GM, Ford, and Ram aren’t the only truck-builders who are rolling out America 250 special edition pickups to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary. Nissan has just announced its own Frontier 250th Anniversary Edition, but if you think that a US-centric truck with a Japanese brand on the side is a problem, just wait until you see what Nissan has delivered.
A Frontier For The New Frontier
Nissan Frontier America 250Nissan
Nissan’s Frontier pickup has at least as much of a claim to being American as the Ford Super Duty, Chevrolet Silverado, and Ram 1500 pickups that are also getting special commemorative editions this year. The pickup is built in Canton, Mississippi, and Nissan has been building its pickups in the US since 1983. The 3.8-liter V6 is built down the road in Decherd, Tennessee, while the other trucks could have their engines made in Mexico or Canada.
Base Trim Engine
3.8L VQ V6 ICE
Base Trim Transmission
9-speed automatic
Base Trim Drivetrain
Rear-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
310 HP @6400 RPM
Base Trim Torque
281 lb.-ft. @ 4400 RPM
Base Trim Fuel Economy (city/highway/combined)
18/24/21 MPG
Infotainment & Features
7 /10
So what’s the problem? A package that, like the other trucks, is about as appealing as the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.
You could walk around the 250th Anniversary Edition Frontier for an hour, and you might not notice what’s special about it. But we won’t make you play Where’s Waldo? trying to spot what’s new. Nissan has filled in the Frontier lettering stamped into the tailgate with a grey and black Stars and Stripes design.
Because it has to fit into the letters, the small graphic only has enough room for about 28 stars. If we’re being generous in counting the partial stars, that is. That puts it in 1846, after Texas was admitted but before Iowa. There are three stripes.
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The Frontier is having a great year, and the company’s factory in Mississippi is building them like crazy.
If you want a subtle sign of your patriotism, it’s actually perfect. It’s also a no-charge extra that will be offered on all Pro-4X trucks including Roush variants of the mid-sized pickup. Nissan will sell just 2,500 of the trucks, and they’ll all be built in July. That might be close to all Pro-4X production in the month, since Nissan sells around 7,000 Frontiers between every flip of the calendar.
Your Turn, GMC And Toyota
Nissan Frontier America 250Nissan
We can’t fault Nissan too much for taking the sticker approach, because it’s what the domestic brands are doing. Ram, for example, is selling the America250 series of Ram 1500 trucks that consist of white, blue, or red paint and American flag stickers on the hood and bed. You do also get a special key tag, at least.
Ford’s Super Duty Proud to Honor gets stickers along the side of the cab. At least the graphic is quite cool, and you get black painted wheels. Chevrolet’s Stars and Steel trucks are also stripes and black wheels, offered with white or black paint.
GMC is conspicuously absent from the holiday special lineup. Toyota is also absent, but it was less conspicuous until Nissan showed up at the party.
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The Frontier Pro-4X-R by Roush gets some serious suspension parts for practically zero extra cash.
50 years ago, was there more automaker celebration than this time around? Chevrolet kicked it off two years early with Spirit of America cars for 1974, and Chevy and GMC had trucks with delightfully 1970s graphics. Ford added a golden eagle to the F-Series pickup, Dodge had trucks and Darts, Cadillac had the “last of the convertibles” Eldorado, and even VW seems to have had one though it’s not well known. But all of those were sticker packages, showing that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
