Overseas it's sold as the Nissan Navara. You know it as the Frontier. Well actually, the Navara was recently redesigned while the US kept the previous generation version for some reason. Apparently Nissan doesn't think Americans have any interest in mid-size pickup trucks. GM loves Nissan's thinking because it'll just go on selling more and more Chevy Colorados and GMC Canyons. But Nissan Europe and other global markets have the right idea by fully investing in this truck segment.

So why not invest further in the mid-size SUV segment, too? Our spy photographers just caught Nissan engineers testing what's essentially an SUV version of the newest Navara. Call it the next generation Nissan Patrol (assuming the name is kept). Our sources tell us Nissan is planning both five- and seven-seat versions when this SUV launches sometime in 2017. Like the old Pathfinder (not today's mall friendly crossover), this likely Patrol successor features rear door handles hidden in the C-pillar. Man, we miss that old trademark Nissan styling. So is there any chance this will one day be offered in the US? Probably not, but if Nissan ever brings the latest Navara over as a next generation Frontier, then the chances will improve.