Thursday, July 1, 2010

Nissan Xterra to Live On--Through 2011 at Least...


Welcome, but not surprising, is the news that the Nissan Xterra will live on through at least the 2011 MY.
I confirmed today with Nissan PR guru Scott Vazin that the now 6 MY old Xterra will unequivocally see a 7th MY of production in 2011. Nissan had recently released info regarding the (minimal) changes to be made to the Frontier and Titan but had left out any mention of the Xterra.
Combine that with numerous rumors in the past, current economic conditions and Nissan's turn toward "greener" pastures and many wondered (as the frequent "Nissan cancels Xterra" searches that lead readers to my website will attest) if the Juke, Rogue, Murano, and Pathfinder would represent the full scale of SUV/CUV offerings.
No fear however, the Xterra will be around for another year and given recent increases in its and other truck/SUV/CUV sales in the U.S. may have more than a snowballs chance in hell of seeing a 3rd generation (something perhaps not believed a year or so ago).
Full details of the 2011 Nissan Xterra have yet to be released but one would expect the minor changes seen on the Titan and Frontier to mimic those seen on the Xterra with a couple changes in available colors, a re-working of the model designations (LE to S, SE to whatever, etc.) and perhaps a couple changes in how options are packaged.
One benefit of the extended life of the Xterra is that it continues to encourage aftermarket companies to make products for all the F-Alpha line as they share so many common components and continue to be produced in substantial numbers year after year thereby increasing the size of a target market beyond what anyone orignally forecast.
Now get out there and tell your favorite aftermarket company that there will be another 100,000 some odd F-Alpha products sold for the 2011 MY!

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