Nissan Frontier

Nissan Frontier The Nissan Frontier is a model of pickup truck assembled by Nissan and sold under the Nissan brand name. Nissan was the pioneer of the compact pickup truck market in 1959, joined in the 1960s by Mazda and Toyota. Since 1959, Nissan is known for a number of notable firsts in the compact pickup truck market, including the first extended cab bodystyle (in the 1979 Nissan King Cab) and the first crew cab bodystyle, in the 2000 Frontier. Frontiers are currently built in Smyrna, Tennessee.

1998

The Frontier was introduced in 1997 for the 1998 model year as a replacement for the aging Nissan pickup. Nissan first offered the Frontier with a 4-cylinder engine, the KA24DE, but added the 6-cylinder engine, the VG33E in 1999. The truck was available only in a standard cab offering at first, but a king cab configuration was also added in 1999.

That changed in 1999 with the 2000 Frontier Crew Cab. The Crew Cab was the first compact pickup to offer a 4-door bodystyle. Until that point, crew cabs were heavy duty versions of full-size trucks and were mainly used as commercial vehicles.

For 2001, Nissan facelifted the Frontier, introducing bolder styling in an effort to make it more appealing to younger buyers. The Frontier was completely redone after the 2004 model year.

2005

Initially, the Frontier was considered compact, but beginning with the totally-redesigned model year 2005 Frontier (introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show), it become more mid-sized. It uses the new Nissan F-Alpha platform and resembles the company's full-size Nissan Titan truck.

The new truck's wheelbase is 125.9 in (3.20 m) with a 205.5 in (5.22 m) overall length. Towing capacity is 6500 lb (2,950 kg). A 4.0 L VQ-family V6, the VQ40DE, is the standard engine, and it produces a respectable 265 hp (198 kW) with 284 ft·lbf (385 N·m) of torque. Also available is the QR25DE four-cylinder engine, which is also found in the Sentra SE-R Spec V sports sedan. A six-speed manual is standard with a five-speed automatic optional. Both rear and four-wheel drive are available. Traction control and hill-descent control are also available.

References

• CanadianDriver Communications, Inc. (2004). 2005 Nissan Frontier is bigger and more capable than predecessor. Retrieved January 11, 2004 from http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/040106-2.htm

External links

• Official Nissan Frontier Website
• ClubFrontier.org -- a Nissan Frontier Owners Club.