Nissan North America confirms Larry Dominique, its long-time product-planning chief, has left the company.
Dominique, who oversaw all Nissan Americas’ product planning, including the booming Brazilian market, is joining auto-industry data firm TrueCar as executive vice president of its Data Solutions Group.
The loss of Dominique undoubtedly is a blow to Nissan. Detroit-based Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman says no replacement has been named.
Dominique was one of the few top-level executives the auto maker retained in the move of its U.S. headquarters from the Los Angeles-area to Nashville in 2006, although he still spent much time in Southern California, where his family remained.
Privately, Nissan engineers have admitted Dominique’s decision to remain with the company in 2006 prevented a slowing of product-launch momentum.
Dominique was director-product planning for Nissan before he replaced as vice president of product planning the retiring Jack Collins in 2006, and is considered the father of the Nissan Titan fullsize pickup truck, launched in 2003.
Dominique was honest in recent years about the Titan’s failure to take a significant chunk out of the Detroit Three’s fullsize-pickup market share, telling WardsAuto a year ago that lack of consistent marketing to raise awareness of the model was a failing, as was brake judder that helped take the Titan off Consumer Reports magazine’s recommended list.
The last time WardsAuto spoke to Dominique, in July during a Versa backgrounder, he was hopeful about the Titan’s future, hinting a smaller, more powerful V-6 could be on tap for the next-generation model.
“Who would have thought three years ago V-6 turbos would be 35% of Ford F-150 (sales)?” Dominique said then. “I think truck buyers, especially when fuel prices have been up, are open to technology. They’re open to things five, seven years ago they would have said, ‘No way would I consider that.’”
Other models launched under Dominique’s include the Nissan GT-R sports car and Nissan Rogue and Juke cross/utility vehicles. Next generations of the Infiniti G sedan and coupe, FX cross/utility vehicle and QX SUV, as well as the new Infiniti M hybrid, also debuted during his tenure.
