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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  Big Bad Truck - 2005 Nissan Titan
  By Jim - June 24 - 4:33 am

  The Titan is a awesome truck. I think Nissan just needs to improve on their Seatbelts, and turning radius of the truck. And also they need to put on better braking system. I think a upgrade of rotors, and pads would help. Maybe performance rotors, the kind they use on Nascar or Trucks. I also think that Nissan should consider building a sporty version of the Nissan Titan. I am thinking 600 horse power or better .

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  On Road-Off Road - 2005 Nissan Frontier
  By Ed Jarecki - June 24 - 12:40 am

  While being the most comfortable truck I have owned it has one major flaw in the heating controls. When you put the heat control knob to floor only the hot air still comes out the A/C vents and makes it very uncomfortable, this feature keeps the feet and legs cold in very cold weather and your upper body too warm. Nissan service rep has told me this is the way they are built, and Nissan refuses to get back to me after several calls. Also there are a couple of spots where dirt was painted over at the factory. Overall the truck does very well in off road performances as well as a nice ride on hard surfaces. Ed Jarecki

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  Such a Great Truck - 2004 Nissan Frontier
  By 04xev6 - June 24 - 12:20 am

  I have had this truck for 5 years now and i love it. Never gave me any problems and i have done very little maintenance to it in 53,000 miles. The cab space could be a little better and engine performance can be upped a little but i have a K&N intake and magnaflow exhaust to help a bit. It does make rattling and squeaky noises but this is a frontier not a bently. All and all this is a great little truck, i would however like to test drive one of the newer ones with the more powerful engines, one of them could very well be my next truck.

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  Happy with my Murano - 2005 Nissan Murano
  By Jenny - June 23 - 10:13 am

  I live on a very long and curvy road that I travel twice a day. This is a very fun ride through those curves. It is also nice to not feel so top heavy when taking corners. No tipping over worries here.

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  New 05 Frontier - 2005 Nissan Frontier
  By Ed Atkins - June 23 - 3:20 am

  Have had the truck one month on4-28. No complaints so far. Does well in the snow. Really like the vdc and limited slip. Roomy cab is really nice. Gas mileage is around 15.5 to 16.7, I just turned 1000 miles so I hope this will improve around 5000. The trip computer is nice. I have mine set on the mpg setting as it makes me try and get the most. I replaced the original rugged terrain tas with the all terrain tas and I like the feel better. They seem smoother on the freeway and I know they will be better in bad weather.No difference in mpg or road noise that I can tell. All Round Great Truck Cheers!

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  Not a Rogue - 2008 Nissan Rogue
  By Lperry - June 23 - 2:50 am

  Traded in a chevy tahoe thought I would hate it. The Rogue handles better and has almost the same power to weight. So far city mpg is 26-27, hiway mpg is 25-26 @ 70-80 mph. we live miles down an unpaved road and it handles the rough rock road better than our truck. Thought I needed the manual shift option for the large hills, but I only use it to hotrod around tight corners. The CVT works great

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  Engines that fall apart - 1998 Nissan Altima
  By Cash - June 23 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car in 2001,when the car was just three years old. It ran great for the ppast two and a half years. There were no major problems with the vehicle. About a week ago I found out that my engine basically came apart. There was plenty of oil in the car and the car was well maintained because I have a mechanic in the family who has been working on cars for the past twenty years. He fixes government vehicles for a living. The car was bought a Nissan dealership and was supposed to be a certified used vehicle.This may have just been bad luck but I advise you to be very careful when purchasing this vehicle.

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  the Car - 2002 Nissan Sentra
  By pitlatch - June 23 - 2:00 am

  Great performance. Stiff suspension. Made two trips from Colorado to Wash. St. in the car, its not the most comfortable to drive that far when youre over 40 but it was fast and cheap -- and fun. Get a radar detector.

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  So far - so good. - 2001 Nissan Pathfinder
  By 2fastdre - June 23 - 2:00 am

  I bought a used 2001 Pathfinder SE 4WD 2 months ago with about 38,000 miles already on it. And I have to say that its been a pleasant experience so far over about 2,000 miles. No major problems or issues came up - although I have 2 minor worries that I will have looked at during next service. The sunroof shade rattles a bit when open, and the rear hatch lifting rods just started to skweak while opening or closing. Other than that I am happy with it and looking forward to doing some Colorado camping and towing a ski boat in the summer.

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  Armada Owners Review - 2004 Nissan Armada
  By happy client - June 23 - 2:00 am

  I have owned many SUVs including 3 Jeep Grand Cherokees and a Ford Excursion. This is definitely the nicest SUV Ive come across yet.