2002? I knew that Nissan was a very early pioneer of the system, but didn't realize it was that early.
Yep it is great. They have really refined it to a great level in the new Nissans. While I was working at the dealership, I decided to give one an in-depth test after going through a training module on it. On my test drive loop I used, I set the cruise at 60 on the freeway, then got off onto a trunk road that the dealership was on about a mile from the freeway. I never touched the brakes all the way back to the dealership. It was kinda freaky that the car slowed down and matched the speed of the car in front of me and kept the distance pretty well. What was really wild was at the red light, the car in front stopped and so did the one I was driving. When the light went green, we both started going again.
A few months later, I had a chance to try out a Maxima with the propilot, that was really crazy, the car pretty much drove itself as long as I kept my hand on the wheel. With my hands off, after about 30 seconds (was on a lightly traveled surface street with a 30 mph limit) the car pulled itself over to the right and stopped. It was beeping and flashing warnings to me, but the system worked surprisingly well. I have driven a few different cars with lane assist, but to me, the Nissan system seemed the least intrusive, but calibration of all the cameras and sensors is a PITA.