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Nissan Quest, Armada Likely to be Phased Out, QX56 Moved to Japan

When Nissan first introduced us to its NV2500 concept, it was immediately clear that Nissan had some new plans in mind. We already know that Nissan has partnered with Chrysler to shift the full-size Nissan Titan truck to the Dodge Ram platform, and it appears now that more changes are underway for Nissan's large vehicles. Sources at Nissan are telling us that the Nissan Quest minivan, Nissan Armada SUV and its twin, the current Infiniti QX56, are all likely to be phased out by Nissan.

According to our sources, the Quest, Armada, and QX56 are being bumped from Nissan's Canton, Mississippi, plant to make room on the line for the new NV2500 when it goes into production for the 2011 model year. What is unknown at this point is whether or not the models will be moved to another plant, replaced with Japanese-built models, or phased out altogether.

Considering the sales hit all three models have taken this year -- especially in November -- it is not unrealistic to think they all will disappear.

Nissan and Infiniti sold a combined 72,450 of all those three models in 2007. The Armada posted a whopping 70.5% drop in November and is down 49.1% so far this year. QX56 sales fared slightly better, dropping only 53.3% in November and 33.6% this year. The Quest was by far the worse off of the three with sales dropping a catastrophic 81.3% in November and 33.3% this year. We'll keep you updated as we learn more.

The two SUVs are part of a quickly dying breed, and the Quest never caught on as a serious competitor for Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota minivans. The Armada could possibly switch from body-on-frame to unibody models. The Quest is more likely to be replaced with a smaller minivan, possibly something off the Sentra, or even the Versa platform, to compete with the Mazda5 and a new, Civic-based model expected.

Rumors have emerged however that the Infiniti QX56 model will be reinvented and produced solely in Japan. Sources have said that Infiniti's full size highway king will undergo some serious revision and be based on the infamous Nissan Patrol platform. The soonest we would see this new model would be 2010 with a more fuel efficient power plant, more luxurious interior and smaller overall frame. It is still unknown if Nissan plans to produce a North American twin to the Patrol under the Nissan name plate. We will all have to wait and see.