat caters to those that don't and want a truck as a car.

@BAFO'S Diaper Support Team 3rd Battalion - True most aren't buying for towing or payload. So what's the Titan XD's angle or advantage over the other players?

Or over the current Titan?

The Titan XD is a very heavy truck for the sake of being very heavy. And hideous for the sake of being hideous.

Did I mention it's a heavy pig at 7,000 lbs dry curb-weight? You'd have to keep your foot in it hard, just for the thing to move.

Fuel economy promises to be poor. For what?

Just a huge GVWR by way of an HD frame only? A regular 1/2 ton frame would've been too weak and collapsed under the XD's own weight, plus passengers, fluids, gear, etc (wet weight).

That's supposed to lure real HD buyers?? No they're looking for a real HD with real heavy-duty axles, braking, cooling, etc. Integrated trailer braking? Upfitter switch-gear/relays?

A gas engine option is a must too.

But I hope the Titan XD isn't sticking to the rack-n-pinion steering of the Armada. Too much is shared with the Armada vs the HD vans.

And then there's its price. Is Nissan gonna set the record for cash on the hood??

Mostly, what the heck's in it for fleet buyers???

Crossovers should not qualify.

Volvo XC90 is a curious choice, apart from the fact that it's new.

After checking one out for my better half I concluded it was a lot less money than the X5 BMW and the Mercedes ML but the XC90 is a lot less car/truck too.

The seating is a joke. The drivetrain is kind of interesting but there's nothing there that many other CUVs don't already offer.

Back to the same old riff about Volvo being leaders in vehicle safety. Ugh.

@BARFo - well, okay. it is your money to spend as you see fit BUT ANY 1/2 ton can tow 7k including the Ram 1500 Ecodiesel.
The Colorado/Canyon trucks can tow 7k and have the same cargo ratings as the Titan XD.

BTW - ever look at the Titan XD advertising? The whole focus is upon towing.
You have no problems criticizing Ford for that focus. At least the Ford and GM 1/2 tons have some reserve GCWR.

You keep missing the point about GCWR. A Ram 1500 especially the Ecodiesel on along with the Titan XD in mid to higher trim levels have little left over for weight in the truck.

You say most trucks are not used for work so who out their buys a crewcab 4x4 truck to tow a large camper trailer just to be the sole occupant in the truck?
OTHER THAN YOU, THAT IS!

Lou of BC,
By the sounds of it you have never driven any load behind a pickup.

I don't care what you state put 7 000lbs behind even a F-250 and you'll feel the weight.

I would never buy a light pickup to tow heavy weights even though the manufacturers state it can tow X. I would maybe tow 3/4's of X. Even then I would not want to do it often.

Remember, 75% of pickup customers are SUV types, then out of the remaining business people the most common trailer behind a light pickup is a medium to small tandem trailer.

Go back and use one of your other symbiotic pseudonyms.

BARFo - I've operated heavy machinery and commercial trucks. So yes I do have an idea of what it feels like. Even if one puts 1,800 lbs of weight on the truck I notice it. I even notice a 1,000 lb trailer.
My father taught me at a young age to be attuned to the machinery or tools one is using. That applies to a pen knife or 40 ton bulldozer (I've used both and almost everything in between).

When it comes to towing I'm inclined to stay within 70% of what a manufacturer recommends when it comes to towing since all of them for decades have used fuzzy math.

GCWR and associated cargo ratings are a telltail sign of fuzzy math in relation to towing. A 12k tow rating that eats up most of your GCWR is a sign of fuzzy math. A max tow rating that leaves almost nothing left over for occupants is also a sign of fuzzy math.

That is why I am critical of any truck that has poor GCWR's and cargo ratings in relation to tow ratings.