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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  My Third Maxima - 1995 Nissan Maxima
  By Mandingo - June 26 - 10:00 am

  Great Car have always loved the maxima

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  Driver Makes the Gas Mileage - 2002 Nissan Frontier
  By diffie - June 26 - 10:00 am

  Mechanically perfect and absolutely reliable, this 3800-lb truck w/ 3 adults, a pop-up camper, and other gear went from Dallas to the mountains above Sante Fe. Plenty of power to pull this 6500-lb GVW up to 11,000 ft. 15mpg in the steep parts, 17mpg in the prairie when towing. 20mpg when driving sans trailer. The only thing I do not like about this truck is that I paid too much for it because 3 week later these trucks were discounted by $3000. I was not happy with my dealer... Trophy Nissan of Dallas. Ill not shop there any more.

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  Great Truck!! - 2007 Nissan Titan
  By E. Johnson - June 26 - 7:06 am

  I have owned Nissan trucks in the past; however, this is by far the best truck they have ever built. I had a Chevy Silverado before purchasing this truck so I test drove the new ones before buying the Titan. This truck has so much more muscle that I had to get it. It converted an old Chevy dog like me back to a Nissan Titan fan.

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  Very pleased. - 2010 Nissan Rogue
  By John Franklin - June 26 - 7:06 am

  We had looked at several SUVs which would give us AWD as well as decent mileage. We had never owned a Nissan before and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the ride, quiet, comfort and mileage projections. We also test drove the Rav-4, Tuscon and Santa-Fe and the Rogue outdid them all in one way or another.

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  More than i expected - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Jay - June 26 - 2:30 am

  The new 2005 pathfinder. i think, is the best redesign of any vehicle I have seen in years. Looks great, handles great, very spacious...of course, being an SUV with 270HP and 4500 lbs, it is pretty mediocre on gas mileage...love to drive it and get alot of looks from passerbys. Get the SE model at the least with Bose stereo, comfort and premium packages...well worth it. Got an incredible end of model year deal as well....

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  Shame on you! - 2002 Nissan Maxima
  By Rush - June 25 - 11:23 pm

  Motor Trend just called their long term Nissan Maxima basically "the budget BMW 5 Series" and that was with the 222HP 3.0L V-6 engine! Imagine how much better it must feel with the 255 HP 3.5L V-6 engine....Why so many hateful reviews? Why great reviews scoring about 5? WHATS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE????? 14.4 1/4 miles can only be achieved by 8 cylinder 5 series BMWs....Besides the V-6 has been rated many times as one of the "Worlds Best".

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  Recommends 1997 Nissan Altima - 1997 Nissan Altima
  By Marcus - June 25 - 3:26 pm

  This car has been a joy to own and drive. The interior design provides clear vision to the driver. It drives smoothly and has never left me sitting on the side of the road. In fact, the only problem Ive had is when the alternator went out at 75,000 miles. This car is large enough to feel safe, and gets good gas mileage for a 3000 pound car.

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  Love the POWER!!! - 2013 Nissan Altima
  By cvtfan - June 25 - 4:20 am

  I simply love driving this car! The POWER in the 3.5 Altima is great, and CVT makes it even better. After test driving the new Camry SE V6, which in my opinion is very ugly on the outside, and was more money for less equipment, I decided to go with the new Altima. Remote start, push start, Navigation, and the seats are also extremely comfortable.

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  very impressive - 2005 Nissan Xterra
  By dcphotoshoot - June 25 - 12:33 am

  My previous vehicle was a 1999 Pathfinder which had 165,000 miles. The new pathfinder is more a city SUV, so I opted for the Xterra. What a good choice I made. Same fuel economy with alot more power than the previous pathfinder. Love it.

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  Z Owner - 2005 Nissan 350Z
  By twan79 - June 24 - 9:10 pm

  The car is amazingly fun to drive for the cost. There is not a better car within the 40K and below range for the money. The car still excites me.