This site seems tobe very unknown, not a lot of people post in the forums
Quote:
Originally Posted by LanceK
Just signed up for this forum hoping to follow the introduction of these two vehicles.
I am currently trying to chose between Armada and the new Dodge Durango. Armada wins hands down in features, but loses in price, and the size is a matter of personal preferences.
I also heard a lot of buzz about problems with the Armada, the worst being the roof resonating effect while going at above 40mph speeds.
It would be interesting to hear what people have to say about this problem.
I think the main reason there isn't a whole lot of talk is because nobody's had the chance to buy one. I think the titan just went on sale this month and the armada went on sale last month... i'm sure more chit chat will develop as people start buying them. If I didn't just buy my frontier and actually had a decent income (being a student costs money) then I would have a Titan!! yeah!
later,
__________________
Black Knight - 2004 Crew Cab XE-V6 4x4
"...God made men the way they are because we desperately need them to be the way they are. Yes, a man is a dangerous thing, but so is a scalpel. You don't make it safe by making it dull, but instead you put it in the hands of someone who knows what he's doing." - John Eldridge
I think there isn't a whole lot of talk about the Titan/Armada because Nissan has done a very poor job in advertising! I'm honestly disappointed because they don't know what they've got going here! With the right marketing and strategic urban displays, I believe Nissan could take a big chunk out of the F-150's *donkey* real quick. And that would be nice because the F-150 has been "America's Best Selling Full-Size Truck" for too long! Screw Ford...
Yeah...I JUST saw my first Titan TV commercial tonight on History Channel. And I really think they need to dump that SHIFT_ ad campaign...it's awkward and clumsy and many times confusing. I agree that marketing will probably make or break this excellent truck.
Yep, Nissan's marketing isn't terribly impressive ... and it's not just the Titan/Armada but just about all their models.
That whole "Shift" thing they feature in their ads does nothing for me.
I walked up to an Armada about a month ago. I didn't know what it was until I got close enough to read the badges. I'm not really an SUV fan but I was really impressed! It was as big as a Ford Expedition/ Lincoln Navigator but struck me as much better looking ... not to mention quality/reliability advantages of a Nissan as compared to a Ford.
Another downer I heard about the Armada was some cheap-looking interior pieces. Having driven my Sentra around for the better part of a year, I can believe that.
I don't know the car ads are pretty good though... specially when the shift campaign started on the maxima and altima showing it's real plus, SPEED! you have to remember though... car companies don't really start laying on the ads especially in television untill they have some stock built up at most dealerships... I am just now seeing a healthy supply of armadas building up at our nissan dealer and the titan isn't rolling quite yet. The Titan is supposed to have a huge surge in advertising starting with the superbowl from what ive read!
Later,
__________________
Black Knight - 2004 Crew Cab XE-V6 4x4
"...God made men the way they are because we desperately need them to be the way they are. Yes, a man is a dangerous thing, but so is a scalpel. You don't make it safe by making it dull, but instead you put it in the hands of someone who knows what he's doing." - John Eldridge
Actually, I think that Titan advertising has been very good. Every Saturday and Sunday (since begining of November / late October) I have seen the Titan ads during pretty much during all of the football games. They also play those a lot on SpikeTV and Speed Channel. It think that all those channels are very good for the Titan since it's mostly the football / racing watching guys who are the actual full size truck buyers.
The Armada ads have been less focused as far as placement, but I really good in content. I especially like that ad where 2 guys are camping with a Pathfinder and starving, and then they see an Armada with parents in the front and 4 kids in the back watching a DVD and eating chips.
I am currently trying to chose between Armada and the new Dodge Durango. Armada wins hands down in features, but loses in price, and the size is a matter of personal preferences.
Since the Armada has many standard features that
otherwise are options on American vehicles, I configured
a Durango with options so it equals a base model Armada
2WD including Hemi and 3rd row bench. The Dodge came
out $2k cheaper.
But when you examine the utility of the Dodge, $2k less
gives you a mid-size SUV whereas the Armada is a fullsize.
Dodge has less gauges and less leg room.
I need to haul 4x8 plywood sheets on occassion and
the Dodge measured about 48" wide, but less than 48"
wide at the entrance of the tail because it's curved, this
is a minor flaw that causes the user to insert the wood
into the vehicle at an angle.
... and don't forget the much better track record of the nissan... eventhough the armada is a 1st year model, nissan has definitely done extensive testing and worked most bugs out. My family has owned a few chrysler products and after our last one, we will never own one again! The dealer service is absolutley horrible! and the longterm reliability is much more likely to be better in the armada. if it were me I'd go for the armada... if you compare it to the other FULL size SUV's it really seems to be the best bang for the buck!
later,
__________________
Black Knight - 2004 Crew Cab XE-V6 4x4
"...God made men the way they are because we desperately need them to be the way they are. Yes, a man is a dangerous thing, but so is a scalpel. You don't make it safe by making it dull, but instead you put it in the hands of someone who knows what he's doing." - John Eldridge
Despite the testing Nissan does, I'm still think twice before buying a 1st year production vehicle. Especially since everything pretty much completely new. (is the engine derived from any of the infiniti vehicles by chance?) Furthermore, you can almost count on a good japanese company like nissan (honda too) will completely eliminate what few problems might not be spotted in testing after the first year.
I've just heard recently that quite a few of the RX-8's have been having their engines completely replaced under warranty. Stuff like that REALLY makes me wary of first years cars. (however, mazda has been out of the rotary game for like 8 years, and partial ownership by ford probably doesn't help R&D very much)
Edit: The more I read about the Titan, the more I'm really interested. Once I get out of school, depending where a career takes me, I might take one of these for a test drive. Up here in the UP, it would own. Plenty of torque that can haul when needed, but more importantly pull things out of ditches. Locking diff, nice looking seats, and a pair of traction/stability controllers when things get a little hairy.
However, if I do any highway driving, it'd be a bother because it's a little thirsty. I'd probably be better with a subaru in the case if I needed AWD for light snow traction and highway manners. For the best compromise, I think I still might consider a frontier instead with manual tranny. Maybe just a Maxima or a TSX if I wind up in a climate with 0 snow. :shrug: I guess it's really nice, but something I couldn't justify needing right now or in the near future.
Perhaps once I need something to tow a trailer with a project car on....yeah, that'd be nice.
__________________
Mr. Pete
1997 Hardbody 4x4
1989 Prelude 2.0 Si
Last edited by MrOldLude : Dec 12th, 2003 at 07:38 PM.
Only one Titan has made it to my local dealership. Hell, here in Morgantown, WV they are probably afraid we will burn 'em. The price on the solitary Titan was 41K and it was a plain jane. Not reall impressed yet, specially if I can get a Chevy for 18K. I am not a bells and whistles kinda guy. I look at the bottom line. I paid 7995 for my 95 Nissan when new, 18,500 for my Intrigue new, and 65K for a house. 41K for a truck? even Jimmy Buffet hasn't smoked THAT much reefer.....
__________________
Aaron Ford
95 2WD Nissan PU E
2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue GX
"The hard part about playing chicken is knowing when to flinch" Scott Glenn in The Hunt for Red October
Only one Titan has made it to my local dealership. Hell, here in Morgantown, WV they are probably afraid we will burn 'em. The price on the solitary Titan was 41K and it was a plain jane. Not reall impressed yet, specially if I can get a Chevy for 18K. I am not a bells and whistles kinda guy. I look at the bottom line. I paid 7995 for my 95 Nissan when new, 18,500 for my Intrigue new, and 65K for a house. 41K for a truck? even Jimmy Buffet hasn't smoked THAT much reefer.....
41k must include some serious dealer mark-up... I wish you could buy new cars wholesale... most dealers are so stupid! according to the nissan website and every other car guru site, the Titan XE 2WD starts at 22,500 for a Ext Cab V8 with basic necessities (no PW,PL though) that's 3,000-4000 less than window on a comparable Silverado or F-150!!! if you were serious about buying I would definitely look around in a bigger town.
Later,
__________________
Black Knight - 2004 Crew Cab XE-V6 4x4
"...God made men the way they are because we desperately need them to be the way they are. Yes, a man is a dangerous thing, but so is a scalpel. You don't make it safe by making it dull, but instead you put it in the hands of someone who knows what he's doing." - John Eldridge
Forums on Edmunds.com have some nice info on the Armada and the Titan. http://townhall.edmunds.com/TH/townhall
There are some people there who have already bought these vehicles and can share some experiences.
Despite the testing Nissan does, I'm still think twice before buying a 1st year production vehicle. Especially since everything pretty much completely new. (is the engine derived from any of the infiniti vehicles by chance?) Furthermore, you can almost count on a good japanese company like nissan (honda too) will completely eliminate what few problems might not be spotted in testing after the first year.
Yeah, both the Durango and Titan are first year vehicles...but the Durango does have some tried and true mechanicals underneath it whereas the Titan has pretty much all new equipment from what I understand. I know the Hemi has a pretty good reputation, and the other V8, the 4.7L, has been in Jeeps since 2000 I think.
Not all first year vehicles are necessarily troublesome, though. We had a '92 Crown Victoria...first year for the major redesign and only the second year for Ford's modular 4.6L V8. What an engine that was. The only thing we ever had to put on that car in the 110,000 miles we owned it was tires/shocks and a new set of spark plug wires. That was a great car.
This site seems tobe very unknown, not a lot of people post in the forums
It was as big as a Ford Expedition/ Lincoln Navigator but struck me as much better looking ... not to mention quality/reliability advantages of a Nissan as compared to a Ford. 
Linear Mode
