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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  Exellent style - 2004 Nissan Frontier
  By E, Cabral - March 15 - 2:00 am

  I like the 4cyl but , I would like to trade it for a king cab 6cyl without down payment down. I own Three nissans

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  Quality car - 2000 Nissan Maxima
  By duke - March 14 - 3:50 pm

  This is an update of an earlier review of my 2000 Maxima. Ive owned it now for 3 1/2 years and I have to say that overall, it is the best car that I have ever owned. Objectively speaking, this is a quality car, with few problem issues. Yes, I have had to spend $700 to replace the ignition coils (as mentioned by many 2000 Maxima owners), plus another $250 or so to replace an O2 sensor. However, overall, it has been a very good value and near-luxury in execution. It now has 120,000 miles on it and the engine is as strong as ever. It needs minor bodywork, but I have decided that I will get that done, as I plan to drive this baby for another 3 years.

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  3 Week Rental Car - 2002 Maxima SE - 2002 Nissan Maxima
  By admasters - March 13 - 10:00 am

  We had the pleasure of driving a 2002 Maxima SE for 3 weeks as a rental car while we were waiting on our car to be repaired after an accident.My wife and I both really liked this car.The car had a lot of room and could easily and very comfortably seat 3 adults across the backseat.The V6 was strong and fun to drive.It had a lot of power and was not sluggish when you needed the acceleration.The suspension seemed a little stiff and did not give as smooth a ride as we would have thought, but it was a SE suspension therefore more geared toward performance I think.

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  Great vehicle! - 2002 Nissan Altima
  By disale72 - March 13 - 10:00 am

  I started looking for a car and I found my self with three last chooises, Jetta, Saturn series 300, and Altima. I do not regret my decision, and I enjoy this vehicle every time I get on it.

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  2004 Nissan 350Z Touring 2dr Coupe (3.5L 6cyl 6M) - 2004 Nissan 350Z
  By rugosports - March 12 - 1:05 pm

  What a fun car to drive. Gas mileage is OK . I was use to it because I went from a Mercedes SUV which required High Test gas to this. If your looking for a car that never get old this is the one.

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  Crap, it happened to mine also! - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Paul - March 12 - 2:00 am

  Ok, I just bought this pathfinder and traded my other 2 decent vehicles in on it thinking that since this is a Nissan it would last forever and it was newer than my other 2/well as soon as I bought it it started jerking bad and come to find out it is of course the trans and radiator/and as of right this minute it has been in shop for over a week having trans rebuilt and radiator replaced at the expense of the car dealership luckily. I love this vehicle but Nissan needs to step up to the plate and fix their junky parts! Once the radiator leaks antifreeze in trans it is messed up. Good luck and hopefully mine will be like new now

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  Drive train awful - 2008 Nissan Altima
  By Teal - March 12 - 2:00 am

  2 sets of bearings, one tranny failure (so far), constant brake noise. Probably the least reliable vehicle I have ever owned at the age of 63 and I owned some junkers as a kid. Get the car back tomorrow after another 4 days at the dealer service. Trading it this weekend on non-Nissan product.

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  Nissan Lack Of support on Altimas - 2006 Nissan Altima
  By dchunt - March 11 - 4:30 am

  We purchased this vehicle the last of May 2006. We have since learned that this model appears to have engine problems that have resulted in 17 engine fires. Nissan has no info in their website about this problem and has not contacted me as to what action they plan to take in this matter. If i were to try and trade this vehicle for another brand I imagine my trade in value would be much less due to this problem. My question is "What and when will Nissan do any thing to rectify this situation?" I have purchased a total of 4 Nissans over the years and have always thought Nissan was a quality company that stood behind its products but their actions up to now lead me to beliece otherwise.

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  Lots of Truck & lots of stops for gas - 2005 Nissan Titan
  By Jeff C - March 11 - 1:33 am

  In a single word..Phenomenal. after months of researching, and test driving. My choice was the f-150 or the titan. I made the right choice. The only draw back so far has been the frequent trips to the gas station. Yes, I know it is a big V-8, however it has yet to live up to the 18 miles hwy the sticker states.

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  Timing ch./tensioner - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Phil - March 10 - 9:53 am

  1) Master switch out at 30k. 2) piece from roof rack blew away. 3) tensioner causing timing cha. to make engine noises. Warranty covered this at 59k because I bought extra warranty. It took Team Nissan 1, and 1/2 to complete job. Does this mean that I will have the same proble at 100k miles? 4) noisy sun roof at speeds over 70 miles/hr