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Why 2015 is going to be a huge year for trucks

Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn took center stage to introduce the 2016 Titan last week at the Detroit Auto Show. He spoke of the truck's new features, impressive Cummins V8 diesel engine and the extensive amount of time and money required to build a modern, competitive pickup truck. "We have done all of this because we see opportunity – an opportunity in the unmet needs of today's American truck customers," Ghosn said. He was speaking about the Titan, but his thoughts echo the industry's mindset: When it comes to trucks, find an opportunity and attack. Even with CAFE regulations looming and fickle consumer preferences, investing in trucks is a no-brainer for automakers. Some consumers will always need a truck for their job or lifestyle. And some people will always want one, whether they need it or not. With that in mind, here are four reasons why the pickup-truck sector is more important than ever and poised for growth in 2015. View 24 Photos The Nissan Titan Is Back Okay, it never left, but the Titan hadn't been redesigned since its launch in 2003, and Nissan sold more NV200s than Titans in 2014. It's an understatement to say the truck was languishing. That all changes with the 2016 model. The Titan will come in two variants, a traditional fullsize competitor and the Titan XD. The XD will lead the market launch, and it arrives late this year. It's pitched as a "whitespace" offering, Nissan sales and marketing vice president Fred Diaz said. The idea is to offer something in the general size and price range of a fullsize truck, but also have some of the capability of a heavy-duty truck. The XD uses a fully boxed ladder frame, the chassis design from Nissan's commercial division, and the wheelbase is about 20 inches longer than other Titan models. The XD, which Nissan is calling the flagship of the line, will be the only model with the 5.0-liter Cummins turbodiesel V8. It produces 310 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque, while being able to tow 12,000 pounds. V6 and V8 gasoline models will also be offered on the Titan XD and the standard, non-XD model. When production ramps up, the Titan will be sold with several cabs, beds and trims. New features include trailer sway control, an integrated trailer brake controller, more storage options in the cabin and even laminated front and rear side glass to reduce outside noise. All of this has given Nissan fresh confidence in an area where it admittedly has been lacking. "We can compete," Diaz told Autoblog.

Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ successor canceled?

Rumors indicate that the Toyota 86 is done for. Japanese Nostalgic Car is quoting Japanese sources as saying Toyota and Subaru have parted ways regarding the 86 and that the current car's replacement is off the table. According to JNC, the Japanese magazine Best Car is readying a report that the 86/BRZ successor has been canceled. JNC also considers the fact that in Japan, there will be a four-cylinder, 197-horsepower version of the new Supra, ready to continue where the 86 will leave the market. Back in 2016 the automaker seemingly confirmed that a replacement for the rear-drive car was under development, but plans can change and with a cheaper Supra version for sale in markets outside the U.S., we have to wonder if the 86 replacement has been shelved. The 86, while balanced, has only received mild enhancements and not a lot of extra power during its near-decade long time on the market, and it isn't such a strong seller that it would necessarily merit the effort of Toyota developing a successor on its own, particularly without the help of a partner like Subaru or BMW. At the same time, Autocar quotes Toyota boss Akio Toyoda on the Supra: "At the end of the day, is there anything better than a tight rear-wheel-drive sports car? I hope this won't be the last Toyota sports car you see from us in the future." While that is far from a solid statement of Toyota's future intent, it paves the way to offerings below the Supra, and shows how much the company boss cares about driver involvement. There is a distinct possibility that the company will re-introduce the MR2 as an electrified, rear-drive sports car – which could still be a joint venture with Subaru, as Japanese Nostalgic Car theorizes. Whatever's in the pipeline – and we hope there is something in the pipeline – it seems Toyota's heart is in the right place: driving the rear wheels. Related Video:

Toyota working on cars that hover above the roadway

Toyota is one of the largest automakers in the world, but it's not content simply building and selling conventional cars - it's been at the forefront of numerous advancements in ground transportation. It is widely credited with advancing the cause of hybrid propulsion, and alongside Audi and Google, is among the first automakers seriously testing self-driving cars. We could go on, but the news here is that Toyota is reportedly developing vehicles that hover above the road surface instead of rolling along it.
The news comes from Hiroyoshi Yoshiki, one of Toyota's tech gurus, who revealed at Bloomberg's Next Big Thing summer in San Francisco that the company is working on hovering cars - ones that travel just above the road surface, but don't actually fly in three-dimension space.
According to The Verge, a spin-off of our own sister-site Engadget, Yoshiki refused to elaborate on what the project entails and how far along it is. He was speaking along acting NHTSA chief David Friedman, who lauded such advancements as a "great taste of innovations to come," but stressed the significance of more concrete improvements to conventional automobiles - like inter-car communications to keep vehicles from colliding on the highway - as more relevant to today's industry.