---
title: "Nissan Texas Titan Debuts In Texas, Has Gratuitous Texas Badging"
description: "\"You almost can't overmarket Texas to Texans.\" – Fred Diaz, VP Nissan Trucks "
date: "2016-10-03"
modified: "2016-10-03"
authors:
  - name: "Max Prince"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/max-prince"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/5407/nissan-texas-titan-debuts-in-texas-has-gratuitous-texas-badging"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Nissan"
  - "pickup"
  - "Texas"
  - "Titan"
  - "trucks"
---

# Nissan Texas Titan Debuts In Texas, Has Gratuitous Texas Badging

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/titan_texas_09.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

When an all-new [Nissan Titan](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/2664/critics-notebook-2016-nissan-titan-xd>) finally debuted in January, the sell was basically this: Because America. The second-generation truck was designed in San Diego, and would be assembled in Mississippi. What's that? An Indiana-built [Cummins turbodiesel](<https://cumminsengines.com/cummins-5l-v8-turbo-diesel>) under the hood? You bet, brother. One designer even told me his team ditched the gated sport shifter, a trademark of the old truck, for a column-mounted unit because market research indicated U.S. buyers needed an extra cup holder for their dip spit. (Seriously.)

![titan\_texas\_11.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/titan_texas_11.jpg>)
**Nissan**

Which is all to say that the new [Texas Titan](<https://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/2017-nissan-texas-titan-honors-lone-star-state-with-special-equipment-package>) is sufficiently on-message. The special options package, rolled out at the annual Texas State Fair, will be available on all 2017 Nissan Titan models, both half-ton and XD crew cab, two- and four-wheel drive. In any configuration, seen at high noon from the right angle, the Texas Titan has enough bling to blind a Buc-ee’s attendant: The exhaust tips, grille, running boards, and 20-inch wheels are all chrome. There are oversized badges strewn about the body, replete with a large outline of the state because, in [the words](<https://www.autonews.com/article/20160926/OEM/309269949/texas-fairground-set-for-pickup-battles>) of Nissan truck boss Fred Diaz, "You almost can't overmarket Texas to Texans." But, unlike the Dallas Cowboys Edition Ford F-150 (note: [real thing](<https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2016/08/31/ford-introduces-limited-edition-dallas-cowboys-f-150.html>)), Nissan will sell this one at dealerships outside the Lone Star state.

The [Texas State Fair](<https://bigtex.com/>), which runs for three weeks each fall, has [become a battleground](<https://www.autonews.com/article/20160926/OEM/309269949/texas-fairground-set-for-pickup-battles>) of sorts for automakers. The event has its own auto show, and all the major players—GMC, Ford, Chevy, Ram, and Toyota—showed up this year. Winning over buyers there is crucial: One in four vehicles sold in Texas is a truck, accounting for roughly 15 percent of all pickups nationwide. In large truck sales, the state outpaces America’s second-largest market, California, by a rate of 2:1.

![titan\_texas\_06.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/titan_texas_06.jpg>)
**Nissan**

No word on pricing yet, but the previous Texas Titan went for $1,820 over list, so expect a similar premium here. Hopefully, for Nissan and Diaz’s sake, it’ll help mend the margins: Dip spit cup be damned, the Titan is currently America’s worst-selling pickup.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/themaxprince>)