Nissan's filing cites two previous approved trademarks for the Xterra name — most recently one filed in 2003. While that filing included the specific Xterra wordmark used on the back of SUVs, this one is a trademark for the name Xterra in "standard characters, without claim to any particular font style, size, or color."

The 4x4 market is rife with competition, but the return of the Xterra could be a boon for the struggling automaker.

The Xterra name doesn't have as lengthy a history as the Thunderbird or Prelude, but it was a distinctive model in its own right, focusing more on off-road capability than other N