2020 Midsize Truck Sales

I would never buy the Silverado with 4 Cylinder turbo.

 

Totally agree ... but this is my point ... At one time, they had a reputation for making tough trucks. And then they just gave up. But here is the crazy thing. They have pretty much ignored the market and ignored their own products and they are still selling 30K vehicles a year! It is absolutely crazy.

Think about this. According to the OP's chart (sales numbers), Nissan sold 36K Frontiers last year (72K the year before that!) without even trying. Ford sold 101K going full tilt on the Ranger. If I am Nissan, I have to think with a hardcore focus on trucks I can be number two in the market without breaking a sweat. I just don't get what they are doing!

Or better yet. Sell their truck business to Hyundai or Kia and let them go nuts.

None will probably ever be Toyota but they could present themselves as the innovative, tough and more affordable alternative. Not a bad place to be.

 

The auto business is a tough cutthroat industry.
Nissan is a fine choice IMO, it was my second and only consideration when shopping. But for the type of operation I needed, it was not to my standard. Other than that, outdated and maintenance made the taco a better choice.

In a nutshell, Nissan has dropped the ball.

They failed to update or pursue higher off-road capability on the Frontier and they also dropped the Pathfinder off-road capabilities by making it a FWD mini-van hybrid. They could have followed TOYOTA’s lead by building a highlander version instead. And then there’s the CVT transmission issues they chose to go all in, instead of testing the waters first.

They (Nissan) have been/are fine vehicles and second place is a better alternative to going out of business which is what they maybe staring at now. And if you stay in second, you never know when your opponent is going to stumble and drop the ball on your court.

 

You are 100% right. Nissan dropped the ball. They have admitted as much.

You and I are in agreement that the auto industry is a cut throat business ... probably one of the hardest to be in, actually. I also agree that second place is not a bad place to be. Money to be made there for sure. How much would it burn Ford to see the new Frontier rocket past the Ranger in terms of sales? It could happen (not that I wish bad things in Ford in any way).

Looks like we will see something big from Nissan in the next few weeks:

https://tfltruck.com/2021/01/the-next-nissan-frontier-makes-its-world-debut-soon/

 

Yup I can't wait for the new Frontier. TOYOTA could use a little fire lighting up their pants lol!

If Nissan still had the off-road capable Pathfinder, Ford might have had second thoughts at bringing the explorer...err...Bronco into the mud fight

 

A wild guess, but I think if Toyota could actually keep up the the sales demand (Crazy times right now) the numbers would look a lot different.

There's also a lot of us (Maybe more) who absolutely love our trucks and find them way more than acceptable.
I've had zero probs with anything and I don't get the 'tranny' thing as I find mine to work perfectly.
There is always gonna be those who don't like where a button is positioned, or find some fault with a bumper or something, or just don't like the way something works or looks. Ehh, whaddya gonna do... Can't please everyone.

 

I really like mine also but there are tons of ways to improve the truck. Raising roof 2 inches. Better rust prevention. Keep manual transmission but lower 1st gear and reverse. Increased payload option. Just a few tweaks

 

Looking forward to debut of the updated Frontier. Increasing competition in the midsize truck market should bode well for buyers.

 

He didn't...trucks got the 5.3 v8.

 

The more i drive my tacoma you notice some little quirks....and they've been in their electronic systems what i refer to as glitches. If they didn't include any of this extra bs you'd have nothing to whine about.

 

Oh ok, l misunderstood the Post as it sounded like he went from one turbo to another.

 

The new Frontier drops on Feb 4. From the spy shots it looks to be a Tacoma knockoff, which is not a bad thing. The powertrain with the 9-speed and 3.8L V6 is likely better than what is currently in the Tacoma. I will at least look at the new Frontier in 12 months when my Tacoma lease is up but expect to just stick with the truck I have unless the hybrid Tundra is really a thing.

 

Transvestite Ford Ranger

 

I guess some companies just don’t want to get into the truck market. Nissan Dropped the ball - 100%. Ridgeline is proof Honda is not committed to truck market. My buddy, years ago had a Mazda B5200 pickup. Could not kill the thing. He sold it with a 150k on it to an auto parts store and they but another 125k on it. Mazda is out of the truck market.

Yeah, Toyota is king. But it’s like nobody is willing to throw down the gauntlet and challenge them for whatever reason.

 

The Mazda B series truck is probably the closest anyone has ever come to touching TOYOTA small truck throne, at least as I remember, and it wasn’t really all that close.

In a nutshell, TOYOTA is simply just bad A$$

 

Mazda still does pickups overseas but it sounds like they are basically a Ranger at heart, but for 2021 it sounds like they are switching to Isuzu for powertrains. The article I was reading was a bit confusing but said Mazda is considering bringing them here but would have to build them in a Ford manufacturing plant in the USA.

 

Seems like Ford and Mazda have had a some sort of relationship for years. Remember the Ford Probe? It was basicly a Mazda with a Ford name plate on it.

 

Toyota is king of the small pickup truck and hybrid sedan definitely. the Big American auto companies seem to be more focused on 1/2-1 ton pickup trucks

 

Frontier pro4x was my second choice. Good thing toyota offered MTs

 

Could easily lower 1st and R with a 2wd low mod. Not that expensive and takes about 1.5 hours to install. Its a lifesaver.