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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  Best SUV for your money - 2006 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Trevor - September 24 - 9:23 pm

  The model I own is a SE 4x2 with comfort, leather and premium packages. Ive only had it for a few weeks, but so far there is no problem. I spent several weeks test- driving and checking out other mid- size SUVs, i.e. 4Runner, Envoy, Explorer, before deciding on the Pathfinder. It is definitely the best SUV out there for the money, and yet there are exceptional features that other SUVs dont have. I have owned several Nissan cars, but this is my first SUV. Im very satisfied.

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  Not too bad - 2005 Nissan Frontier
  By bosoxer - September 24 - 8:33 pm

  This was my first Nissan and although Ive had some problems with it, I still really enjoy it. For some reason, my drive train was "falling off," so that was fixed. Had problems with my heating system, which still was completely fixed, and a few little things like an emissions sensor, and windows power unit. Im a bit nervous about how much has gone wrong in 3 years, as my truck only has 35,000 miles on it, and I do not ride it off- road. The power is tremendous in this truck. It really gets up and moves. The turning radius is horrible. The ride is smooth however. Keeping my fingers crossed on future repairs as my warranty ended this month. Would still recommend this truck.

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  silver ghost - 2000 Nissan Maxima
  By alfie - September 24 - 10:00 am

  Have had car since dec 99. Original TOYO tires lasted 41000 miles. No squeeks or unwanted sounds/noises. Road noise a little high but the wind deflector on sunroof helps a lot. Beautiful machine. Great road ride. Will keep this baby for another 50.000 miles.

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  Blue skies - 2003 Nissan 350Z
  By Travis Trevathan - September 24 - 10:00 am

  With a little over 3k miles, my biggest problemhas been keeping the car clean. It gets 400 miles between refills using ~17.5 gallons. It drives a great on the freeways as the canyons. The gearing on the 6spd MT is good and I never lug in any gear or wind out in any gear. Full use of engine and tranny from 1k - 6k rpm. A little bouncy on the 5 freeway where the concrete is choppy for all cars, I expect to improve the cornering with better shocks & sway bars after a few years. I look forward to changing the brakes because they get dirty quickly and tires because they have short tread life designation.

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  Beware of problems - 2004 Nissan Maxima
  By stevek - September 24 - 10:00 am

  Picked this car up as a dealer locate, the selling dealer would not order me one. Unfortunately sometime before me it sustained damage to the right front axle boot which ruined the axle. 30 days and still wating for parts, Nissan says I will just have to wait, they dont even call me. Also some vibration in shifter in 1st, they say its normal. My 00 was a great car, so far this one falls far short. Cant bekieve how poor customer service is, maybe its the French connection.

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  Smooooth... - 2004 Nissan Maxima
  By Tony253 - September 24 - 10:00 am

  This car does everything smooth...Acceleration, braking, steering and appearance. The Maxima has attitude under the hood clear back to the twin dual pipes. A similarly equipped Audi A4 would be about $5K more without the "cool" factor. Ive never owned a car that gets stared at so often.

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  Good Car! - 2009 Nissan Maxima
  By Larry - September 24 - 6:23 am

  Overall the Maxima is a good car. I came out of a BMW 550 so it was a little getting use too. The payment doesnt hurt as much! The CVT is strange in the beginning but is unnoticeable now. The car is deceiving, with the CVT you get the feeling that you are not going as fast as you actually are. Very roomy. Decent highway fuel mileage.

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  Excellent truck so far - 2005 Nissan Frontier
  By bosox - September 23 - 3:23 am

  Overall the truck is great and I love it.There are a few annoyances though. One is the passenger side jump seat flops down under hard braking or bumpy conditions (Still happens periodically even with the upgraded seat locks from Nissan).Second there are some squeaks, rattles, and vibrations, especially around my rear sliding window when it is open. Third and most annoying is that if Im coasting in neutral or I have the clutch pushed in the transmission rattles when going over bumps. Its really anoying on the trail and rough dirt roads. My dealer supposedly tested another manual frontier and said it was normal. Fourth is that the front of the truck picks up lots of bugs in the summer.

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  I love my Murano - 2004 Nissan Murano
  By Patricia Pollock - September 23 - 2:36 am

  I attend the auto show every year and when I say the 2003 Murano for the first time I knew this was the vehicle for me. I wanted an SUV this time. I had a Toyota Camry XLE for ten years I brought new. I loved that car but, when I say the Murano I wanted it. It has style, pick up and looks. I have had my vehicle for over a year now and I am completely satisfied except for gas mileage is not quite what I would like it to be, but you cant have everything.

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  Maxima - Best luxury, performance & Valu - 2010 Nissan Maxima
  By Maxima Vs. The G - September 21 - 5:10 pm

  My Infiniti G35X lease was up - price went up so looked at Maxima,Acura TL, Hyundai Genesis, Accord - Maxima best program & over-all package - ended up with White/ charcoal interior - Sv with prem, Tech & spoiler. More luxury than Accord More comfortable than my G, better gas mileage, more room & handles good enough - Miss rear wheel & AWD slighly