Nissan to slim down from 25 to 10 platforms

In a round of we'll-still-be-here-and-here's-why briefings for analysts and reporters, Nissan North America Inc. executives offer a peek at upcoming models, including a new as-yet-unnamed small sport/utility vehicle coming next summer and built off the same platform as the Frontier pickup. Other sneak peeks include the 2000 Maxima and Sentra and a 4-door Frontier pickup. President Minoru Nakamura says Nissan will consolidate its portfolio of 25 separate platforms to 10 by 2003. Altima and Maxima will come off the same underpinnings then. Both will be assembled in Smyrna, TN. Gerald Hirschberg, president of Nissan Design International Inc., unveils a mockup of a revived 240Z, but it's too early to tell whether it's more than a design exercise.