Automakers basically pick one of two reasons to put a diesel engine in a pickup truck: fuel economy, or low-end power for heavy towing. This gooseneck trailer in Nissan's booth at the LA Auto show confirms the Cummins Diesel Titan will have an emphasis on pulling power.
A gooseneck trailer, like the one we see here with "#CumminsSoon" slapped on the side, hooks up to a ball hitch like the one you'd see on the back of a truck. Except the ball's right in the middle of the bed, bolted into the frame. Since that part of the truck is a lot stronger than the very back of the back end, pickups can pull more weight when it's hooked on by a gooseneck.
That tells us the next Titan will either be an exceptionally robust offering in the segment... or that it'll have a three-quarter ton big brother.
Highly unlikely that Nissan would stretch so far as to try and compete with the Big Three in the "2500" size bracket; but they might be going for a class-leading towing capacity. Of course that's going to be a challenge, too: the aluminum F-150's towing and payload ratings are downright ridiculous already.
One thing's for sure: Nissan will have to come out swinging pretty hard with their new Titan if they want to make a dent in the marketplace at atll at all. With the exception of the aged Toyota Tundra, the all-new 2015 Ford F-150, freshly-redesigned 2015 Chevy Silverado, and diesel-packing 2015 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel are a damn fine field of vehicles to be competing with.
What kind of weight do you think a Titan with a 5.0 Cummins diesel could pull on a gooseneck or fifth-wheel trailer?