With npm install MODULE_NAME --save I save all the new modules under node_modules. Is there a way of saving them under a different name?
I glanced through the source code for npm, and I believe the answer is no, you cannot--there are several hard-coded references to the "node_modules" string. Since npm is the package manager for Node, and Node uses the node_modules folder to load local modules, I doubt this will change.
The FAQ is clear about it: you can't and you'll never be able to (using normal npm):