There’s one truck-y SUV everyone wants to talk about today and that is, of course, the Nissan Xterra. Just kidding. What everyone wants to talk about is the Slate EV, which is what I also want to talk about. Unfortunately, all my colleagues proposed stories first, so I’m going to make The Morning Dump a Slate-free zone so you can have a break from all that.
It’s an interesting challenge of the modern world that news like this happens now outside of auto shows, giving us the space to write a million articles in one day about the same thing. The goal this morning was for all of us to pen some non-Slate things just to variegate the timeline a bit, so TMD is dedicated today to the Nissan Xterra, which Nissan’s Americas boss says would be here “tomorrow” if he had any control over it.
Should the Xterra be an EREV? Probably. China is going crazy for EREVs and now, sadly, the rest of the world is playing catch-up. Should it be self-driving? It’ll be easier for the automaker if it’s Level 2, thanks to a new rule from the Trump administration that clearly benefits Tesla.
Audi isn’t quite as lucky, as the redesigned Q5 is almost now way more expensive under the current tariff regime.
‘If I Could Bring A Car Tomorrow, That Would Be Xterra’ Says Nissan’s Meunier
Automakers love to do this thing where they build an extremely popular car and then dump the name for no good reason, only to bring it back when it might already be too late. Remember when Ford ditched the Taurus for the “Ford 500” and then quickly backtracked? The Bolt wasn’t even off the market before GM had to about-face on its decision to end the nameplate.
Nissan’s stout and capable Xterra is just one of those cars that everyone loves in retrospect, even if they’re still insanely cheap. While the Xterra never had the cachet of a 4Runner or Bronco, that market is big enough for alternatives, and there’s something uniquely cool about the Xterra.
Nissan Americas Chairman Christian Meunier agrees, telling Automotive News he shares all of our impatience with the return of the vehicle:
“If I could bring a car tomorrow, that would be Xterra,” Nissan Americas Chairperson Christian Meunier told Automotive News. “We’re working on it. We’ll find a way.”
Meunier said the Japanese automaker has a “big” capital expenditures budget and robust pipeline of U.S. market-tuned products, including an electrified Frontier. It’s been planning to infuse some of the Xterra’s iconic design elements into an EV launching in 2028: a brawny crossover with squarish rear styling and a boxy headlight design, Karkaria wrote.
“It’s about prioritization,” Meunier said in the story. “Is there any room to compromise on one project — eliminate one — and do what we think is more of a white space?”
Nissan is probably going to cancel two likely uncompetitive-priced U.S.-built electric sedans, so this might open up some room. Also, this basically confirms the Baby Xterra rumors from last month, right? Make it a PHEV like the Nissan Frontier Pro Plug-In Hybrid, and I think I’m sold.
Decade Of The EREV Hits China
If Auto Shanghai reminded us of anything, it’s that there are countless EVs you can buy in the Chinese market right now. That’s great for those consumers. Some people want a little more range than current batteries can provide, though, which is where Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs) are the perfect solution.
As a regular TMD reader, you’re already likely familiar with the technology, which pairs a small generator with a large battery pack purely to charge the battery and not motivate the car (therefore differentiating it from PHEVs). David wrote a whole pro-EREV argument, which makes the correct point that for extremely large vehicles, it’s more practical and efficient to have some kind of generator.
Don’t trust me, trust all the Chinese consumers lining up for these things. Here’s Reuters with a dispatch from Shanghai:
Both EREVs and plug-in hybrids grew faster than pure EVs in the China market last year, pushing the whole electrified sector to about half of all new cars sold, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.
EREV sales jumped 79% to 1.2 million vehicles and plug-in hybrids soared by 76% to 3.4 million, while EV sales grew 23% to 6.3 million units.
Assuming some huge battery breakthrough comes, this might be a transitional technology. Some people on the Lucid Left hate this idea, which is merely allowing perfect to be the enemy of a-lot-better.
Tesla Gets A Break On Crash-Reporting
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, pictured above, gave Tesla a huge gift last night when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that it would revise its approach to automated vehicles in a way that is curiously good for Tesla.
The argument behind this change is, on the surface, quite reasonable:
“This Administration understands that we’re in a race with China to out-innovate, and the stakes couldn’t be higher,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy. “As part of DOT’s innovation agenda, our new framework will slash red tape and move us closer to a single national standard that spurs innovation and prioritizes safety.”
Getting rid of a bunch of state rules and implementing a national standard for something as important as automated driving is logical. Complex issues that impact everyone, especially their safety, should probably be handled at the federal level. Especially when it comes to autonomy… of cars, at least.
What’s curious here, though, is that NHTSA is walking back the Standing Government Order (SGO) for crash reporting on Level 2 vehicles and seemingly not much else.
[U]nder the revised rule, a crash only has to be reported if the vehicle has a Level 4 automated driving system, like Waymo. Vehicle crashes involving Level 2 systems that don’t involve a fatality or vulnerable road user are now exempted from reporting. And who benefits the most from this change?
“This has a huge impact on one particular company, Tesla, because Autopilot and [Full Self-Driving] are only L2 systems, not automated driving systems,” Abuelsamid explains. “Tesla has long complained about the fact that the vast majority of SGO reports are from their vehicles and this will eliminate all of the reports that don’t include a fatality or hitting a vulnerable road user.”
Perhaps Level 2 is so good now that having to report every crash with a Level 2 vehicle that doesn’t involve a fatality or hitting a pedestrian/biker is so onerous. However, if Tesla’s Level 2 self-driving is so good… wouldn’t the lack of crashes mean less reporting, therefore making it less onerous?
Is The New Audi Q5 ‘Unsellable’ Here?
Man, the new Audi Q5 looks really good. It’s Audi’s most important car in North America, and Audi definitely needs a win. It’s maybe not going to get it! The Trump tariffs right now are extremely bad for the Q5 in particular.
Why? The vehicle is built in Mexico and isn’t, for now at least, compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. That means it’s subject to a 25% tariff on imported cars, on top of a 25% tariff (for non-US parts), and a 2.5% fee on being non-compliant.
That doesn’t math, as Automotive News points out:
One consultant told Bloomberg that the Q5 would be unsellable in the U.S. because of the tariffs. However, sources within the company told Automotive News that Audi is committed to bringing the Q5 to market and making it attractive for customers.
The redesigned models will begin arriving at U.S. dealerships in May, Audi said.
“The relief for Audi, and the Q5 especially, would be the greatest if those tariffs would be changed to what they were originally,” Volkswagen Group of America CEO Kjell Gruner said during an April 16 roundtable at the New York auto show.
What have German companies done to deserve all this bad luck?
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
“Smooth” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas is maybe the corniest non-Drake song ever written, which doesn’t make it any less brilliant. It’s just one of those perfect pop songs that almost anyone can listen to at any time, in any place. Rob Thomas reportedly wrote the lyrics after being inspired by his wife, who you can see dancing in the video. Rob Thomas is a wife guy! Just like me.
I put this song on the other morning to wake up my family, and it was meant as an ironic little joke… at least the first time I did it. Every time after that, it’s just because this song is a jam.
The Big Question
What should the new Xterra be?
Top photo: Nissan
Best they can do is take the Rogue “Rock Creek” edition and rebrand it “Xterra Edition”. Add more plastic cladding = offroad!
The Xterra MUST HAVE THE 3.8 V6 gas from the Frontier. It should shame the Xterra we get here with a 2.3L I4 here in the Middle East.
Matt, I’m not going to wade into this, other than how do you write your daily column in the four minutes or so while what you’re listening to plays. Early in my journalism career, I was a police beat reporter, and that stuff pretty much wrote itself and it took longer than the average length of what you’re listening to.
I’m thinking to keep it cheap, the Xterra should be a plug in hybrid not full EV, not sure if they could get the bits for that from Mitsubishi, but put that on a Frontier frame, make it still boxy looking and away you go.
I always remember the Xterra as relatively low cost rugged SUV. I think if they stick to that and maybe bring PHEV or rex they would be fine. Maybe lean in to the Mitsubishi parts bin for that. There is probably still a sizeable demo that want just a pure ice manual as can be suv like the Xterra and wrangle used to be. It shouldn’t be a mall crawler or cuv. It probably needs a ladder frame. Just as bulletproof and simple as possible.