Automotive Recyclers Association - Archive

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Nissan Cars

Nissan, like many other famous car manufacturers, was born in Japan. As with other marques sharing its homeland, this is a brand that is known for its vehicles being crafted with an emphasis on performance and edgy style. The company has a broad lineup of vehicles, and it includes family sedans, sport coupes, minivans, SUVs, and trucks.

The year 1933 is when the automaker first got its start, and originally it was called the Jidosha Seico Co., Ltd. The year following, the company merged with another manufacturer from Japan, and the newly formed entity was then christened Nissan Motor Company, Ltd. Initially, Nissan vehicles were marketed under the Datsun brand, and the first of these were built in 1934. After the war, a worldwide presence of this brand was felt, and it built a partnership with the U.K.-based Austin Motor Co. which established the company within the United States. In 1958, American shores saw the first Datsuns.

Nissan merged with Prince Motor Company in the '60s, and this was a union that helped the Asian manufacturer to start creating vehicles that were more focused on providing luxury. The Datsun 510 was the first vehicle styled particularly for the U.S. market, and nearly towards the end of the decade, the company had exports of its vehicles ranging over the 1 million mark. The Datsun brand rose to its highest prominence during the 1970s solely based on the popularity of its model 240Z sports car. An inline six-cylinder engine powered the vehicle, and the car happened to be coveted for its unique blend of the elements of performance, style, and affordability. At the close of the ‘70s, the total number of vehicle exports by the automaker had easily went past the 10 million mark.

Nissan shelved the name of Datsun in 1981, and it began to use the moniker Nissan in its sale of vehicles across markets worldwide. Also, in the 1980s, the company launched what was called Nismo, a tuning division, for developing vehicles and accessories that were performance-oriented. The construction of its Tennessee-based plant brought the production of the Nissan brand, finally, to American shores.

Nissan’s had a rise in its fortunes during the early '90s. This was all thanks to cars such as the 300ZX, Sentra, and Maxima, and these cars quickly became known as “fun-to-drive cars.” Although it was a booming trend, it didn’t last long, and Nissan’s offerings was of mainly anonymous vehicles by the late ‘90s. And so, the future of the company started to seem uncertain.

Nissan bounced back, with a powerful punch at that, just after the beginning of the new century. It released a new design for the Altima and Sentra, and they were very well-received by auto buyers. They also introduced new models such as the Armada and Titan. In 1999, they made an alliance with a European automaker, Renault, and this of course helped to bump the company’s finances in the right direction. Today, the Nissan brand is known for producing a wide variety of vehicles that can easily contend with some of the best automobiles out there in terms of style, quality, performance, and overall dependability.