There once was a time when cars and trucks were plain and simple, cut and dried. Station wagons were just that, not five-door hatchbacks or crossovers; trucks for the family were Chevy Suburbans, Ford Broncos, and International-Harvester Travelalls; and pickup trucks were big and American made or small and imported.

Today, there are countless automotive market segments, and the few that sound familiar are no longer what they once were. Take trucks, for example. Import brands now sell popular full-size trucks, one being the only offering with a standard V8 engine across the board. That would be the Nissan Titan, from the same company that offers the completely redesigned 2005 Nissan Frontier.

No longer a compact truck, the midsize 2005 Frontier has grown in size, power, and attitude. Underneath is a modified Titan platform, inside are comfortable accommodations for up to five passengers, and under the hood are up to 265 horses. That’s more power than any other V6 in its class, and is actually more than many V8s.

For years, the Frontier played second fiddle to the popular Toyota Tacoma, and couldn’t compete with the larger and more powerful Dodge Dakota. This new truck is Nissan’s best effort in shaking up that hierarchy. The competition should consider itself warned.