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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  Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder - 2011 Nissan Cube
  By 3andg - September 19 - 6:56 pm

  We purchased this car as a third car for commute purposes. The styling is polarizing - my wife loves it, I hate it. Regardless of the style, the car is a paragon of packaging efficiency - lot of room in a small package. The car moves well and keeps up with traffic on both the city and highway. The car is very smooth, but there is a tradeoff in handling due to the smooth ride and tall structure. The S has very useful comfort features standard - including bluetooth and iPod connection. Up to about 70 mph, the car is pretty quiet; however, there is a noticeable increase in noice after 70. This is a great car if one needs a practical commuter car.

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  Love it but now getting worried - 2005 Nissan Murano
  By grvqn - September 18 - 8:57 pm

  Now hitting my 6th year with 60K and here are my problems, my sun visor on the driver side is broken, CD player doesnÂ’t play CDÂ’s anymore, back windows donÂ’t roll up (when I donÂ’t really use them, but the time I do now I have a problem). My driver side door IÂ’m now having problems of it locking and unlocking. Now I have to double check my door before walking awayÂ… What else can go wrong.

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  NISSAN STYLE - 2004 Nissan Murano
  By jude - September 18 - 10:00 am

  THIS SUV GIVE GOOD PERFORMANCE STYLE IT HAS NICE LOOK TO IT INSIDE AND OUT THE RIDE IS FUN TO DRIVE IT HAS VERY GOOD POWER AND HANDLING

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  nissan - 2005 Nissan Sentra
  By Tommy - September 18 - 10:00 am

  its ok. but not big enough for a single person. i mean unless there bones. other cars that are compact or in that subject are a desgned a little better

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  very good - 2005 Nissan Sentra
  By gyky - September 18 - 10:00 am

  very good car fun to drive the car is really comfortable :)

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  Vibrations!! (Not good vibrations)! - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By Stu from Scottsdale - September 18 - 10:00 am

  This is our 5th Maxima. Seems like its the first build in the USA. Every one of our Maximas was wonderful. The jury is out on this one. We have a vibration when the car exceeds 60MPH. The car has been fixed twice and the dealer says that were only feeling the road. Has anyone else experienced this? Being 64 the seat is a liitle too small for me but my wife is the main driver and she is comfortable. Otherwise we do like the car.

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  My Second Nissan Altima, 3.5 Liter - 2005 Nissan Altima
  By Larry Stell - September 18 - 10:00 am

  This my second Nissan Altima. The first one I owned was a 2003 Nissan Altima and I had about 5 or 6 discrepencies in the auto, plus a replaced engine (frozen crankshaft) at 10,800 miles. The 2004 had to have a replaced fuel pump at 3,000 miles. To date (18,000 miles), I have no complaints. Performance Good+

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  S OK - 2008 Nissan Sentra
  By tarheel - September 18 - 9:56 am

  I got the SL fully loaded and for the most part the car is great. The build quality seems to be pretty decent, although the sunglasses holder is definitely flimsy. I like the sound system, sunroof, Intelligent key, and trip computer. On the highway, I do get about 32-33 MPG, but in the city, I get terrible mileage. I do drive probably 3 miles at a time sometimes, so that was to be expected. My only complaint was that the brake light has come on twice thus far (Im only about 5500 miles in), both times for reasons beyond anyones comprehension. Nissans warranty covered everything, but it was troubling nevertheless.

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  Mini Titan is very good at most things - 2006 Nissan Frontier
  By adm77450 - September 16 - 8:23 pm

  Have owned 05 Crew Cab LE 2WD for 2 1/2 months now. Overall very pleased with my purchase. Traded in 04 F150 Crew Cab and even though I gave up lots of interior space this truck is much easier to manuever abound Houston traffic. The bed divider/bed extender is very innovative and comes in handy a lot. Heated leather seats are fairly comfortable and give good support. Truck could handle a little better at highway speeds. Not sure if stability control is offered but would have been a good option to have. Getting about 19mpg combined so far. Has plenty of low end torque and lots of HP for the size.

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  Like it better than Camry Hybrid - 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid
  By Engineer - September 15 - 5:23 pm

  Have owned a Prius 4 years, wife wanted larger more comfortable hybrid. Drove Camry and Altima. Very close overall, but Altima seemed a little more "user friendly". Liked Altima styling, engine power, displays, controls better. Camry had more cup holders and pockets. Altima seemed to have a more usable trunk, even tho Camry spec listed larger. Love backup camera, sun/moon roof, keyless entry/startup, bluetooth hands free calling. Quiet on highway, excellent handling, acceleration. Got 35 mpg first tank (575 miles), mostly freeway driving. Get the Tech Pkg!