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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  the b man - 2004 Nissan Sentra
  By The B Man - September 5 - 7:46 am

  My Sentra now has 64k miles and the only problem Ive ever had was the seat material that ripped 4 times and I has it replaced under Nissans warranty. The back seat is so tight that you should consider offering someone a ride back there. The 30 MPG on the highway is great and it works great for me, since I just use this car on my daily commute. Cheap and reliable transportation.

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  Nissan failed to act - 2004 Nissan 350Z
  By bikerjesse - September 5 - 2:00 am

  LOVE my z! Nissan should have listened to buyers of 03s re the HORRIBLE radio. Some wind noise at high speeds, but this is not a Mercedes. Fun to drive, looks GREAT! $30k cars should come with decent radios.

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  I think its a lemon - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By susan persina - September 5 - 2:00 am

  I have had problems since I hit 17000 in milage. Car wont start up and had to have it towed 3 times aready. First time I was told the car had 2 recalls and they fixed them And the problem seems to be gone. Next times same problems and had to be towed again. Pinebelt refused to fix it and told me to go back to the dealer I bought it from. I had to pay extra to have it towed 60.00 which I dont feel I should have to pay. Then they tell you the car is flooded. I now have ordered a magnetic signs for the car that say this car is a lemon and inform people of all the recalls.

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  Hand-me-down - 1995 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Brandi - September 4 - 8:10 am

  I got my Pathfinder from my mother, it was her 2nd and shes currently on her 3rd, when my Ford completely broke down. I absolutely love this car! My parents drove it for 5 years before I got it. I love the way it looks and drives, very tough. I have only had a couple problems with it, had to get the transmissiong rebuilt, new wiring harness for the mass airflow sensor, and my tach doesnt work, some sensor is out. I also have some funny things happen in cold weather, the door locks start locking whenever they want. Nothing else too major. I have put like 38,001 miles on it since I got it and its still awesome!

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  Great SUV for the Money - 2006 Nissan Pathfinder
  By ustbond - September 4 - 6:43 am

  We bought our new Pathfinder after a year and a half of torture in a Durango...ahhhh! What a great ride, very smooth. Engine is o.k., but I like the HEMI better(only thing I like on the Durango), but the Pathfinder has enough. Interior is well laid out, just wish they used better quality "wood" which is actually plastic, be careful, it scratches easily. We bought the car and 2 days later went on a 2500 mile road trip, (wife, daughter, the dog and I) and the Pathfinder was GREAT! The seats are very comfortable! I only wish I got the NAV. It also has an iPod interface which I did not know about until it was too late, wish I got it also. I would recommend car over any other in its class.

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  Gray Nissan Pathy - 1995 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Daytona - September 4 - 2:03 am

  After my 2004 Ranger 4wd stepside was totaled by a bread truck while parked on the side of the road, I needed a vehicle asap and ran into a private owner that wanted to get rid of his 1995 4wd Nissan Pathfinder LE. Bought it with 145,000 and in good shape. It did need some TLC, other than that it has been an AMAZING purchase. Taken it camping, snow boarding and road trips. When I first got it, it only got 14mpg :( But after giving it a good tune up, swapping all fluids (diffs,transfer case etc.) to synthetic and newer exhaust I now get 20mpg :) Its a SOLID well built chassis, with some decent lux items,decent driver feed back and solid braking. A/C and heater works great!! Great SUV!!

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  ONE BAD MAX - 2002 Nissan Maxima
  By Dorsey - September 3 - 10:00 am

  VERY NICE CAR,YOU WILL LOVE TO DRIVE THIS CAR FAST....

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  Heres the thing... - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By depmodealex - September 2 - 5:10 am

  People complain about reliability..heres what I do. The tranny/radiator problem? I spent $200 bucks and PREVENTED the $6,000 failure by replacing the radiator myself. The problem with the secondary timing chains making a LOUD whining noise when you accelerate? Rather than pay Nissan $2000 to fix it, I paid $110 AT the dealer for the parts (which they already have packaged together because its such a common problem with their VQ engines...which are in over 10 million vehicles, so theyre NEVER going to do a recall) and fixed it myself. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Spending $400 bucks is better than $7000. Maintain your cars people, dont [non-permissible content removed] when you can prevent this

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  Overall a Good Vehicle - 2010 Nissan Rogue
  By Christina - September 2 - 2:23 am

  We looked at many different vehicles and thought the Rogue had the best ride. Very smooth. Feels like youre driving a car versus a truck. AWD is great in the winter. The only thing so far I am NOT HAPPY about is the rusted muffler. I only purchased the car 8 months ago and already the muffler is rusting! This started only a few months after the car was purchased. This upsets me b/c you can see the rusty muffler. It doesnt even look like the car is new anymore because of that. Asked the dealership about it, and they blamed it on the weather. I might have accepted that excuse if it went through a few more winters (and not 4 months worth) before rusting.

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  Rock solid car - 1999 Nissan Maxima
  By CTmaxima - September 2 - 2:00 am

  Bought 1 yr old with 40k, 10 yrs later with 210k all I have had to do was replace rubber, pads, the occasional caliper, and the starter. Switches and gauges all still functioning normally,but intermittently lose console lighting for AC/Radio and the antenna motor died. Fun to drive with plenty of power, I only wish I had gotten the manual transmission.