Nissan shows two different made-in-America trucks. Biggest of the lot is the full-size Titan, constructed at Nissan's new manufacturing facility in Canton, Miss., with power supplied by a big aluminum-block V8 built at a Nissan engine plant in Decherd, Tenn.

Late in the year look for a fresh rendition for Nissan's other truck, the compact-class Frontier. It comes together at Nissan's manufacturing facility in Smyrna, Tenn.

Nissan's big truck stands high and stretches long, with a box in back drawn out for six feet and seven inches. Power stems from the Endurance V8, Titan's all-aluminum engine displacing 5.6 liters and producing 305 hp plus truck-hauling torque. Linked to the engine is an electronically-controlled Torq-King automatic transmission with five forward gears and a tow/haul mode. Both rear two-wheel-drive (2WD) and four-wheel-drive (4WD) modes are available, along with a unique truck box track channel tie-down system and a factory-applied sprayed bedliner.

The 4WD equipment utilizes a shift-on-the-fly system working through a two-speed electronic transfer case and switch-operated locking rear differential, plus a brake-activated limited-slip traction control system (TCS).

The Titan splits into two cab configurations with the King Cab and Crew Cab. The King Cab has two front-hinged front doors and two rear-hinged back doors that swing wide to nearly 180 degrees for easy access to the cab. The Titan Crew Cab carries four conventional front-hinged doors and seats for as many as six. The Crew Cab trims out in base XE, mid-level SE and deluxe LE editions, while the King Cab employs the same designations. Safety gear extends to optional front seat side-impact and curtain-style air bags.

Nissan's compact-class Frontier pops up in 2005 on a new boxed-rail platform that stretches the wheelbase and forges a bigger body. The new models mark a third generation of designs for Frontier, with sheet metal styling points taken from the larger Titan, such as angled struts in the grille, crimped overhangs fore and aft plus fender flares in bold geometric patterns. Frontier also shares Titan's suspension design with a double-wishbone in front and a rigid leaf spring at the rear. Power assistance goes to the rack and pinion steering system and four-wheel disc brakes tie to computerized ABS.

Two cab designs divide into King Cab and Crew Cab formats with options for 2WD or 4WD traction. Most of the new models pull from a new dual-cam 4.0-liter V6 engine tuned to 265 hp through a five-speed electronically-controlled automatic transmission or six-speed manual. However, a base issue Frontier King Cab uses a twin-cam 2.5-liter in-line-four. The King Cab variation has flip-up rear seats, while the Frontier Crew Cab carries a three-person back bench. Safety systems extend to frontal and side-impact air bags for front seats and optional curtain-style air bags over outboard seats front and back.