Scary news is news that people read. We get it. It’s far easier to focus on the imaginary stories and sow fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) than it is to report factually on things like vehicle prices. This story will likely not rank nearly as high as, let’s say, a story about how semiconductor tariffs will make your car “A LOT more expensive…” without telling you how much more expensive by dollar or percent, or why. Like this one.
I prefer to present facts and let the reader form their own opinion and expectations based on those facts. With that in mind, let’s look at some positive vehicle pricing news. Nissan has just announced its prices for the 2026 Frontier pickup. This mid-sized pickup is one of our very favorite trucks. Nissan has resisted the urge to go “ten-tenths” with the Frontier PRO-4X’s off-road capability, and that translates to a very capable truck that is more real-world user-friendly than the Tacoma TRD Pro. Nissan also kept the Frontier an actual truck, with a full frame and many useful features, which differentiates it from the Maverick and Ridgeline. Finally, the Frontier is a truck with a lot of manual switches and knobs, which makes it absolutely nothing like a Cybertruck - and we mean that in a good way.
Let’s look at some of the popular trims of this pickup and compare the current prices for 2025 with the new prices for the 2026 Frontier to see how much they change. After we compare the prices, we’ll discuss whether these prices show any meaningful impact from tariffs. Because I don't pander, I’m including the Nissan Destination and Handling fee in all of these prices.
As you can see, both the lowest price and the highest price trims of the Nissan Frontier change less than 1% heading into the new model year. Since we are looking ahead, we cannot know the change to incentives, so these are just the sticker prices of the truck, including the pesky Destination and Handling fee that many publications pretend to forget to include when they pander, excuse us, “report” price changes. The cost goes from $1,510 in 2025 to $1,695, and as we have said (three times), we’ve included the fee in all of our examples. We also don't know the exact dealer Doc Fee that the Nissan dealers will charge customers, but any change would have zero correlation to tariffs, since it is entirely made up anyway.
The Nissan Frontier is built in Canton, Mississippi, which has been part of the United States since 1817. So, this truck is not an import, and thus, it is not directly subject to any tariffs. Nissan also builds the Frontier’s 3.8-liter V6 engine in the United States. The lamestream media likes to pretend that all of the parts for U.S.-assembled vehicles are imported, but in the case of the Frontier, its Monroney sticker points out that only 20% of its parts are made in Japan. It’s the transmission, which Nissan uses globally in many of its vehicles.
With a less than 1% change in price for the most and least expensive trims, and all trims changing by just a few hundred dollars, the Nissan Frontier will be more affordable for many in 2026 because the value of the dollar will change downward in 2026. The Frontier’s price is changing by less than a third of the rate of inflation.
If you are looking for vehicles with flat-out price decreases in 2026, there are many to be found. Here are a few quick examples we have previously reported on.
Kia’s 2026 Seltos Slashes $1,500 Off Base MSRP: Affordable, Stylish, and Tariff-Proof
Since we’ve focused on facts instead of FUD, we assume the readers either ignored the story or bailed out when they got to the part where numbers proving the story premise were so rudely included. If you managed to hang in there to this point, please do us a favor and add a comment below. You’ll be expanding on the discussion by doing so. Thank you for reading.
John Goreham is the Vice President of the New England Motor Press Association and an expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on LinkedIn and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ grammar and punctuation software when proofreading and he also uses image generation tools.
Top of page image by John Goreham
Comments
Now, write about a vehicle…
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Now, write about a vehicle that is actually IMPORTED.
Click the Pathfinder story…
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In reply to Now, write about a vehicle… by William (not verified)
Click the Pathfinder story link in the story if you want to read about an import. Some of them are imported, but with tariffs, that's pretty dumb, since they can also be made in TN.
The off putting part isn't…
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The off putting part isn't the numbers or the facts. It's you. You are clearly trying to get a rise out of people. It's pretty lame.
I've been off pudding now…
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In reply to The off putting part isn't… by DonkeyHoetay (not verified)
I've been off pudding now for over a year. Down to 197 pounds.
I usually don't read entire…
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I usually don't read entire articles, but I actually enjoyed reading your article on the 2026 Nissan Frontier price change! I'm typically a Toyota guy but if I have to consider another brand it would be the Ford, Honda or Nissan, in no particular order. The future is bright in the land of the free and home of the brave. Much work remains. Keep up the good work in educating people against FUD.
Thanks, STEPHEN E. I'm with…
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In reply to I usually don't read entire… by STEPHEN E (not verified)
Thanks, STEPHEN E. I'm with you. Short attention span.
Look at that, someone who…
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In reply to I usually don't read entire… by STEPHEN E (not verified)
Look at that, someone who doesn’t typically have the attention span to finish an article who approves this version of reality!
Here's the real issue, which…
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Here's the real issue, which you failed to take note of. There were barely any changes from 2025 to 2026 versions of the truck. Yet the price still rose by 1%. The question is why? So, three answers are possible. 1) increases to imported componentry subject to tariffs. 2) using a price increase in a domestically manufactured vehicle to both offset and diminish the appearance of larger increases on imported models subject to tariffs. 3) Merely taking advantage of price increases across the industry due to tariffs to increase profit margins....
But great analysis by a "journalist"
Could the less than 1%…
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In reply to Here's the real issue, which… by Shaun (not verified)
Could the less than 1% change in price be Nissan's attempt to offset the devaluation of the US dollar? Please don't call me a journalist. That kind of insult won't be tolerated here.
I laughed. Lol
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In reply to Could the less than 1%… by John Goreham
I laughed. Lol
1% is better than 2.5% which…
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In reply to Here's the real issue, which… by Shaun (not verified)
1% is better than 2.5% which is normal yearly inflation. Go get your TDS treated, asap.
I'm a big Nissan fan. I've…
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In reply to Here's the real issue, which… by Shaun (not verified)
I'm a big Nissan fan. I've always owned Nissan and don't sell till after 200k miles on the vehicle. I'm going to be buying a truck next year and I'm perfectly okay with the price increase. They make great vehicles and I think the Frontier is underrated personally. So, regardless of the reason I'm ok with it. Plus, it's made in my home state.
John you are the lamestream…
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John you are the lamestream media as you force your agenda in your story rather than just report on it. You aren't really reporting on the impacts of the tariffs; you are simply cherry-picking to tell a false narrative. The fact you picked the worst-selling pickup in America tells me you have an agenda and it's not related to tariffs. Frontier sales in 25' are down almost 25% and with 14K units sold per quarter it's barely a blip in the 4 million vehicles sold across the US each quarter. Essentially, Nissan can't give them away as they average 100+ days on the lot so on what planet could they increase the costs of something that doesn't sell and the ranger is not only cheaper but better in every way (that hurts to type BTW as i hate Ford). As someone who sees the cost of fleet vehicles skyrocketing, you couldn't be more wrong. The real impact of the tariffs will come, and will likely impact the jobs at the plant as consumers don't have to buy new vehicles.
Fair accusations. Except…
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In reply to John you are the lamestream… by John_Goreham_i… (not verified)
Fair accusations. Except that image is of the Nissan Frontier media tester that has been in my driveway all week.
So you agree consumers don't…
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In reply to John you are the lamestream… by John_Goreham_i… (not verified)
So you agree consumers don't have to buy the vehicles. In other words, the law of supply and demand will determine the price. Get your TDS looked at, soon.
John why would you pick the…
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John why would you pick the worst-selling pickup in America for this? Could it be that Nissan can't give these vehicles away so they have zero chance at making them more expensive? These trucks average 115+ days on the lots and sell less than 15K units a quarter plus sales are down 25% this year! What these tariffs are going to accomplish is putting the workers at the Canton, Mississippi plant out of work. Got news for you John you are the lamestream media as you attempt to spoon-feed your opinion to your readers not educate them.
The Frontier is not THE…
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In reply to John why would you pick the… by Badmonkey (not verified)
The Frontier is not THE worst-selling pickup in America. In its segment (Midsize), it is outselling the GMC Canyon by nearly 2 to 1 and outsells the Honda Ridgeline virtually every quarter. It is selling at about the same run rate as Ranger. It outsells the Rivian R1t, F-150 Lightning, Silverado EV, Sierra EV, and Hummer by many multiples. Those are facts you may not like, but are easy to verify. You are speculating that an American-built truck will suffer setbacks from tariffs on imported trucks and cost American workers jobs. That seems illogical, but you are entitled to your opinion. I'm glad you offered it.
Nissan can't afford to raise…
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Nissan can't afford to raise prices with the position it's currently in
I agree. But which brand can?
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In reply to Nissan can't afford to raise… by King (not verified)
I agree. But which brand can?
About time someone presented…
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About time someone presented fact rather than propaganda. I’m sure a lot of Facebook “news” readers and gathers will find some fault to this. For instance,” ooh yea? But we are all going to die from climate change” or “But Trump is mean”
I personally appreciate a written factual article. Well done!
Thanks for the analysis. I…
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Thanks for the analysis. I will just keep driving my 2009 Frontier with a little over 420,000 miles. I don't agree with everything the present administration is doing but i am hopeful he is pulling us out of the hole the previous one dug.
It is one of my greatest…
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It is one of my greatest pleasures to inform Ram. Silverado, And F-150 owners that my Frontier is more American than their trucks are. I currently own a 2023 Frontier and it is my 4th on. I love it and will never own anything else, and I've owned them all. GM. Ford , Ram and Toyota. Nissan beats them all in every category and costs less doing it!!!!
Thanks for commenting, K…
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In reply to It is one of my greatest… by K Hoffman (not verified)
Thanks for commenting, K. The Honda Ridgeline is another standout when it comes to U.S.-sourced content and U.S. insourcing of assembly. The old days of knowing which model was the most American by brand are long gone. I agree with you that the Frontier is a great truck.
Seriously? This is such an…
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Seriously? This is such an unprofessional article, you are a DH for personally attacking half your readers who have concerns about tariffs. I work in a foundry that went from a booming global leader to slashed hours in the last month like the flip of a switch. I have a wife, 4 kids a mortgage to support and I’m all for facts, but your attempt to make this “proof positive” argument that tariffs have no impact is laughable. There are dozens of imported models you could have pointed to for an apples to apples comparison, not a domestically made product from a struggling company. Nissan would be grateful to break-even at this point. Thanks for letting us know when Mississippi became a state and losing a reader with this “informative” and offensive article.
Bro who hurt you. This…
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Bro who hurt you. This entire article was possible to write with less attitude and a higher likelihood of convincing your opposition your point. That felt like some high school grudge being laid out...
Bro who hurt you. This…
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Bro who hurt you. This entire article was possible to write with less attitude and a higher likelihood of convincing your opposition your point. That felt like some high school grudge being laid out...
I'd buy a new Frontier, but…
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I'd buy a new Frontier, but the one i bought 13 years ago still drives like new.
Enjoyed the article. Enjoyed John's replies more.