The Nissan is made by Tohatsu .... they are exactly the same motor , the only difference is the decals . Tohatsu wanted to have a more recognizeable name for their motor and contracted to use the Nissan name for the American market . that is why a Nissan motor costs you about a hundred bucks more than the same motor with a Tohatsu decal on the side ... It seems that these days most of the motors are joint ventures .. I have heard all sorts of different variations . One thing I heard is that the Yamaha uses Tohatsu parts on some of their models ...My experiance with Tohatsu comes from the years I spent in alaska on tender boats .. Our skiff had a little 8 horse Tohatsu that ran like a champ .. We never had a bit of trouble with it and it always started on the second pull, even on freezing cold days it would fire right up ... It seemed like their were a lot of Tohatsu motors on little skiffs running around in the fleet .... Their must have been a Tohatsu dealer in Bellingham or Seattle that was trying to get its feet of the ground .... That being said , I went ahead and ordered the Nissan 9.8 4 stroke long shaft today ... the total price is $1770 ....I could have bought a used motor for way less than that , but I dont want to buy someone else's headache . I feel pretty confident I made the right move ... Thanks for all the replies and advice ......Von Warner