Nissan Primastar d'occasion

Nissan's roots go back to 1914 and the DAT car, but the company took its modern name in 1934 and its modern character in the 1960s, when the Datsun 240Z showed the world that a Japanese sports car could be beautiful, affordable and quick all at once.

The Skyline GT-R earned the nickname Godzilla for what it did to Australian touring cars, the Patrol went everywhere, and in 2007 the Qashqai, built in Sunderland, invented the compact crossover that every rival has since copied. In 2010 the Leaf became the first mass-market electric car.

Today Nissan sells the Qashqai, Juke and X-Trail with e-Power hybrid technology, the electric Ariya and the new Leaf, and the Micra reborn as an EV built alongside the Renault 5. The GT-R has bowed out; the company's knack for the well-timed idea has not.