The Japanese automaker hopes to size up a bit with a refreshed version due out this spring that it predicts will reverse a two-year sales decline.

"We expect to certainly gain share this year," Fred Suckow, director of marketing for Nissan North America Inc., said Wednesday at the Chicago Auto Show as the company released details of its updated Titan.

Trying to climb up from the bottom end of an extremely competitive marketplace won't be easy.

Ford Motor Co.'s popular F-Series trucks dominate with 35.9 percent of the market last year, followed by General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Silverado at 28.7 percent, the Dodge Ram at 16.4 percent and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Tundra at 5.6 percent.

2003 Sports Car Shoot-Out: Nissan 350Z vs. Mazda RX-8

One is the rebirth of a legend, the other a new twist on an old formula. Both are designed to look fast and go even faster, and both carry price tags that keep them well within reach of the average buyer. Their low-slung stances and high-powered engines help them deliver razor-sharp handling and fierce acceleration, but both can be docile when necessary. Yet as similar as the Nissan 350Z and Mazda's RX-8 are in purpose, the ways in which they go about their mission are worlds apart. The Nissan relies on the brutish power of its V6 power plant and a tightly wound suspension to deliver its sizzling performance, while the RX-8 uses an unconventional rotary engine, more compliant suspension and even an extra set of doors to round out its character. Such disparate personalities make choosing one over the other that much more difficult, but after a week of back-to-back driving we were able to pick a favorite.

Nissan offering voluntary buyouts to all Tennessee plant workers

Word has just come across the wire that Nissan will be offering a "voluntary transition program" to all of its hourly employees working in either its Smyrna or Dechard manufacturing plants in Tennessee. These are effectively buyouts, which can net an hourly worker a lump sum of $45,000 and a bonus $500 for each year of service. It's certainly not the sweet deal offered to members of the UAW who work for General Motors and Ford, but the offer could help Nissan reduce the rank and file of its relatively young and non-union work force in North America. For whatever reason, the offer is only being made to employees at these two plants in Tennessee. The Smyrna plant employs about 6,700 people, though some are surely salaried, and produces the Altima, Frontier, Maxima, Xterra and Pathfinder. The Dechard plant only employs 1,400 people and produces many of Nissan's engines, including the glorious VQ 3.5L V6.