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theres a damn good reason Porsche would abandon its tradition of offering a full line exclusively of sportscars (as opposed to most automakers' offering a sportscar within their line). That reason is sport utes generate crazy revenue. Were it not for truck sales (along with rental fleets) GM would be dead and buried by now. The Xterra was a HUGE shot in the arm for a company that was struggling to keep a pulse around '98. The only sellers Nissan had was the maxima (which was still far behind the camry and accord) and the pathfinder (also far behind grand cherokee and explorer and 4runner) sentra was getting killed as was the altima and the 240 was a car that could not be given away. Those two models allowed Nissan to keep its head above water, then the Xterra came along and sales skyrocketed. With newfounsd revenue comes the ability to pursue ambitious goals such as reviving a sportscar whose market had shriveled up and died 6 years prior, the 350 was a homerun once it was introduced but the Xterra made it possible, and the new management direction taken by Renault allowed it all to happen.
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