SEATTLE -- We are rolling down tree-lined Elfendahl Pass Road in western Washington towards Camp Spillman's off-road trails as Larry Dominique, Nissan's top truck guy, explains how a Japanese car company grabs attention for its expanding array of light trucks in a North America still mad for pickups and sport-utility vehicles made by domestic automakers.
"If we have any specification where the salesperson has to say [the domestics] are ahead, we lose," says the 21-year Nissan veteran, whose official title is chief product specialist, trucks and SUVs. "Our challenge is to break into the consciousness of the [North American] buyer. Compelling specifications force domestic owners to at least check us out."
The formula, then, is for all the new Nissan trucks to have loads of performance -- read power -- and as many class-leading attributes as possible. That is how the 2005 Nissan Pathfinder will play when it hits showrooms in October as one of four new Nissan light trucks arriving in the '05 model year.
"We believe the [new] Pathfinder is the overall leader in dynamic performance and off-road ability, and also overall utility," Dominique says. "There is a lot of utility baked into this Pathfinder. We call it the Xterra for grown-ups."
Ah, Xterra. It, too, gets a complete overhaul for 2005 and will go on sale next February. Between then and after the October launch of the Pathfinder, Nissan will also introduce a renovated Frontier compact pickup in December.
The three new trucks are the fruit of a $2.4-billion (U.S.) investment, all coming off what Nissan calls its F-Alpha platform. In May, Nissan Canada also introduced another truck: the X-Trail compact SUV.
They come on the heels of the 2004 model year launch of Nissan's massive Titan pickup, as well as the full-size Armada and Infiniti QX56 SUVs and the Quest minivan. By the time next February rolls around, in the 14 months dating back to December 2003, Nissan will have introduced eight new light truck models -- two pickups, one minivan and five SUVs.
Dominique says Nissan absolutely had to get into the pickup and large SUV game.
"Full-size trucks and SUVs -- that's 3 million units [in North American sales]. Minivans are more than a million. And we offered nothing," Dominique says. "We're a full-line manufacturer, so from a pure business case if we just get our share of 4 or 5 per cent of the overall market, that is a successful business."
The Pathfinder, meanwhile, has remained essentially unchanged since being launched in 1996, aside from a long-needed engine upgrade in 2001. It is a similar story for the Frontier compact pickup and the hard-core Xterra. All are aging products in need of improvement.
Once those are launched, Dominique hints at plans to expand engine offerings and chassis combinations. For instance, unlike the domestics, Nissan does not offer a more fuel-efficient V-6-engine-powered Titan, nor a ¾-ton or one-ton version with a diesel option for heavy-duty towing. Nissan also has nothing to rival the Chevrolet Suburban and Ford Excursion, either.
"Titan will have a V-6 and a heavy-duty, but that is long-term thinking," Dominique says. "When? I can't say. One challenge we have is deciding what is the next step."
Most immediately, Nissan will put its next foot forward with a 2005 Pathfinder that resembles the outgoing model in name only. The new SUV is a real truck with a body bolted on to a ladder frame. The outgoing Pathfinder has car-like unit-body construction designed to reduce weight.
The biggest targets for the '05 Pathfinder are the top-selling overall SUV, the Ford Explorer, along with Toyota's 4Runner, which is getting a minor redo for 2005, and the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and its GM siblings, the GMC Envoy and Buick Rainier. Also in the mix is the larger Dodge Durango. Interestingly, those are exactly the type of SUVs consumers are starting to move away from.
A recent study by the Power Information Network found consumers slowly but steadily moving away from these traditional SUVs in favour of car-based crossovers such as the Honda Pilot and Nissan Murano. The crossovers closely resemble traditional SUVs, but drive more like station wagons and have better fuel economy.
Both independent analysts and those who work for automakers have long seen this trend. Crossovers are expected to continue to gain in popularity for a host of reasons. Aside from better handling and fuel economy, they have a lower centre of gravity which may reduce their tendency to roll over in extreme manoeuvres, making them safer for drivers and passengers.
Consumers, for the most part, find traditional SUVs and crossovers virtually indistinguishable. So it is possible Nissan's gamble on a hard-core Pathfinder may be riskier now than when the product program was set in motion back in 2000.
Dominique doesn't think so. Many buyers are looking for a more rugged mid-size SUV for towing; this new Pathfinder has a 2,722-kilogram towing capacity, up from 1,588 in the outgoing model.
"And that's a legitimate number," he says. "Our truck does what we say it does."
Buyers have also told Nissan they want a vehicle that reflects their own active, rugged, outdoorsy self-image, says Ian Forsyth, Nissan Canada's director of marketing.
"We are aiming Pathfinder at the SUV guy," he says.
That SUV guy, who generally has a wife and, in about one-third of the cases, children, boasts a household income of $100,000 a year and is in his early to mid-40s. He and his wife want off-road capabilities "just in case," a high seating position, a feeling of power, safety, utility, flexibility and third-row seating.
"The third row just needs to be there. It is for occasional use," Forsyth says.
"We're not turning [Pathfinder] into a minivan, but it is a box buyers check off when they're shopping -- third-row seating."
Not surprisingly, the '05 Pathfinder is bigger in every important dimension, more powerful and it should be vastly more capable off-road.
It follows the styling pattern set by the Titan and Armada. There is the angled, strut-style grille and the no-nonsense front end. The family resemblance, which will also show up in the next Frontier and Xterra, is obvious and intended.
Still, Nissan is not abandoning the '04 Pathfinder's looks entirely. The new model also has big integrated fender flares, short front and rear overhangs and Nissan's signature angled C-pillars with high-mounted rear door handles.
The new Pathfinder also comes with an integrated roof rack and a tailgate with separate, flip-up rear glass. The standard wheels are 16-inch aluminum alloys, with 17-inchers optional
The dimensional story is really impressive. The '05 Pathfinder's 2,85-millimetre wheelbase is 150-mm longer than the outgoing model. The longer distance between the front and rear axles adds to cabin and cargo space and should improve ride quality and stability.
Beyond that, the '05 Pathfinder is longer overall, wider and slightly taller. Thus, head and leg room is up in both the first and second rows, and cargo volume behind the second seat (with the third one folded flat) is up 317 litres to 1,393.
The new model's driving manners are dictated by a more sophisticated double-wishbone design for the front suspension, while the rear suspension is a fully independent layout similar to the Armada's. Good thing. A solid rear axle like the Titan pickup and the all-new 2005 Frontier compact pickup would almost inevitably translate into a jerky and less precise ride.
The cabin design follows in the footsteps of the Titan and Armada. So there is plenty of hard-ish plastic moulded into distinctive shapes. The gauges and big-knob controls are located in a centre stack and are easy to use.
Behind the second row of seats is that two-place third-row seat. Access is via a one-touch slide mechanism that moves the second row seat forward and out of the way. The rear seat folds flat, and in halves, while the second row splits to hold either one, two or three passengers with the balance folded for cargo room.
Meanwhile, the front-passenger seat back also folds flat against the bottom cushion, creating a relatively flat space for long items that runs from the dash to the tailgate.
Nissan plans to launch the Pathfinder with just one V-6 engine, a high-output version of the powerplant used in other Nissan models such as the Maxima and 350Z. The all-aluminum 4.0-litre V-6 (compared to 3.5 litre in the '04 Pathfinder) is rated at 270 horsepower and 291 lb-ft of torque versus 250 and 240 respectively in the '04 truck. The only transmission is a five-speed automatic, upgraded from a four-speed. A V-8 option in the future is a very strong possibility.
Nissan Canada will sell four versions of the '05 Pathfinder and all will have four-wheel drive -- either conventional four-wheel drive with a two-speed transfer case or Nissan's electronically controlled, push-button All-Mode system with 2WD/Auto/4Hi/4Lo modes.
Nissan's Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) anti-skid electronics will be standard, along with traction control, anti-lock braking, electronic brake distribution, and a four-wheel limited slip system using the braking to manage wheel slip on slippery surfaces.
Also available will be hill descent control for crawling down mountains and hill start assist for getting up them from a standing start. On the passive safety side, front airbags will be standard across the board, while side airbags and side curtain airbags will be standard on the LE and optional on the XE and SE.
Pricing? The final numbers won't come until Oct. 13, but look for the '05 Pathfinder to start at around $36,000 and range up to $52,000 or so. The outgoing range starts at about $34,000 and tops out at just under $46,000.
So there will be a price increase. There is that $2.4-billion F-Alpha investment to recover and Nissan, now boasting the best profit margins of any volume manufacturer in the car business (almost 11 per cent), isn't going to give away all this new technology and styling -- even as it does push hard into the truck market.
"We at Nissan expect to get our profit from everything," Dominique says with a smile.
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Bigger all around
2005 Pathfinder
Overall length...4,765 mm
Wheelbase.......2,850 mm
Width.............1,849 mm
Height............1,775 mm
Tread width......1,570 mm
Engine............4.0 litre V-6 DOHC
Output............270 hp at 5,600 rpm/291 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm
***
2004 Pathfinder
Overall length...4,641 mm
Wheelbase.......2,700 mm
Width.............1,821 mm
Height............1,729 mm
Tread width......1,481 mm
Engine............3.5 litre V-6 DOHC
Output............250 hp at 6,000 rpm/240 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm
