your excused.

Jeez.

You guys are SO touchy lately.



He thinks outloud, online...give him time to sort it all out.

You act like he's trolling, but his posts seem honest to me...just a bit more spontaneous than you might like.

If it works out, congrats, and then you can feel free to pony up an apology to those dang 'nabit computer-controlled, hillbilly robots in Tenn. that made your X.

Nissan Japan didn't even want to build the Xterra. The only reason it ever happened was because the designers and engineers (designed in California, BTW) were able to convince Nissan Japan that it could be built almost entirely with existing parts and could be done with very little initial cost. Nissan was in a serious world of hurt at the time and couldn't afford to spend money on development. That's how it ended up with the raised roof... the designers had to design around the existing Frontier frame and body. They also had a very short time to do it. I forget now, but I think the Xterra went from idea to production in about 6 months, which is simply unheard of in the automotive world.

Isn't that Chinese version of it on sale? (Granted, under a different name)

The Paladin but its got a lot different look.

That's funny as hell.... "stadium seating" my ass

The country of origin for vehicle has little do with quality. BMW X-5 and Z4 are built in SC, Mercedes are built in Alabama and like mentioned before is most Japanese cars are built in the US and most US cars are built outside the US. It is how much quality does a car maker demand is what counts and most US car companies are of the 70/80's mentality, that Americans will buy American cars.

I dunno... a Japanese vehicle built in Japan (like my Honda ) is probably going be higher quality than one built here - though having it built here certainly doesn't mean that it will be low quality.

Another thing the X is built in the USA by American (not a nock against unions) by non auto worker unions.

This machine holds up and trust me I have driven this thing though enough mud and water that it takes it and wants more.

It is one tough son of a gun.

Here in NY all I see are brand new Fords and Jeeps with rust already and not a day goes by that I see American Auto Maker branded cars on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck.

Remember it not the brand name but where and how it was made is important.

I just googled for something about the introduction of the Xterra and found THIS . Acutally pretty interesting story if you can get past the freekin pop-ups.

Oops, I had thought it was less than a year they had, but two years is still pretty fast for a new model! In the end, it was a super move by Nissan. The Xterra was well received, won SUV of the year by MT, and it suffered from no first year blues due to the proven parts used to build it.

That article states that the X probably won't be the vehicle that saves Nissan. Boy were they wrong! When the Xterra first came out Nissan couldn't keep them in stock. When I bought mine the only choices on XE's with automatics or even fewer red SE's with manuals. Prices were high too! If I wanted yellow it was a three month wait! The Xterra totally surpassed Nissans expectations in sales and it really was the beginning of the revival of Nissan!

Agree completely. If you're into automotive history or at least a fan of Nissan I think you'll look back at the introduction of the Xterra as a huge turning point for the company and definately the silver lining around an otherwise bleak outlook for them. It's been up and up since the X was release with every single updated model being a success within it's class - including the 2nd gen X.

As far as where it's built - many if not most of the mainstream Japanese vehicles on the road (ahem Toyota's & Honda's) are built in the US. The costs of importing materials (which Japan does not have natural resources for), building, and then exporting Westernized vehicles from Japan is too cost prohibitive for the big 3 to do anymore. It's why Hundai just opened their first plant in the US - same global economy. The fact that it's made in the US has nothing to do with the products quality.

I think the poster above here who mentioned the fact that the Nissan plant is non-unionized has a good point. It's ironic I guess, but makes sense too. GM's single biggest expense is health care. In 20 years when Honda and Toyota and yes, Nissan, have to deal with aging employees, do not be surprised if either A) the price of their vehicles is no longer within the realm of affordablility, or more likely B) the quality of those vehicles is no longer superior to the 'domestic' alternatives.

Thanks for the link, that is a good read.
I am feeling really good about going with the Xterra.

They credit Carlos Ghosn with saving Nissan... but the X release was before his time...

Very interesting read from someone who didn't really know much of the history of the Xterra.

LOL. You live in Kansas, mecca of the civilized world for sure. :rolleyes:

Seems the southern states build lots of the cars in this country. Many of which are considered tops in quality by the various rating bodies. 'Hillbilly' must mean 'builds quality automobiles'.

My Bad.

No worries man.
On the other hand my Pathy WAS built overseas and is FAR supperior to all these US built Xs.

If you ever have the chance to visit the X plant do so. Been twice, enjoyed it both times!