Sneak peak of the 2009 370Z

[sblake01]

I'm not looking for a retro z, ain't gonna happen. Besides, if that 'styling excercise' (that has now been pictured way more than necessary in this thread) was ever built, I doubt that it would be what you'd consider 'affordable' which was one of the selling points of the original car. I had one but that was 1970 and, like they say, 'you can't go back'.

[hls30.com]

Nissans requirement: The 350Z must have economies from shared parts in the vast majority of the parts bins-meaning it must be derivative to the majority of the car line that accompanies it out of the exetuive bored room meetings.

Will

[Carl Beck]

The Z has always had a large number of parts from Nissan's common parts bins. What sat the 350Z aside from all previous Z's and ZX's was the fact that the 350-Z shares a platform with another production sedan. Doing so, it is forced to have a very high firewall and thus body line, as well as a rear strut brace that can't be removed when extra storage space is needed.... Very much what AMC did when they cut 8" out of the Javlin and called it an AM-X.

Nissan Design had a couple of pretty good looking "concepts" for the next generation Z's - but Carlos said they could not afford to design and build a complete new platform for a Z .... So they cut 8" out of the Infiniti G-35... and call it a Nissan 350-Z. Of course the Nissan Dealers got screwed in that deal as they had no 2+2 to offer their customers... Infiniti did of course... ;-)

What was ironic about the way things turned out - was that many of us in the Z Car Community suggested that Nissan use the existing 240SX chassis - just redesign the body and add a 6 cylinder. There were already lots of aftermarket and performance parts for the 240SX chassis, and it had been race proven over several years of development... But the people running Nissan then, said "NO" the Z has to have it's own platform - it was Nissan's Flagship Vehicle.

Just to prove that Nissan isn't the only manufacturer capable of screwing up a great idea - Pontiac showed the Soltice Coupe - - only now it is a Targa Top... overweight and far more expensive that the stripped down, clean and affordable fastback version originally conceived. What a shame...

FWIW,

Carl B.

[Carl Beck]

I'm not looking for a retro z, ain't gonna happen. Besides, if that 'styling excercise' (that has now been pictured way more than necessary in this thread) was ever built, I doubt that it would be what you'd consider 'affordable' which was one of the selling points of the original car. I had one but that was 1970 and, like they say, 'you can't go back'.

Well Carlos and many other Automotive Executives say that we are going back. Back to the days when a NEW Car has an MSRP of less than $10K, and a new "economy car" has an MSRP of $5K.

Automobiles from all major manufactures well be produced in China and India... A couple billion people seeking a job, no EPA, no OSHA, no SSI, and no liability to speak of.... It's a wonderful world today IF you are a capitalist.

Of course our idea of what is "affordable" will also change... When that new car is $10K we still won't be able to afford it... we'll all be unemployed..

FWIW,

Carl B.

[hls30.com]

Carl,

I couldn't think of the word "Platform"...Sharing some parts is not an issue-all cars have to have nuts, bolts, wheels and engines, but to have all of the major assembly shared-with the vast majority of the balance of the parts interchangeable(even as a group) means all of the cars in that group look alike. One thing I loved about the S30, they don't look too much like anything else except another one(the late model 300ZX too). When you have a "ground breaking sports car worthy of its long racing lineage" that strongly favors a car form another manufacturer, as well as favoring other cars in the same lineup, well, you have genericized it and "allowed the "copywright" on the Z to fade into oblivion. I like having a car that looks only like itself. Used to be a company had to protect itself from copiers, now a company has to protect itself from itself-Goshen has made Nissan into a turn key Kit Car company!

Will

[sblake01]

Well Carlos and many other Automotive Executives say that we are going back. Back to the days when a NEW Car has an MSRP of less than $10K, and a new "economy car" has an MSRP of $5K.

Automobiles from all major manufactures well be produced in China and India... A couple billion people seeking a job, no EPA, no OSHA, no SSI, and no liability to speak of.... It's a wonderful world today IF you are a capitalist.

Of course our idea of what is "affordable" will also change... When that new car is $10K we still won't be able to afford it... we'll all be unemployed..

FWIW,

Carl B.

Yeah, but is that really 'going back'? Kind of like the Twilight Zone episode with the airliner that gets lost in time warp or whatever and ends up in pre historic times. They started out in 1961 or so. When they go back in the other direction they end up in 1939 with no hope of doing it again becaue the plane wouldn't be able to withstand it again. And it ends with them circling around the aiport trying to figure out how to eplain themelves and the plane if they do land some 20+ years before they took off. Things seem to fit the times they were designed in or for. The concept of affordibility comes with a much bigger price these days.

[240ZX]

All I have to say is.........the next generation TOAD! The only why this car would look good, IMO, is in full race trim....but then again, any car in full race trim would look good! So sad!

Tom

[Mr Camouflage]

For those wondering the pictures are from a guy that goes by alias of Grid

He decided to do a "what if" 3D computer model of modern-retro style 240Z (along the lines of the retro Camaro and Mustangs that were built). The pictures are renderings of that computer model.

more info here:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=43&t=608914&page=1&pp=15

[jmark]

I agree they'll never be another 240Z. I gotta say I love my Nismo 350Z. Here are a couple of pics of one just like mine.

[jmark]

For those wondering the pictures are from a guy that goes by alias of Grid

He decided to do a "what if" 3D computer model of modern-retro style 240Z (along the lines of the retro Camaro and Mustangs that were built). The pictures are renderings of that computer model.

more info here:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=43&t=608914&page=1&pp=15

Love it. I'd buy one.

[boholio]

Not sure if you guys remember or ever saw this one... it was a rendering out of Motortrend before the 350Z came out... That car, I would have bought.

The second is another, which is ugly. However, if you modify the front of that car with some better headlights, touch up the rear a little, it could be pretty bad!

[TRtom]

Camo:

Cool looking car. Being a British car guy also, it picks up some of the lines of a TVR2500, which also was a cool car.