Interview: The Dumbest Thing I Ever Did in a Truck

Nissan says there are benefits to building a smaller, less-capable truck that better targets what people need, rather than Hollywood numbers.

“There are handling benefits,” Miller says. “There are unsprung mass benefits, ride comfort, fuel economy; but it also comes down to the bottom line. If we don’t have to put the mass in the chassis to tow 30,000 lb then we can take that cost out of the truck, and that just rolls right back into the customer’s hands.

“There’s a lower cost of entry and better fuel economy, and when you look at the cost of ownership calculation they’re the biggest things. The durability and reliability are there. We’re not trading off. But when you build the right tool for the job – I talk about the jackhammer and the shovel. You don’t take a jackhammer to dig a small hole in the backyard. You use a shovel. It’s the right tool for the job.”