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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  very good - 2004 Nissan Frontier
  By leo diegas - October 7 - 2:00 am

  very reliable,multi-functinal truck you got an suv and ttruck at the same time very practical design.......

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  The 350Z is a Great Car to Drive! - 2004 Nissan 350Z
  By Le Gosse - October 7 - 2:00 am

  The 350Z is a fun car to drive and a head turner! It is an exciting to drive with enough power to handle merging and passing other cars easily! The instrumentation is functional and easy to read! The music system is awesome and fills the car! I have owned sports cars for over 30 years ... TR3 and 250s, Rx7, Miata .... The 350Z is the best!

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  Mi Caro - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By Mari326 - October 7 - 2:00 am

  Overall, I love my car, however, its performance in snow is poor.

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  Solid Buy - 1996 Nissan Sentra
  By How - October 6 - 10:00 am

  This car has been a solid commuter vehicle. The motor has the punch not found in some small cars. Timing "chain" alleviates some maintanance costs...tune-ups and drive!

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  good compromise - 1998 Nissan Maxima
  By microshitf - October 6 - 10:00 am

  98 Maxima SE, 54k miles, manual transmission. Zero problems so far after 17k miles and one year of ownership (I bought it used). Small quirks: some screeching sounds from time to time from the brake pads, some whinning sounds from the clutch esp during warm weather.

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  Nissan is Good - 2002 Nissan Maxima
  By TaxMan - October 6 - 10:00 am

  The only car I drove that outperformed the Maxima was a 540 6-spd, but it was two years old, had over 30k miles, and was priced about $10k more than the Max I purchased. No other car priced under $35k can match the Maximas blend of performance, quality, and content. My only major complaint is the paint quality - the car is five months old and has almost a dozen paint chips on the front bumper. Great car - loads of passenger space, good looking, fantastic engine and transmission.

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  Best car in its class - 2002 Nissan Maxima
  By Arthur - October 6 - 10:00 am

  This is really a very good car. Ive been driving Maximas since 1995. Its the best car in its class(Honda Accord, Toyota Camry etc). Has the best V6 engine, very powerfull and very vell balanced. Previous year (2001) was not thet good: very unbalanced (very poor brakes for the power like that-215 hp). But this year -- excellent. Cars like it -- 0 (V6, 255 HP and the funny part -- only $24000 with the sunroof and everything power). ENJOY!!!

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  Bang for your Buck - 2002 Nissan Frontier
  By Wheeler69 - October 6 - 10:00 am

  Price was the best. Comfort was great.

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  unhappy with nissan - 2002 Nissan Frontier
  By unhappy nissan owner - October 6 - 10:00 am

  If you like to spend most of your time at the gas stations this is the truck for you engine is slugish gas mileage is terrible..and as for getting help from NISSAN lets just say they dont! this experience has soured me to all NISSAN produuts I will never buy another NISSAN!!

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  XTERRA - 2002 Nissan Xterra
  By Edmundo - October 6 - 10:00 am

  This is my second XTERRA, and it is absolutely the finest SUV I have driven. I very much enjoy Nissan reliabity, styling, and performance. Two exceptional characteristics of my XTERRA are the automatic transmission and computerized, road sensing, braking system.