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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  Awesome Ride - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By jerrytoledo - July 27 - 12:36 pm

  Awesome ride excellent steering, in and out of parking lots, quick on the freeway through traffic and on the streets great breaking smooth, control have easy access. We have a child and she loves the 3rd row seat kind of private, easy access to rear storage area for groceries from the exterior or interiors. Many electric plugs for games, DVD players etc great for kids.

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  Great SUV - 2002 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Patel - July 26 - 8:40 pm

  I test drove most of the SUVs - nothing came close. No wonder it was named $wheeler of the year by 4wheeler magazine. I t performs great in bad roads and great for off roading! Oh - it has a fantastic 6 disc CD player with front CD loading system - I dont think I have seen it with other manufacturers!

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  The Nice Max - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By Dylan Reed - July 26 - 10:33 am

  The Maxima is one of the hottest cars on the road.Although critics say that you pay a premium price w/o a premium name plate,who cares about a name plate.Part of my attraction to the car is that not many 3.5 SE are on the road. I would take this car over a 3 series BMW any day of the week.The Maxima is one of the best "values" currently on the market.The only other car I would choose over the Maxima would be the Acura TL, but at $10,000 more, there is hardly any comparison in price to value. The reliability is unbelievable.I would challenge any car, BMW, Benz, Lexus included to a durability and relibility test.If you want nameplate get a BMW or Benz, want value buy a Maxima!

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  Awesome - 2014 Nissan Versa Note
  By nissan_rocks - July 26 - 2:05 am

  Great fuel economy, surprisingly quiet for a car in this category, road noise to a minimum, very smooth due to the CVT. Huge rear passenger space and good cargo space, usually hard to get both but the Versa has it.

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  So Far So Great update again - 2010 Nissan Altima
  By grampa - July 25 - 9:10 am

  Now have over 12,000 miles on our Altima in about 6 months since purchase. Still totally happy with it. Mileage, comfort, performance, etc. One of the best looking cars on the road.

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  Glad I bought it - 2009 Nissan Rogue
  By margokop - July 25 - 1:20 am

  I was driving a 2002 Toyota Highlander which I loved, but was ready for something a little smaller with better gas mileage. I thought I would end up with the toyota rav 4 or honda crv, but there were things about each of them I didnt like..I didnt even know Nissan had the rogue model, and then I saw it in the paper one day, so I went to the dealer and drove the sl model, liked the features, the price was competitive, it felt more solid and quiet than the toyota and hondas I tried. It has been just 3 weeks and I really like it.

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  Great Ride! - 2006 Nissan Maxima
  By CajunMaximaCpl - July 24 - 7:20 am

  The wife and I took delivery of our 06 Maxima SL (pearl white, tan leather, and functional sunroof - LOADED) after driving numerous family sedans. Came close to deciding on the 06 Altima (V6) UNTIL we drove the Maxima -- it sold itself! Awesome looks and drives like a dream. Our deal was 2% over invoice, which came out to be approx. $560 over -- very pleased with that deal! Our salesman was never, ever pushy and let us make our own decision about buying a vehicle and the time we took to decide.

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  Whats not to like. - 2001 Nissan Maxima
  By epedal - July 23 - 10:00 am

  The car performs well, corners and accelerates proudly. People look at and like to look at this car. You will be the preferred driver for going out to lunch though.

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  Truck Perfection - 2004 Nissan Titan
  By ArmyinAtlanta - July 23 - 7:33 am

  Wife bought me this truck for Christmas...have studied the entire truck market for nearly a year...reading, driving, etc...this may well be the closest to truck perfection you will find...still new so I will wait a while but initial impression is awesome...it kinda looks like Nissan looked throughout the market and then did one better in virtually all areas of design...wife got $7,000 off MSRP...

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  First 6k miles - 2009 Nissan Titan
  By hcanismo - July 23 - 2:40 am

  This is my third Nissan pickup. #1 was a 2005 Titan that had terrible mileage and many squeaks, rattles, and vibrations. #2 was a 2007 Frontier NISMO 4x4 which was very reliable, avg mpg was 17.5-18 with a best of 24mpg and a worst of 11mpg towing. NISMO had lots of great features with an excellent stock radio (with the upgraded radio package- the base stereo is terrible). This 2009 Titan Pro4X is a bigger version of my great NISMO 4x4- very flexy suspension, locking diff, great stereo, powerful Hemi-eating engine (yes the Frontier can beat a Hemi), tows well, rides very nice, very reliable, factory spray-on bedliner with rail system, etc. 14.5-15.5 mpg avg before first oil change.