They better put a decent rear axle under that thing with the diesel. The Dana 44 is ok for Jeeps but pretty undersized for a half ton pickup. I’m sure all the rear end failures have affected sales.
I suspect that Nissan has decided to go big, rather than go home. There are rumors of an increased interest in the basic, no-frills "work truck" market (Ford's bread and butter), as well as reasonable speculation that the company's selection of this 5.0L, V-8 Cummins engine indicates a possible move into the 3/4-ton truck market. That could be interesting.
I'm not sure any of that will really bring success for Nissan, though. Most pickup purchasers are still as brand-loyal as musclecar drivers were in the '60s and '70s, right down the smack-talk. I know several guys who have bought recent model GM trucks, even though they think the "bankruptcy" was an outrage. They just can't bring themselves to drive anything else, because they conditioned themselves to hate the competition.