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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  Frame Rust! - 1995 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Mike - June 16 - 12:23 pm

  I would have only good things to say about this vehicle, except it has a horrible problem with rust. It was bought in the NE and supposedly undercoated, but I can no longer get the car inspected, and can find no body shop willing to weld the rusted out frame. I have to scrap an otherwise perfectly good and well maintained car. Too bad, I love the style, the sportiness, and the design, but Ill never buy another Nissan rust bucket.

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  2010 Nissan Maxima Engine knocking - 2010 Nissan Maxima
  By Ricky Boby - June 16 - 2:00 am

  I bought a 2010 Nissan maxima and every time I fill up the gas tank, the engine start making a knocking noise. But once the tank gets to 3/4 the knocking goes away. I have been putting shell V-Power in my car since the day I got it.

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  hmm - 2010 Nissan Altima
  By carguy2011 - June 16 - 12:46 am

  It looks great and probably the best for the money, but. Question the CVT transmission, it sticks going up or down hill. Has issues after a sudden stop. It stays in the gear that it was last in... Windshield and paint dont hold well and chip easily.

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  Looks good parked next to our 1978 280z - 2009 Nissan 370Z
  By Tony & Lesley - June 13 - 1:10 pm

  The car overall is wonderful. The only problems so far are that the seats are made for smaller/thinner people. If you are larger, they may not be comfortable. The access for a "lighter" style battery connection is up under the passenger side console. Not very convenient for plugging in cell phones, etc. The back cargo area is very limited. Our small dogs crate will not fit in there so we cant use the car for traveling. The blind spot in the rear quarter panels on both sides is bad and I have almost changed lanes on top of people twice. Limited rear view. As an every day driver though, it is fun and really turns heads. This is our 3rd Z car and we still have our original, a 1978 280 2 door

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  For the price, y not - 2003 Nissan Sentra
  By jjcc - June 12 - 2:00 am

  i got this car in jan 2003 simply out of necessity. i had a 93 altima that was giving more problems as each day passes. budget was a concern so the cheapest, reliable vehicle was what i was looking for, looked at other sedans like civic and corrola but we stopped in nissan first and got a convinng salesman so we got it. pick up is slow, bumper sags, my nissan dealership likes to rip people off so i will not buy a nissan anytime soon.

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  Love it! - 2004 Nissan Xterra
  By sixactual - June 12 - 2:00 am

  I like almost everything about my XTERRA, except the mileage and the gas guage. You simply can not read the fuel level without turning on the dash lights.

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  Solid Car - 2008 Nissan Altima
  By jay2008 - June 11 - 10:46 pm

  We have this car for almost 2 years without any issues at all, only regular oil changes. Wife loves the car and feels solid on the highway as well as great mpg 30+. Very happy with the purchase and will look at Nissan again for my next car.

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  Very Happy so far - 2010 Nissan Versa
  By John - June 11 - 10:43 pm

  We have only had the car about a month but so far we are very happy with it. We wanted fuel economy, the first tank we got 31.8, not bad for combined city and highway driving. The car is very comfortable. We looked at the Fit, the space with the rear seat folded down is great, but the seats are very hard.

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  pretty fun...for a minivan - 2007 Nissan Quest
  By rhettsmommy - June 11 - 10:06 pm

  im one of those "i will never drive a minivan" people. then i became a parent, and quickly realized that the only way to successfully transport said baby and his entorage was do (gulp) get a bigger car! we looked at toyota and honda before settling on the quest. for the price, it had a lot of the features that cost $10K more in the ohter two brands! not to mention it was by far the best looking...not that hideous girly shape. we also LOVE all the interior room, and the 3.5 engine (same one as the z car) has a lot of get-up-and-go that i totally didnt expect. i enjoy driving it in spite of myself, and my sons car seat goes in and out effortlessly.

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  Excellent first electric vehicle - 2012 Nissan Leaf
  By flymia - June 11 - 5:11 pm

  Have been driving the 2012 Nissan LEAF SV for three months now. So far very impressed and glad to be driving electric. Car is smooth, responsive and has many of the features I would like. My only shortcomings are lack of telescoping steering wheel, poorly designed Carwings telematics with limited functionality, and inability to view % state of charge (2013 model offers this). The car design takes a bit getting used to and offers poor visibility when backing up if not equipped with back up camera. Otherwise a solid choice, great reliability and performance so far. Range varies considerably especially with highway driving drains battery fast (about 65 miles)