The Nissan brand has a storied history of providing the US market with a wide variety of striking an exciting lineup of cars, trucks, minivans and sport utility vehicles. The brand can trace its origins to a decision made by the Nissan Motor Company in the early 1980s. At the time, Nissan was known under the brand name “Datsun.” Concerned with not being able to benefit from Datsun’s brand equity due to the difference in corporate names, Nissan Motor Company created a campaign to have all Datsun vehicles gradually rebranded as Nissans throughout the early to mid-1980s. During this period, Datsun-badged vehicles were fitted with smaller “Nissan” or “Datsun by Nissan” badges. After 1984, the Datsun badge ceased to exist in all Datsun vehicles became Nissans.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Nissan produced a number of sporty and technologically advanced vehicles, including the 300ZX performance coupe. The 300ZX grew into a powerful twin turbocharged high-performance machine that was on par with many offerings from competing European brands. After a brief hiatus in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the 300ZX was resurrected as the 350Z, evolving later on into the more powerful 370Z sports coupe. The rest of Nissan’s lineup includes a full selection of well-rounded, performance-oriented sedans, including the mid-size entry-level Altima and the upscale Maxima, touted at various points of its history as a “four-door sports car.”
Nissan also offered a continuous line of compact and mid-sized pickup trucks for the U.S. market. In 2004, Nissan unveiled the Titan, the brand’s first full-size pickup truck designed for the U.S. market. Although the Titan was intended to compete with established full-size pickup trucks such as the Chevy Silverado, Dodge Ram and Ford F-150, the Titan did not feature as many cab and bed configurations as the aforementioned American offerings, nor did it offer the wide variety of powertrains offered by these vehicles. The Titan also serves as the platform upon which the full-size Nissan Armada sport utility vehicle and the Nissan NV-Series full-size cargo vans are based on.
Nissans are generally known for their reliability and overall longevity, but over the course of long-term vehicle ownership, owners may be faced with the necessity of carrying out major automotive repairs. These repairs can cost up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have taken care of by a skilled mechanic. In most cases, owners have a new car warranty or a limited used car warranty to fall back on when it comes to major powertrain repairs. Unfortunately, these warranties don’t last long enough for owners to be able to cover major issues such as engine and transmission replacements under such coverage. In the end, most owners will have to take care of these expenses out of their own pockets, placing a major strain on their own budgets in the process.
An extended warranty can help prevent owners from having to pay out-of-pocket for major automotive repairs after their original warranties expire. Having an extended warranty will save owners of to hundreds of even thousands of dollars on engine repairs, transmission replacements and other repairs involving major powertrain components. Most extended warranties work by having the owner file a repair claim for qualifying mechanical repairs. Afterwards, the company that handles the extended warranty coverage will take care of most, if not all of the repair costs involved. In most cases, the only out-of-pocket expense the owner has to cover is the deductible.