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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  BEWARE OF THE TITAN - 2007 Nissan Titan
  By hhrn - March 1 - 11:40 pm

  Bought brand new from dealer in 07. Loyal Nissan owner (have owned no other vehicle). First thing to go bad was rear end (20K mi.), replaced. Then began running rough, stalled and would not run, brought in to Nissan, bad cat. converters, ruined my engine, had brand new engine put in, new cat. converters, and new fuel pump. Now tranny is slipping, and it has brake judder when applying brakes (out of warranty) DO NOT BUY. I have NEVER towed anything with my truck, never put more than 3 sheets of plywood in the back, and NEVER EVER abused my truck. All recommended maintenance performed, oil changed ever 3k miles, etc. I am now looking at a Toyota. WARNING DO NOT BUY!!!!

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  nice but - 2006 Nissan Frontier
  By Henry - March 1 - 8:50 pm

  I only had this car for a couple of days but I can tell you its a nice medium truck but its not all it could be. For example the ride its horrible,very stiff to the point that i thougth it had something broken. It doesnt help that nissan uses the worst tires in the market, Generals. The gas mileage is between two or three miles below their estimate so prepare for it. theres no excuse that we are in the year 2006 and this car has these flaws

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  my murano - 2005 Nissan Murano
  By KEVIN - March 1 - 7:10 pm

  at the timne i am writing this i have had my murano for 4 weeks ..i am extremely pleased with it the ride & handeling are fantastic the awd is great in the snow..i would highly recommend this vehicle to anyone

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  totally happy - 2009 Nissan Murano
  By romband - March 1 - 4:03 pm

  well first of all im glad i got the murano 2009...my wife and i was planning to buy a hilander but we went to nissan first and that was it baby, never get the chance to test drive the toyota highlander..im very happy with this car.when im at work i cant wait to go home and drive...it drive so smothhhhhhhhhhhh interior is beauty i fell like im inside the airplane....

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  This is a great car - 2001 Nissan Pathfinder
  By thedawk - March 1 - 9:36 am

  My family and I love this car. It is absolutely great for taking on a trip. There seems to be plenty of room for a small family and any gear you want to take with you. I think this is the most comfortable car I have ever owned. We had a 95 pathfinder before this one and this one is 100% better. I pulled a 3500 lb. load with it and it handled it great. I dont have any problems with the rear seat being too small, but we have only one kid back there. This car is the perfect size, large enough to pack a family in and travel but small enough to drive around town easily and park easily.

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  I love Frontiers - 2001 Nissan Frontier
  By mutants-dad - March 1 - 7:53 am

  I love this truck. Ive had no maintenance problems with it. It hauls what I need it to haul. The price was right and it got great mileage for a truck. It was built so tough that when I was involved in an accident with a dumb kid driving a Sequoia my little truck got the better of that big SUV.

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  Everything here! - 2007 Nissan Murano
  By Deedum - March 1 - 7:36 am

  Finally, everything I have been waiting for and I was told there is no perfect vehicle. Nissan had proved them wrong, this is as close as it gets to perfect for me! Even more than I hope to find! I still have to pinch myself!

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  40 mpg inexpensive commuter - 2009 Nissan Versa
  By Friederich - March 1 - 3:33 am

  I bought this car last December. I have a blue 1.6 sedan, manual transmission; AC & ABS. That is all you need!!!...In this consumer oriented society, we have gotten used to wasting money...well I commute every day 37 miles each way...in city traffic. My Versa just turned 3K and my fuel average is 40 mpg!!! so on a cost per mile basis this is as good as it gets...sure I had to spend $200 bucks to install a nice CD & HD radio, but the car already came with 4 speakers and antenna pre-wired. So far the car has been absolutely trouble free...yes I have to exercise my arm just a bit to manually lower the window at drive thrus and garage gates...and I had to manually adjust my side view mirror

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  10....hands down the best - 2002 Nissan Sentra
  By tj - March 1 - 2:06 am

  its a 10. the best car ive ever driven.

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  2003 Altima 2.5s - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By John - March 1 - 1:26 am

  I just bought my Altima used. After having the car for a month now I can say that all works very well with the power, handling and comfort. I love the power moon roof and the stereo is very good too. I found out that the turning radius is not all that good so you need to do a 3 point turn for many U turns that you need to make. The big problem I found is even a simple snow fall makes the car handle very badly and is quite dangerous even with good tires.