Off2cjb: Well duh, you could spend under $5000 to buy and build up something else older and cruder than the Xterra, say buy a $500 Samurai with a tired engine but decent body, drop in $500-1000 worth of Sidekick engine/tranny/t-case in it, and drop another grand or two in suspension, gears, and lockers and have themselves a pretty nifty little off-road toy. But there are enough of us that want to do something that isn't a dime-a-dozen already, and Calmini can appreciate that. Not to mention it sure is nice to have a fully-enclosed SUV to 'wheel instead of some noisy, drafty, unreliable old thing.
We've already invested in our Xterras, both in purchase and mods, and we've grown attached to them. We've already 'wheeled the "new" out of them and aren't afraid to take a dent or scrape here and there, much less have major surgery performed on it. Heck, some of ours aren't exactly in cherry condition and wouldn't be an easy/economical sell if we were inclined to switch to another "cheaper" 'wheeling rig, and some of us don't even have a place/means to keep another vehicle if we wanted to keep the Xterra too.
I dare say there are more than a handful of people that are prepared to spend that kind of money on a well-designed, easy-to-install, and, perhaps most importantly, UNIQUE kit.

Brent