Nissan SUVs enter a new dimension

Although politicians, safety groups and environmentalists sometimes seem bent on eliminating SUVs from the planet, automakers keep churning them out and buyers keep gobbling them up.

The latest is from Nissan.

The company is bringing out its first full-size sport utility vehicle, to be called the Pathfinder Armada, a few months before the late winter launch of its first full-size pickup, the Titan.

This just-released sketch shows Armada as a beefy SUV with muscular fenders bulging out over large wheels.

Preliminary information from Gardena-based Nissan North America is that Armada will be an eight-passenger vehicle built off the platform developed for the Titan.

It will share the pickup’s V-8 engine, and though Nissan hasn’t disclosed specifics for Armada, the Titan version of the engine is rated at about 300 horsepower and 375 pound-feet of torque.

Armada pricing plans haven’t been disclosed, but Nissan is tossing around terms such as “premium” and “sophistication” in its early descriptions of the vehicle -- terms usually associated with premium prices.

The production model will be unveiled in April at the New York International Auto Show, and sales are slated to begin in the fall.

-- John O’Dell