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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  Buyer Beware... - 2005 Nissan 350Z
  By DLM_So Cal - March 20 - 5:13 pm

  IÂ’ve read just about every post on the Nissan 350Z out here and have concluded that if indeed you are in the market for a sports car like this you should check out some of the user sites. There you will find car owners who have been thrilled or anything but impressed with the car. I owned a 350Z and was thrilled to get rid of it. Within eight thousand miles it needed new front tires. At eightteen thousand miles I brought new brakes and rotors. From the grease smears on the windows to the leather seats showing wear within four months. Nissan really has some problems to solve. The Bose system is anything but impressive, if you donÂ’t believe me, ask the people at Bose. I was disapointed Nissan lost my business.

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  The Platinum is not worth the $$$ - 2010 Nissan Armada
  By Art C. - March 18 - 12:23 am

  I am coming from a 2006 Armada, so my expectations were high with the 2010 model. I am disappointed. The main reason I went with Platinum was due to the folding mirror option for my single garage. This needs to be on Titanium models. The instrument cluster was redesigned it the speedometer is off to the right and hard to read. The Sound/Nav system is poorly designed (read below). After 3000 miles, I am hearing sounds out of the chassis when I go over speed bumps -- I put 50K miles on my 06 and never heard that sound before. The transmission also seems to make a more significant "clunk" when it goes in or out of gear. For a $50K+ vehicle, I should get more for my $. 13 mi/gal stinks

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  Burning Oil-Nissan says to bad. - 2006 Nissan Altima
  By Antonino Ferrara - March 11 - 11:06 am

  I purchased this vehicle 10 months ago. About a month later I received a letter from Nissan that some of the 2006 Altimas 2.5S were catching on fire due to mechanical problems that was causing the car to burn a large amount of oil and to keep on checking and add oil to the vehicle until they could came up with a solution. Finally 8 months later there was a recall on it and to bring the car to the dealership. There I was complaining that the car was burning about 2 qt of oil every 3,500 miles And I was told by the service manager that it is normal for the car to burn that much oil and for something to be wrong with the car it has to burn 1 qt of oil every 700 miles. Nissan headquarters gave same ans.

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  I test drove it and walked away - 2016 Nissan Frontier
  By David Jewell - March 11 - 9:30 am

  This is a nice mid sized truck, however the brake pedal is very sponge and goes down almost to the floor. We checked with the service manager and said the brakes are designed that way. Also I felt the controls were confusing, remembering I did not have a chance to really study them. Ill keep my Silverado.

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  Biggest mistake of my life - 2005 Nissan Frontier
  By E - March 8 - 6:50 pm

  I had high hopes for this truck when I got it. It was my first brand new vehicle. From the very first day I had problems with it. Ranging from a broken steering column to bad tires leaky windshield, brake problems and the list goes on. I have lost countless hours of work going to get it fixed for a bunch of different reasons. My truck currently has 29,000 miles and doesnt work. Ive gone through 3 different batteries. The truck turns off while driving or it wont turn on at all. I was getting charged over $1000 to replace abs module but it looks like that isnt the problem or it may be a problem but it seems that it is another problem why it wont turn on.

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  CVT needs work - 2007 Nissan Maxima
  By rgc - March 8 - 8:23 am

  Traded in my 2004 Maxima and in all honesty I should have kept it. The CVT was supposed to increase performance and fuel economy. Didnt do either. I get fewer MPG and the CVT makes the car very unresponsive off the line. Although, I must admit my last Maxima got better gas mileage with 75K miles on it than new. Couple of times I thought I was going to be run over cause the trans wouldnt go! I have never owned a car that doesnt move, for about a second, when you stomp on the gas, its scarey.

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  My Quest Nightmare! - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By Sassi - March 8 - 2:00 am

  Very dissappointed! I think its been in the shop as much as its been driven! Entire harness had to be replaced, took 3 months for them to even get one! and that was after I filed a complaint with the BBB. Wouldnt go in park 2 days after I bought it, gear shift came off in service managers hand! Shoved and bruised by sliding door! Im thinking, I should not be hating a van I paid so much money for! Always trusted Nissan until now, they need to replace this van, so I can get the true feeling of it and my moneys worth!

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  Buy anything but this vehicle - 2004 Nissan Armada
  By mc - March 5 - 8:46 am

  This is by far the worst vehicle I have ever owned. In the two years I have owned it, it has been in the shop 12 times for rattles, 3 times for brakes (they keep patching them and telling me Nissan wont allow them to change them until they get really bad because of lack of parts), and numerous other times for various other problems. I plan on replacing it with a reliable vehicle soon. I will never own another Nissan.

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  Pretty from the outside ugly in the insi - 2005 Nissan Altima
  By Mayra - March 1 - 8:46 pm

  Well let start off by saying that this car is a very nice lookin one and I could have not been any happier to buy the car. As long as I can remember when I first saw it..I was like "wow I have to get one of those!!" But now that I own one; its so different from what I really thought it was ......to what it really is. Not only this car made so cheap from the inside and but it also cheap from the outside. Our top of the line "Bose" radio hasnt been working right. Our car has shut off completely while we are driving on the road. Has Nissan fixed it? Ya like 5 times. But guess what it still happens. Many our car was just one bad apple. I should have stuck with Honda.

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  Over the top - 2003 Nissan Murano
  By SavannahBlue - February 26 - 10:00 am

  Now that the Murano is over 1 year old, Im not as thrilled with it as I was initially. The roar of the sunroof makes it unuseable. The air vibrations are extemely uncomfortable. Ive replaced the condensor in the AC already. Overall...like it, dont love it anymore.