Last December 10 2007 the Nissan Frontier Navara was debuted with much fanfare at the Rizal Ballroom of Shangri-La Makati. Present at the occasion was Universal Motor Corporation’s Executive Vice President Elizabeth H. Lee along with other executives and “up-town” guests. Now as much as we love having a new vehicle released by Nissan here in the Philippines and as much as we enjoy watching our favorite car brand do well, we can’t help but feel that there really isn’t much to celebrate about.
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In Universal Motors Corporation EVP Elizabeth Lee’s speech, she proclaimed that the ‘new’ Frontier Navara was a revolution in design under the hood and ‘skin’. She also said a lot of things about the Navara but nothing quite stuck like the word ‘revolution’. It makes you wonder how the Navara could have revolutionized anything when it’s been in the market in other countries for years now. The US started selling it in 2005 with the UK and Australia following shortly after. So how can it be revolutionizing anything when by now most every other pickup in the same category has either already caught up to or surpassed whatever it was revolutionizing when it was first sold? Yes it was a revolution, of sorts, when it first came out in the US in 2005. Back then it had the engine, the looks and the size to be a real contender. But the version that is just now being introduced to the Philippines is a current (pronounced ‘old’) model to other markets that has been on sale for many years now. Our version of this pickup, which is simply the Nissan Frontier in mainland US, doesn’t have the engine (we’re stuck with another generic diesel engine) and doesn’t have the looks anymore – Isuzu DMax, Toyota Hilux or Mitsubishi Strada anyone??? Once you’ve gotten past those two ‘selling’ points, what’ve you got left? Nothing really. Nothing special. Nothing ‘revolutionary’.
Gone are the days of the Nissan Frontier when it boldly landed on our shores like General McArthur intent on pushing Nissan to the top of the local market. Today we just have another Nissan model that’s washed up on our shores. The Nissan Frontier made it to the top not because of anything that Universal Motors Corporation did for it, but simply because it was a great pickup of its time and was released when there was hardly any competition that could dethrone it. But that’s all in the past and the competition has superb offerings now. No the Nissan Frontier Navara especially in the trim that it’s being sold here in the Philippines won’t make any headlines.
Even if Universal Motors Corporation tries to market the Navara well, it probably will still fall short of expectations. Remember all the advertising that was done to get the message out that the original Frontier was here? If you don’t, well neither do most other people. Because there really wasn’t much of an effort on UMC’s part. They didn’t need to because the Frontier with hardly any competition and a real revolution in design was selling itself. But with the Navara having very heavy competition locally and being released too late, well it’ll need all the help UMC can muster. And with all the marketing ‘talent’ UMC has, it’s going to need a lot more than that.
The Frontier and Frontier Navara are good pickups. No Doubt. One was a throne taker, while the other may not make it high enough to even have a peek at where the king of pickups resides. At Shangri-La they were celebrating. Posing for the camera. Making speeches. Claiming the best of the best was here. Oblivious that time had passed them by and the heir to the throne had already been crowned elsewhere.