Nissan

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd, was established in 1933 in Japan. However, it did not start selling vehicles under its own name until 1981. Instead, it sold vehicles under the Datsun moniker: Datsun Sunny, Datsun 280ZX, and Datsun 510.

Beginning in 1981, Nissan began to sell vehicles under its own name. The first car sold under the Nissan name was the Nissan Bluebird. It went on sale in 1982 and was known as the Nissan Stanza in the U.S. Also in the Eighties, Nissan built its first U.S. plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, where it produced such SUVs and trucks like the Nissan Hardbody and Pathfinder. Later the plant would produce such cars as the Altima.

In 1989, Nissan created its Infiniti brand out of the remnants of its merger with Prince Motor Co. back in 1966.

Financial difficulties in the late '80s and '90s drove Nissan to form an alliance with French automaker Renault in 1999. Under CEO Carlos Ghosn, Nissan bounced back in the automotive market with its all-new Altima, Maxima, and new vehicles as the Nissan Murano crossover.

Currently the automaker is reacting to the "softening" of automotive sales, especially in the U.S. but also in Europe. Nissan continues to release new products such as the upcoming Altima coupe and GT-R Skyline. In 2006, General Motors approached Nissan about a possible alliance or even merger. GM later retracted the offer.