Dick Scott Nissan is proud to announce that Nissan has produced its one millionth Frontier!  This is an outstanding accomplishment given that it took only 14 years.  Where did the one-millionth Frontier roll off the assembly line? Right here in the U.S., at the Smyrna, TN manufacturing facility.

We would like to honor Nissan's feat by sharing a little bit of the Frontier's many evolutions. Taking a brief trip back in time, we'll reminisce how the Nissan Frontier became the first mainstream pickup in the U.S. and grew to its success today.

It all began 78 years ago, before the Frontier nameplate even existed. Nissan took control of DAT Motor Car Co. and subsequently developed the Datsun automobile marquee to distinguish a new, smaller car from the existing large DAT model, the Datsun 1000.

Nissan imported the Datsun 1000 into the U.S. with a four-cylinder engine and a quarter-ton load capacity in 1959. However, it wound up falling short. Datsun sales, however, quickly went from underwhelming to exciting when the 520 pickup truck hit dealership floors, approximately six years later. It became the top-selling imported pickup truck in America and continued as a market leader through the 1970s.

In 1977, Nissan put out two new trucks, under the Datson marquee: its first half-ton compact pick-up and first extended-cab compact truck. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), Datson trucks were not long for this world. The final Datson-badge-wearing pickup rolled off the assembly line just two years later, in 1979.

Aiming to rein in costs, Nissan moved manufacturing to the U.S. They produced their first pickup in 1983; and in 1997, introduced the first of the one-million Frontier trucks made between then and May 2011.  To put the immensity of this feat into better perspective... that's one-million Frontiers in 14 years!

If you're interested in learning specific details about the 2011 Nissan Frontier, please contact us today at 734-495-1000. Or visit us in person at 42175 Michigan Ave. Canton, MI 48188.