Nissan’s early American connection came with William R. Gorham, an American engineer whom the company had inherited from Kubota. The initial design plans and plant facilities for the Nissan car manufacturing were supplied by his company. Moreover, it was under Graham license that the company started manufacturing its early cars, buses and trucks. In fact, it is also said that Gorham was the true founder of the Nissan Motor Company, and the initial engineers at the company thought highly of him.
The connection further was strengthened during the Korean War during which the company came out as the major manufacturer of American army vehicles. Once the war was over, the company expanded rapidly. This led to the rise of Nissan Motors as one of the most rapidly growing car manufacturers in the world at that time and the company has never looked back, ever since.