Overview & Reviews

Nissan was born in Japan, and like other marques from its homeland, the brand is known for crafting vehicles that place an emphasis on quality and reliability. The company's roster of products is broad, and includes sporty coupes, family sedans, minivans, trucks and SUVs.

The automaker got its start in 1933 as the Jidosha Seico Co., Ltd. The following year, this outfit merged with another Japanese manufacturer, and the new company was christened Nissan Motor Company, Ltd. Nissan initially marketed its vehicles under the Datsun brand, with the first Datsuns being built in 1934. Postwar, the brand made its presence felt worldwide, building a partnership with the U.K.-based Austin Motor Co. and establishing a presence in the United States. The first Datsuns hit American shores in 1958. Vehicles like the Datsun 1000 were based on Austin platforms.

The '60s witnessed Nissan's merger with Prince Motor Company, a union that helped the Asian manufacturer create more luxury-focused vehicles. In the U.S. it began offering its first vehicle styled for the U.S. market, the Datsun 510 sedan. By the end of the decade, Datsun had exported more than 1 million vehicles. Datsun rose to prominence in the 1970s on the popularity of its 240Z sports car. Powered by an inline six-cylinder engine, the car was coveted for its blend of style, performance and affordability. By the time the '70s drew to a close, the automaker's cumulative vehicle exports had surpassed the 10 million mark.

In 1981, Nissan shelved the Datsun name and began selling vehicles worldwide under the Nissan moniker. The '80s also saw Nissan's launch of a tuning division called Nismo for the development of performance-oriented vehicles and accessories. Nissan also brought its production to American shores, with the construction of a Georgia-based plant.

The early '90s saw Nissan's fortunes rise in the U.S. thanks to fun-to-drive cars like the 300ZX, Maxima and Sentra. But this trend didn't last long and by the late '90s Nissan's offerings consisted of anonymous vehicles. The company's future was uncertain.

After the turn of the new century Nissan bounced back, helped by a 1999 alliance with Renault that boosted the company's finances. Its redesigned Sentra and Altima boosted sales and consumer interest, as did new models like the 350Z sports car, Armada SUV and Titan pickup. Today the manufacturer is known for offering a wide range of well-regarded vehicles, including the popular Murano SUV, the incredible GT-R supercar and the all-electric Leaf.

User Reviews:

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  Awesome Ride - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By jerrytoledo - July 27 - 12:36 pm

  Awesome ride excellent steering, in and out of parking lots, quick on the freeway through traffic and on the streets great breaking smooth, control have easy access. We have a child and she loves the 3rd row seat kind of private, easy access to rear storage area for groceries from the exterior or interiors. Many electric plugs for games, DVD players etc great for kids.

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  Frontier Review - 2008 Nissan Frontier
  By Tom - July 27 - 3:43 am

  Bought the truck new and paid much less than sticker. Love the truck but not worth the sticker. Only real complaint is the turning radius is like driving an 18 wheeler. Dont like the plastic bed liners - should of put the NISMO paint in liners as standard. The plastic on the tail gate scratches easy. Acceleration is slow but plenty of V6 power when it kicks in.

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  Great SUV - 2002 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Patel - July 26 - 8:40 pm

  I test drove most of the SUVs - nothing came close. No wonder it was named $wheeler of the year by 4wheeler magazine. I t performs great in bad roads and great for off roading! Oh - it has a fantastic 6 disc CD player with front CD loading system - I dont think I have seen it with other manufacturers!

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  Six months since purchase of Spec V... - 2006 Nissan Sentra
  By Angelo - July 26 - 1:46 pm

  I have had my Spec V for 6 months. The only time I have had it in the garage was for Oil changes which I gladly perform myself. It is very reliable, I even learned to drive stick with this car and it does not seem to give. My only Mod is a NISMO Cold-Air Intake. It was definatly worth $230. The CAI does also improve gas mileage about 5-10%. The engine is so much louder after I put it on and pushed the gas to the floor. It certainly has more punch. I plan on getting at least exhaust headers and a Cat-back system.

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  The Nice Max - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By Dylan Reed - July 26 - 10:33 am

  The Maxima is one of the hottest cars on the road.Although critics say that you pay a premium price w/o a premium name plate,who cares about a name plate.Part of my attraction to the car is that not many 3.5 SE are on the road. I would take this car over a 3 series BMW any day of the week.The Maxima is one of the best "values" currently on the market.The only other car I would choose over the Maxima would be the Acura TL, but at $10,000 more, there is hardly any comparison in price to value. The reliability is unbelievable.I would challenge any car, BMW, Benz, Lexus included to a durability and relibility test.If you want nameplate get a BMW or Benz, want value buy a Maxima!

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  Great and reliable - 1998 Nissan Maxima
  By reggaedg - July 26 - 5:25 am

  Got this car from a friend 18 months ago, car was sitting for a year. This car has 268,000 miles on it and you could walk by it and not know that the engine was running. Installed new brakes and rotors and a paint job. Car now looks and run like new. Love the car, very reliable and the gas mileage is excellent for a 6 cylinder. Step on the gas and this car will launch you in a new dimension. The ride is tight, well it is a 4 door sport car after all. This car is fun to drive and if you plan to lend it to someone be certain to advise them on the quick throttle response. They could get a whiplash on take off.

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  Awesome - 2014 Nissan Versa Note
  By nissan_rocks - July 26 - 2:05 am

  Great fuel economy, surprisingly quiet for a car in this category, road noise to a minimum, very smooth due to the CVT. Huge rear passenger space and good cargo space, usually hard to get both but the Versa has it.

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  Reliable & Fun But Unsafe! - 1997 Nissan Altima
  By webter - July 25 - 12:50 pm

  The integrity of the motor and many of the other parts are top notch. If you are looking for a base vehicle to fix to street race, this would be a great one. With that said, I was in an accident with this vehicle. The car was totaled and I had a head injury, which has left me with some brain damage. There isnt ABS on this vehicle and the air bag didnt deploy. There were fairly new Bridgestones on the car, so I cant blame it on the tires. Luckily the seat belt locked or else I wouldnt be writing this review!

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  So Far So Great update again - 2010 Nissan Altima
  By grampa - July 25 - 9:10 am

  Now have over 12,000 miles on our Altima in about 6 months since purchase. Still totally happy with it. Mileage, comfort, performance, etc. One of the best looking cars on the road.

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  Glad I bought it - 2009 Nissan Rogue
  By margokop - July 25 - 1:20 am

  I was driving a 2002 Toyota Highlander which I loved, but was ready for something a little smaller with better gas mileage. I thought I would end up with the toyota rav 4 or honda crv, but there were things about each of them I didnt like..I didnt even know Nissan had the rogue model, and then I saw it in the paper one day, so I went to the dealer and drove the sl model, liked the features, the price was competitive, it felt more solid and quiet than the toyota and hondas I tried. It has been just 3 weeks and I really like it.