our beloved Z, is it becoming better or worse?

[BuDavid]

this topic is common between Z addicts, I personally experienced it, "when you use a Z, and taste the 1st generation, you wont ever like to drive other generations", those words are coming from a mouth of almost every Z owner that had an S30..

as you can see in the photos how the Z "developed"!

as far as I heared, that the earliest design of the Z was inspired from the Italian sports cars on the hands of an Italian designer (not sure of that info) and it ended up with an Indian designer?? is it true?

in my opinion, the Z was getting more ugly after each generation, loosing its taste, the long bonnet, the grills on it and the body trim! dimensions and visibility!

it was perfected while the industry wasn't that accurate and much improved as now.. but unfortunately, our new Z's are made from plastic, plastic, plastic and plastic! ok I forgot the iron which is extremely flat with almost no details!

does anybody agree? can'y Nissan dedicate a real Z generation to be cllected again, loved again and be the most sold model like older classic Z's?

cheers!

6-z31.bmp

[alissa280z]

I also perfer Gen 1 Z's, as I am sure many of us do on here. Besides the plastic on the 350Z, I think it's better than the gen 2s and 3s. So In my opinion Zs have gone from Good to worse to a little bit better. I hope Nissan does the next Gen Zs with more classic style!

[BuDavid]

well, I hope that you mentioned that when I was saying plastic, plastic and plastic I meant that plastic inside, outside and under the hood!

u know, even the headlight are made from plastic which is monted on top of the plastic bumper+spoiler in one piece! urrg!

I guess after 15 years they'll make a Z in whole one piece! made of plastic for sure!

I hate plastic, I'm considering to make cast metal from the rear light molding, and plate it with chrome! I just want to eliminate the plastic as much as I can!

[=Enigma=]

IMHO the first gen, or S30's are the best looking of all. My second choice would be a Z32, twin turbo if I could find one. I really don't care for any of the others (S130, Z31, Z33).

[ddezso]

I'd like to see the next wave of new Z's take on a retro look like they just did with the Mustang. I'd buy one for sure.

[=Resurected280=]

In my opinion as soon as the S30 Z cars became Nissans and took on the ZX at the end of their name the real "Z" cars that we all know died. The fact that the 350Z is not called the 350ZX, to me, is an error on Nissan's part, because if you park these two next to each other no one would ever relate the two (except for maybe the center gauge pods). Park a 350Z next to a Z31 or a Z32 on the other hand and there are some similarities.

If you ask me, if Nissan wanted to recreate the original Z car they should have built something like a hardtop version of the Honda S2000 or Pontiac's upcoming turbo Solstice. That would have gotten me running to the dealership and would have brought the Z back into the "true" sports car catagory where it belongs.

Sorry for the little soapbox speech but thats my 2 cents =)

[Fun_in_my_z]

I like the first gens the best as well. But i also like the others, i want a Z of every generation!

[v_balge]

I'm a Datsun/Nissan fan & like them all. I'd like to have one of each.

My dream garage:

1970 240z

1978 Black Pearl

1980 280zx Limited Edition

1840 300zx Limited Edition

1990 300zx TT

2006 350z Roadster

[TomoHawk]

IMO, it was economics, and too MUCH engineering that caused the 350 to look like it does. Some guy decided that the wind tunnel wants a blunt nose, so they gave it one. The accountants said it has to be lighter, so they took out the metal, and made it shorter(so the blunt nose will fit).Throw in some guy that keeps saying "This is the 21st century! Make it look, feel & drive like something else, not something "OLD.":(

[alternativez]

Well, BuDavid, I'm of the school of thought that much of the design influence came from the German industrial designer Albrecht Goertz, who worked extensively with BMW on the 507 roadster. Some say he did a little for Porsche also. The coupe influences also came from the popularity of the Jag XKE and the fears of the day surrounding the dangers of convertibles. The argument of the design genesis also involves the Toyota 2000GT. which also owes some credit to Goertz. Nissan, of course, claims all design credits in house, and who can blame them for that, but the continuous dash into console was Goertz's design and the Fairlady Z was a drastic departure from anything Nissan or Toyota had come up with previously. I don't think all that is worth a huge debate; it's been through the courts, and Goertz received some recognition in the form of a settlement. I like to think it took several inspired minds to come up with the Z, which brought together so many fine technological and design innovations and became a milestone in automobile development. I was around for the newest thing out of Japan back then and bought a relatively new, wonderful 1970 240Z in 1972. It would waste just about anything on the road in some way, even later 260's, Camaros and Mustangs with handling, style, top end, and "cool factor." The Z was the coolest car around back then, and seems to be one of those cars which can become an extension of one's personality, if that doesn't sound silly. Our family has many sports cars, and I have owned many great cars in my life, bimmers, a Sunbeam Tiger, now a MINI CS, but my dream car is still the Z. I have a 70 240Z undergoing conversion to a bimmer drivetrain, perhaps a little tribute to old Albrecht Goertz. Do a little research on the design history. You don't have to include Goertz, but Nissan does have some other connections with the European auto world from that era, so I can't exclude him either. I don't deny the later Z developments, but I think Nissan really missed the boat by hyping the 350Z as a retrospective to the 240. It's more of a resurrection of the 300ZX. The 240SX could have continued to evolve as a lighter, more economical sports car in the line of the 240Z without the hype which never really matured. The Enjoy The Ride!

[Darkstar]

As far as I know, Goertz was hired by Nissan in 1963 to design the new 2000GT, which was a joint venture project of Nissan and Toyota. Here's a picture of a finished model, which was planned to go on sale in 1965.

Nissan was somehow dissatisfied with the engine idea that Yamaha came up with. It was a twin cam, 2 liter inline six, which was similar in construction to the later S20. After making up an initial agreement, Yamaha went to Toyota to show them their concept. Toyota agreed to produce it, and it all ended up with 306 (correct me if I'm mistaken) built 2000GT's. After that, Nissan partially used the Goertz design, and launched the Z project. Funny how it works - if it was Nissan building the 2000GT, we would probably be driving Toyota Z cars...

I hate to admit that, but IMO the Z cars kept losing their character from the second generation on. The 350 is a nice car, but still, it will never give you the same pleasure from driving as the rough 240. It's just too easy to drive it fast... An old car gives you simple signals that warn you not to push it too far. I miss this feeling whenever I drive anything newer than 1980...

[Ron Carter]

Goertz designed the Silvia based off the Roadster platform and a design project with Yamaha that probably became the Toyota 2000GT. Goertz did not design the 240Z. If you look closely at that early Silvia you will see Goertz written all over it. The Z on the other hand may have pulled some styling ques off the Silvia, but it is not a Goertz design.

There is tons of documentation regarding this matter...and you are entitled to your opinion, but it is not the truth.

As for what car, I think the purity of the early Z, in it's design and basic function is outstanding. I enjoyed driving my 93 300ZX more than my street 240Z for its refinement and comfort.