Car Brands HQ - Learn about Nissan

The Nissan Motor Company is an automobile manufacturer that produces cars worldwide but is headquartered in Japan. The genesis of this company started largely with the DAT motor group, named after the original company investors: Den, Aoyama, and Takeuchi. In the early 1900′s, DAT produced mostly trucks and few passenger cars. In 1933, Nissan took control of the company and began to produce more smaller automobiles under the Datsun name.

By far, the most famous car to be produced under the Datsun name was the Fairlady, a roadster that was manufactured mostly during the 1960′s. At the time, it competed well with the MG and Triumph sports cars of that same era by offering similar performance at a reduced price.

In the 1950′s, Nissan began to import cars into world markets, including the United States and Australia. Soon after, in the 1980′s, auto plants started to be built in the U.S. to avoid import taxes on their automobiles.

Two of the present-day successes for Nissan include the Titan, a pickup truck that stands alongside many Chevrolet and Ford trucks, and the GT-R, a screamingly-fast sports car that gets the best of the latest Porsche and Ferrari. They are also leading the pack in electric car technology with the new Nissan Leaf, an all-electric car that can run up to 100 miles on a single charge. Nissan also produces a luxury line of cars under the Infinity name.