Nissan Smokin’ TITAN begins its road-tripping adventure to The Great TITAN Meat Up

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nissan's Smokin' TITAN is fired up and ready to roll. The ultimate tailgating and barbecuing pickup truck¹, unveiled last month at the  2018 Work Truck Show, has officially departed for a four-city tour en route to The Great TITAN Meat Up, where – for the first time ever – Smokin' TITAN will be fully utilized and put to the test during a cooking competition among media members and Nissan executives in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., April 27-28.

"Beginning as a TITAN XD King Cab straight from the Nissan Canton, Miss. Assembly Plant – where every TITAN and TITAN XD is assembled – Smokin' TITAN is a dream project vehicle for tailgating and barbecuing enthusiasts like myself, and I can't think of a better way to showcase it than at – and along the way to – The Great TITAN Meat Up," said Billy Hayes, division vice president, Nissan Regional Operations, and a brainchild behind the vehicle. "I am very excited to get out there and show the world what this truck can do!"

Smokin' TITAN BBQ Trail Road Trip
Following its departure from Idaho City today, Smokin' TITAN will visit the following cities and locations along the way to the Great TITAN Meat Up:

• April 21, 11 a.m. MDT – Roaming Buffalo BBQ, Denver
• April 22, Noon CDT – Q39 BBQ, Kansas City, MO
• April 23, 3 p.m. CDT – Salt + Smoke BBQ (Delmar location), St. Louis
• April 24, Noon CDT – Central BBQ, Memphis

Updates will be posted along the route and at each location via the @NissanUSATrucks Instagram and Facebook page, and fans can utilize the hashtags #SmokinTITAN and #TITANMeatUp to join in the conversation.

Great TITAN Meat Up
On April 28 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., the heat will be turned up a notch at the Great TITAN Meat Up. With celebrity chefs Cory Bahr and David Rose serving as official judges, each of the competing teams will be challenged to out-cook a Nissan executive team led by Hayes, an outdoor cooking enthusiast. Hayes will be joined on his team by Brian Maragno, director, EV Marketing & Sales; Tiago Castro, director, Light Commercial Vehicles Sales & Marketing; and Kevin Yeoh, senior manager, Truck and Light Commercial Vehicles, Nissan Canada.

Competing against Hayes and his team will be five different media organizations, as well as a team from Nissan Canton Assembly, where the Smokin' TITAN and all TITAN and TITAN XD vehicles are assembled. Last weekend in Canton, Randall Jenkins and Jerome Staten, the “Nissan Smokers,” won a cook-off to earn the honor of representing Canton at the Great TITAN Meat Up.

• Nissan Smokers – Randy Jenkins, Jerome Staten (Team Bio)    

The five media teams:

• Truck Trend (Brisket) – Sean Holman, Jason Gonderman, Brett Evans (Team Bio)

• Swine by Me (Pork) – Craig Cole, Stephen Elmer, Ben Sanders (Team Bio)

• Meat Your Maker (Turkey) – Aaron Cole, Charles Dyas, Robert Yarbrough (Team Bio)

• Smokin' Caliente (Ribs) – Annie Alvarez, Michelle Rosenberg (Team Bio)    

• PickupTrucks.com (Lamb chops) – Aaron Bragman, Christian Lantry (Team Bio)

• Not Cooking – Chad Kirchner, Jerry Perez (Team Bio)

Our Celebrity Judges: Cory Bahr and David Rose

THE CORRAL: Social Media posts from The Great TITAN Meat Up

Nissan Smokin’ TITAN begins its road-tripping adventure to The Great TITAN Meat Up. https://t.co/tsO6kQTPKV pic.twitter.com/zy9uIJ5Ddi

— Nissan (@NissanUSA) April 20, 2018

Following a day of off-roading in the Tennessee hills in a fleet of Nissan TITAN and TITAN XD PRO-4X vehicles on Friday, April 27, competitors will attempt to smoke the meat of their choice to perfection in an all-day cooking competition on Saturday the 28th. Competitors will be judged on a 100-point scale in categories such as Presentation, Creativity, Composition of Ingredients, Preparation and Flavor.

"Smokin' TITAN is the perfect vehicle for this one-of-a-kind event and I can't wait to get out to Pigeon Forge," said Bahr, who is Food Network's "Chopped!" champion, among a laundry list of other accolades. "But have no doubt about it – David (Rose) and I will show no mercy when it comes to judging this competition. Only the best will be crowned the Great TITAN Meat Up champion!"

Nissan and barbecuing fans alike can follow along through the conclusion of The Great TITAN Meat Up on the @NissanUSATrucks Instagram and Facebook page, as well as by searching and utilizing the hashtags #SmokinTITAN and #TITANMeatUp.

For more information on the complete 2018 Nissan vehicle lineup, visit nissannews.com.

About Nissan North America 
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized annually by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year since 2010. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and INFINITI vehicles can be found online www.nissanusa.com and www.infinitiusa.com, or visit the U.S. media sites nissannews.com and infinitinews.com.

About Nissan Motor Co. 
Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, INFINITI and Datsun brands. In fiscal year 2015, the company sold more than 5.4 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 12.2 trillion yen. Nissan engineers, manufactures and markets the world's best-selling all-electric vehicle in history, the Nissan LEAF. Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, manages operations in six regions: ASEAN & Oceania; Africa, Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America and North America. Nissan has been partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999 and Mitsubishi Motors since 2016 under the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/.

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Contact

Wendy Orthman
Nissan North America
313-971-4933
wendy.orthman@nissan-usa.com
 
Kevin Raftery
Nissan Truck, SUV & Outdoor Communications
615-725-5236
kevin.raftery@nissan-usa.com     

1. Smokin' TITAN is a project vehicle not available for purchase.