Promise Of New Midnight Edition Doesn’t Fuel Any Nissan Frontier Excitement

A new model usually generates excitement for a model, but Nissan’s announcement of the Midnight Edition 2018 Frontier didn’t translate to sales in August for the aging mid-size pickup. Titan received a complete overhaul and it’s up a whopping 182 percent in August over last year. But the Frontier, that needs an update, is down 51.4 percent for the same time period.

The Nissan brand is down 13 percent from last year as the popular Rogue crossover takes a dip from its mile-high sales run its been on. But the new 2018 Nissan Armada shot up a meteor-like 766.5 percent over the same period last year. Armada gets a new “intelligent” rear view mirror that’s getting lots of attention.

Frontier gets left behind

The 2018 Frontier pickup is getting left behind in the mid-size truck war with the Toyota Tacoma, Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon and Honda Ridgeline. Nissan only sold 4,637 Frontier pickups in August compared with 9,537 in August 2016 and it’s down 18.9 percent for the year. The truck continues its slide backwards, but a new model is coming.

Nissan is working on a new-generation Frontier pickup and it will be worth the wait. It’s coming with a newly-updated exterior and cabin styling, along with Nissan’s latest NissanConnect and mobile apps. It should also get the latest fuel saving technology, featuring improved four-cylinder efficiency and increased V6 or V8 towing capacity. It is also coming with a new 2.8-liter Cummins diesel powerplant.

Nissan's next big project will be to update its aging midsize 2018 Frontier. Look for the next-generation Nissan Frontier to be a major player in the competitive mid-size pickup market. Nissan is stepping up to the plate and giving mid-size truck buyers another option. The new 2018 Nissan Frontier Midnight Edition will be available in late fall 2017. We'll see how truck buyers respond to the ME model. Stay tuned.

Photo credit: Nissan USA