2015 Nissan Xterra

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
As far as wheeling. If I had to buy something new. Without the X or Fronty, I'd be forced to go with some kind of Yota. Pretty much anything but a Heep.
 

BuffaloFunk

Bought an X
Location
Rochester, NY
I test drove just about everything that is considered a competitor to the X and Frontier. The Jeep was nice, but has questionable reliability. The Tacoma was probably the next closest in the running, but it's on road manners weren't nearly as good as the Nissans; felt like I was bouncing over every little expansion joint. The FJ wasn't practical with it's half-doors and hard visibility, and it will be dead soon as well. The 4Runner was just too damn expensive once you tack on 4WD. I actually had one as a rental and enjoyed it a lot, but too expensive and pretty designed for parking lots. All the full-size pick-ups were nice, but pretty expensive once you get seating for four real people, 4WD and an option or too. Also, just bigger than my needs. The Honda Ridgeline would be perfect for someone that needs the usefulness of a pick-up, without the towing. It drove like a car, had a million little cubbies and nifty storage spots, but is unimpressive as a real truck.

Overall, I think I'd have to go Tacoma. But, I'm looking forward to seeing what Chevy does with the Colorado.
 

mudchet

Got Mud?<br><img src="http://i164.photobucket.com/
Founding Member
Location
Brentwood, TN
I have been thinking all along that if I couldnt get another Xterra, then Frontier would be my next choice. With both going away i feel cheated.
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
Welp Dave when you starting priusnation. I will be priofauss...... Jay will be Prium...

2y3are3y.jpg
 

TJTJ

Skid Plates
Founding Member
Location
NJ
Damn, well, its hard to get good mpg with a frame....for the vast majority out there, a frame is merely added weight with no return on the investment.

I have a 2008 4dr wrangler (JK) that is about the size and function of the X. Its had reliability issues, but its got two live axles. The new JK's have a much better engine, and have been massaged to have better reliability and off road ability than the older JK's...

...So, for me at least, if I HAD TO get another rig than the X, I would probably grab a JK 4 dr. In fact, my wife drives the JK....and, back when I had the prior wrangler, she drove the 2001 Xterra (Got it in 2000).

Back in ~ 2000, I was hauling crap up mountains/into boonies to set up remote monitoring stations to catch polluters, etc, and I had to use a trailer or make multiple trips with the Wrangler as it was too small to carry every thing. I borrowed the X, and, well, she never got it back....and the rest is history. :D

NOW, it looks like if the current X dies, I'll probably "Borrow" the JK and she'll get something else.

:D


The framed rig supply is going extinct....which is agonizing to watch as one by one, they are extinguished. I look at the Honda Ridgeline as the future of P-Ups. I see them advertised as conquering Baja, etc...but those rigs are about as representative of a Ridgeline as Nascar cars are to the OEM versions, etc. Even in the NJ Pine Barrens, Honda Ridgelines literally break in half when their unibodies are torqued by simple rutted uneven terrain and a little bouncing....not Baja.

Lots of cubbies and built-in refrigerators, etc, are where things are going....down the drain.

I think, based upon the success of the Rubicon, etc, that Jeep will not be stupid enough to IFS the JK, the last bastion there of a framed two live axled rig.

Back when the Rubicon was dreamed up, Jeep wanted it to be stickers and paint, maybe some fancy rims....but the engineers wanted lockers and lower range t-cases, etc.

Jeep marketing was confused, and said they can't SELL a car based on stuff a customer could not SEE. (Really, who would even know what a t-case was, anyway?)

They fought hard, made prototypes out of their own pockets, and took it on the Rubicon Trail and had the Jeep Execs drive protypes with the "invisible stuff" and OEM.

They DID notice how much BETTER the invisible stuff worked, and gave a go ahead for a very limited production run. At that point, jeep sales were in the toilet.

The year's run sold out in less than a month....and it was a wake-up call to Jeep that the BRAND depended upon the ABILITY of its flagship (THE Jeep) to off road, even if the BUYERS never left the pavement, the IMAGE is what was selling the rigs, and, if the image faded, so would the brand.


Nissan is not seeing enough cash flow for their investment, party because they didn't really go for it image-wise. They hedged the bet, and the win wasn't enough to make the bet worth it.

So, they go bye bye, and follow the current cross over craze.


That too will pass.


The fact is that the best vehicle for most families is the mini-van or station wagon. It has the most practical form factor. The SUV was a way to get the interior room, but look cooler....but the SUV got worse mpg and handled sloppier due to the higher COG, etc.

So they decided to do an end run on the issue, and just CALL the minivan an SUV, and give it some styling cues to match....and THOSE Cute Utes sold like hotcakes....

Of course, the mpg could be better if they rounded the lines that made them LOOK SUV-Like, so they removed those cues, and called them "Cross-Overs", and they are now selling like hotcakes.


Soon, cross overs will be like mini-vans (They are already just bulbous hatchbacks) and people will want something cooler.

Maybe the re-birth of "The Shooting Brake" or something? (Originally designed to carry a shooting party out to the field, along with all their gear and ammo, etc, plus to be able to carry the game back as well, etc)

That would be a logical and predictable direction, as, once again, they could simply alter the lines a biit, add some cues and CALL IT a Shooting Brake (Or other term that evokes a cooler image than, say, Cross over)

:D
 
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SpongeX

Bought an X
If they do kill it off and have nothing to offer I'll be back in my Toyota. Had Nissan pushed the patrol with the same effort Toyota pushed the land cruisers we would have more options.

Sent from my VS950 4G using Tapatalk
 

lbishop

Need Bigger Tires
Location
Polk County,TN
Well I guess I'll finish building my 1.5 gen and get me a f-250 to go with it lol... I'm interested to see how the Titan with a cummins turns out, if it turns out. The numbers mileage wise were pretty impressive.

The news of this thread dashed any hopes I had of seeing the xterra get a diesel
 

Xterraforce

<img src="http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u7/ra
Founding Member
Location
Signal Mtn., TN
The funny thing to me has always been advertising. It's as if Nissan didn't really care if they sold any Xterras or not. The first few years you'd see them promoted occasionally on television and more often in magazines but once the second gen hit the market it was as if Nissan either thought they'd sell themselves or didn't actually want to sell many. I've wondered since before I ever owned an Xterra why a company would build such a fine, capable SUV and not bother telling anyone about it.
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
The funny thing to me has always been advertising. It's as if Nissan didn't really care if they sold any Xterras or not. The first few years you'd see them promoted occasionally on television and more often in magazines but once the second gen hit the market it was as if Nissan either thought they'd sell themselves or didn't actually want to sell many. I've wondered since before I ever owned an Xterra why a company would build such a fine, capable SUV and not bother telling anyone about it.

This is a very good point. I can't remember the last time I've seen an X in a TV commercial. Every ad that you see from Nissan is always about the Leaf or some kind of sale.
 

drbandkgb

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Founding Member
This is a very good point. I can't remember the last time I've seen an X in a TV commercial. Every ad that you see from Nissan is always about the Leaf or some kind of sale.

I talked to the people in charge if this at nXm.
The truck line as a whole doesn't get the budget that say Altima gets.. Here is why..

Altima will sell 200-250k a year

The whole truck line won't hit 100k

Now where do you put your ad dollars?
The one car that will sale big numbers or the 3 or 4 trucks that won't?

Wether you like juke or now it's a big hit for Nissan. Leaf is a nitch but a nitch they have to have for MPG regs. Rouge is the number 2 car/truck after Altima.
Those 4 cars will hit 350k in yearly sales.
So that's what you will see in ads.
 

ThePlasticOne

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Boston, MA
I would probably take the plunge on a Raptor.

Except the Raptor may also be on the chopping block. Or it's going to be made of aluminum. We're not talking 2015 here...we're talking 2025 when the last Xterra climbs the rock garden in the sky.
 
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Xterraforce

<img src="http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u7/ra
Founding Member
Location
Signal Mtn., TN
I can see their point of spending money on what sells the most to a degree, but then I have to wonder how it makes sense to NOT promote the ones with lower sales volume. Over the years in my line of work I've seen products go from sales so low they were about to be pulled from the market to becoming a top selling item because of aggressively promoting them. Nissan saying they don't promote the vehicles that have low sales guarantees failure.

Look at the Tacoma. Is it better than the Frontier in any way? I don't think so but Toyota has done a good job of advertising it and the sales and aftermarket support reflect that.
 

yellowx16

Need Bigger Tires
Founding Member
Location
Rochester, NY
I was thinking the same thing....they say they won't promote it because of low sales. maybe it's the other way around and the low sales are because they won't promote it. there is hardly any point to them dragging it along if they're not going to make an attempt to even advertise the x or fronty.
 

drbandkgb

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Founding Member
Well we can debate this but in the end.. The end is coming and it's not due to sales numbers
 

Macland

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Founding Member
As a marketing graduate I find the whole idea of them not advertising because of low sales preposterous. You advertise to boost sales and for competition reasons. I believe that you would advertise Altima heavily because it is in the most saturated market by far. You then advertise the crossovers because they are in the up and coming market that is hot, and also saturated.

I agree that you have to at least put the Xterra in the damn lineup at the end of each commercial. It's like having an adopted kid you don't include in the picture because "they aren't a part of the family" it's ridiculous, wrong, and hurtful.

Nissan has shown they are willing to advertise their trucks in the past, look at the several frontier commercials that could have easily substituted in an Xterra. Hell, you could have substituted the Xterra in on the sand dune commercial and said, "yes it really can do this, as well as this (cut to rock climbing), this (cut to camping shot loaded down with gear), and even this! (cut to a family of five riding in the Xterra as they pull into a drive in movie theater, pan behind the Xterra as the family climbs out and sets up to watch the film that just so happens to be showing a Nissan commercial before the movie. The commercial has the lineup of Xterra flanked by frontier and Titian with the rest of the lineup behind. The entire drive in is loaded with Nissans past, present, and even future hidden in there for the very observant.) "Nissan, taking you everywhere you want to go" /cut scene
 

knightrider

Bought an X
Location
San Diego, CA
Drunk uncles got a great commercial idea there.
And I agree its not going away because of sales, but it makes their decision easier on what vehicles to cut due to having to meet strict cafe standards.
 
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