Here’s how the Nissan Xterra died too early, and why it’s coming back

In this episode I provide the history of the Nissan Xterra, their first compact body-on-frame SUV designed and built in the United States. With a focus on younger outdoorsy-minded buyers, its first model year of 2000 would be its best selling, but still fell behind sales of the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota 4Runner, and Xterra sales dropped off each of the next 4 years. A second gen in 2005 boosted sales a bit, but kept dropping again after that, averaging only around 16,000 per year by 2011. Nissan ended production in 2015 with no replacement, however in 2026 they announced a new Xterra for 2028, to join the now-more popular offroad market that the Ford Bronco has been enjoying since 2021. Background music by Nick Weiss - nickweissmusic.com