But do you know what it means?

[Optimist]

Yes I searched but I didn’t see the answer .. & just had to know.

Nissan: Derived from the phrase Nissan snagyo, which means “Japanese Industry”.

[Gearman1987]

According to a friend of mine from the orient who does business in Japan and travels there quite frequently, and is a Nissan nut too: the name Nissan is more commonly boiled down to mean "Japanese Made" which is pretty much the same as the literal translation of "Japanese Industry".

[IMADOGMAN]

Nissan is a Japanese automobile maker. From 1932 to 1983, they also used the trademark Datsun. Their head offices are in the Ginza area of Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Nissan plans to move their headquarters to Yokohama, Kanagawa by 2010; the headquarters will start construction in 2007.

Nissan used to be Japan's second-largest car company, after Toyota, but it has dropped to third in size after Honda. Due to financial problems throughout the 1990s (to the point where most believe an American company in a similarly bad financial state would have ceased trading), the French company Renault took a large shareholding in the company and installed Carlos Ghosn as president, the first non-Japanese person to run a Japanese car company (Mazda was run by an American, Mark Fields—now run by Lewis Booth of England—and Mitsubishi was run by a German, Rolf Eckrodt). Under Ghosn's "Nissan Revival Plan", Nissan has rebounded in what many leading economists consider to be one of the most spectacular corporate turnarounds in history, catapulting Nissan to record profits and a dramatic revitalization of both its Nissan and Infiniti model line-ups. Ghosn has since been idolized as a national hero in Japan as a symbol of the strength of the currently ailing Japanese economy, with Ghosn and the Nissan revival story prominently featured in Japanese manga and popular culture. His achievements in revitalizing the Japanese company have been noted by Emperor Akihito, who awarded him the Japan Medal with Blue Ribbon in 2004.

Nissan is also noted for being one of the world's leading manufacturers of automobile engines, with its VQ 3.5 L V6 engine appearing on "Ward's 10 Best Engines" for 11 straight years - every year since the award's inception.




History
In 1914, the Kwaishinsha Motorcar Works established three years earlier, in Azabu-Hiroo District in Tokyo, built the first DAT. The new car's name being the acronym of the company's partners' surnames:

Kenjiro Den
Rokuro Aoyama
Meitaro TakeuchiThe Works was renamed to Kwaishinsha Motorcar Co. in 1918, and again, in 1925, to DAT Motorcar Co.


The next year, the Tokyo-based company merged with the Osaka-based Jitsuyo Jidosha Co., Ltd. , Jitsuyō Jidōsha Seikoku Kabushiki Gaisha) (established 1919) as DAT Automobile Manufacturing Co. Ltd. , Dat Jidosha Seizo Kabushiki-Kaisha) in Osaka until 1932. In 1931, the first DATSON—meaning "Son of DAT"—was produced. However, the last syllable was changed to "sun", because "son" also means "loss" in Japanese.

If you care to read more:
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Nissan

[buzzkillwill]

Cool info...

I didn't know the 3.5 has been around for 11 years. I thought the 3.0 was around until about 98 or so? Either way, its V-6 won the award forever years in a row.

[SickWhip]

Good info!

[SuperT]

Interesting read.. stuff I never knew!

[Gig'em]

Yeah, thats also the reason people around here tell me I'm driving a French truck.

[ss350z]

This thread reminds me of an old joke my dad once told me.


A japanese car conglomerate was working hard month after month to come up with a new name for its line of automobiles. After many names that didn't work, they decided to hire a German automobile consultant, since the Germans were the top automobile engineers. The Japanese, being in a hurry told the german consultant that they needed a new name in three days, to which he responded "dat soon".

[SickWhip]

thats a good one, never heard it!

[Gearman1987]

Great read - thanks for the history.

[SuperT]

There's no denying that the French have a big stake in Nissan. I may be imagining it, but after seeing the Puegeots, Renaults and other French cars in Paris a couple of years ago, I seem to notice more French design cues in the Nissan styling. The current grille's in the Altima/Maxima with all the teeth, the curved roofline of the Titan that reminds me of a Renault delivery van (among other things). Not that it's a bad thing. I've always been one to gravitate towards the slightly unusual and would be truly flattered if someone said to me "wow, I've never seen one of those". My goal is to drive something different. The Titan sure meets that requirement!!

[Yeti77]

Interesting read on a rainy afternoon. Thanks.

[ss350z]

Can anyone post any good links to websites with Nissan/Datsun history that they may know about?

[FluxCubby]

Originally Posted by ss350z

Can anyone post any good links to websites with Nissan/Datsun history that they may know about?

Here you go, straight off www.nissanusa.com

http://www.nissanusa.com/insideNissa...ng/0,,,00.html

[Squid]

Here is a great Datsun site with one heck of History/pictorial of the different vehicles throughout the long history. 1911 to 1982.
http://www.ratdat.com/





Past and current models
Datsun
Datsun 100A
Datsun 120Y
Datsun 140J
Datsun 180B
Datsun 200L
Datsun 210
Datsun 240C
Datsun 240Z (1969)
Datsun 260C
Datsun 260Z
Datsun 280Z
Datsun 510 Sedan (1968-1973)
Datsun 1200 Sedan (1958)
Datsun 1300 Pick up
Datsun 1500, 1600, 2000 Roadster (1962-1970)
Datsun B210
Datsun Bluebird (1962)
Datsun King Cab Truck
Datsun Patrol (1962)
Datsun SPL 210 (1960)
Datsun Truck (1959)
Nissan
Nissan 100NX
Nissan 200SX (US 2-door Sentra)
Nissan 300ZX (Z31, Z32)
Nissan 350Z (Z33)
Nissan Almera
Nissan Altima
Nissan Armada
Nissan Auster
Nissan Bluebird
Nissan Cedric
Nissan Cefiro
Nissan Cherry
Nissan Cima
Nissan Elgrand
Nissan Fairlady
Nissan Figaro
Nissan Frontier
Nissan Gazelle
Nissan Hardbody Truck
Nissan Kubistar
Nissan Laurel
Nissan Leopard
Nissan Maxima
Nissan Multi
Nissan Murano
Nissan Micra
Nissan Moco, a Keicar
Nissan NX2000
Nissan NX1600
Nissan Patrol/Safari
Nissan Pathfinder
Nissan Pintara
Nissan Prairie
Nissan Primastar
Nissan Primera
Nissan Pulsar
Nissan Quest
Nissan Sentra
Nissan Silvia/180SX/200SX/240SX
Nissan Skyline
Nissan Skyline GT-R
Nissan Stanza
Nissan Stanza Wagon
Nissan Sunny
Nissan Teana
Nissan Terrano
Nissan Terrano II
Nissan Titan
Nissan Urvan
Nissan Vanette
Nissan Violet
Nissan Wingroad
Nissan X-Trail
Nissan Xterra