what about the new z's?

[PrOxLaMuS©]

Man... if I had $30,000 to spend on a car... i WOULD NOT buy a 350Z or G35, or EVO or STi nor anything else with that matter.

A cheap Ferrari Testorrossa can be purchased for about $22,000 USD (that's used and about 10 years old)

but damn... I would LOVE to drive one of those.... there are soo many cars out there.. especially some sexy exotics..... plenty of other Ferrari's...

Or an R33 Nissan Skyline GTR imported.. or an R32 GTR with extra cash for mods....

Toyota Supra Twin Turbo.....

the mighty 300ZX Twin Turbo.... (which kills the 350Z BTW)

[v12horse]

You cannot buy a used testerossa for 22,000USD. Try 50,000USD. The Ferrari that you are think of that you can buy for 22,000USD is a 308. You prolly couldn't buy a nice one at that. Why not buy an STI or an Evo??? IMO those are great new cars that are in category all of their own. Rally inspired, pocket rockets that hold 5 people that will blow the doors off almost anything on the strip or circuit. But then again, if I had to sit and choose exactly one car for 30 large I would have no clue what to buy. There are so many great cars, including the 350z, but I would be scared to buy one because of the buyers remorse I may have for not buying a different car.

All in all, I agree that the 350z is not a new 1st gen Z like most everyone responding to this thread, but I do think it is a great car for not a bad price. Yeah the interior is a little shotty, but what cars nowadays have great interiors that are not luxury cars? Not many. However, my mom's VR6 jetta has a beautiful interior and it was 24,000! Okay, I am now off topic.

The 350z is a great car, but not a 1st gen Z. IMO. For me, the only sportcar I need is my Z, so I will prolly not buy a 2 seater in the future unless it is another 1st gen Z(fairlady Z:love: ).

You guys take care,

Ben

[240znz]

My opinion of the 350 is changing the more I see them driving about. The convertable would be my choice as the lines look better to me. However, I must say that the front and rear still look like smashed in coke cans.

As for Evo's and STi's. It sometimes appears that there are as many STI's and EVO's in New Zealand as there are Toyota Corollas. Japanese imported cars are very cheap with boy racers buying them for little money. We have tons of GTR's here as well so anything that stands out of the crowd like the 350Z is a welcomed changed. You can get 2 stoked R32 GTR's here for the price of 1 new 350z. I even saw a De Tamaso Pantera yesterday...now there is a car!!!!!

[kyteler]

Man, I can't tell you how much I hate Evo's :sick: :sick: :sick: STI's or plain Impreza's look a little nicer but they're still as common as dog s$%t, a stock Evo isn't that fantastic a car either you have to put a bit more money into 'em to make them "blow the doors off" anything especially if there's more than 1 person in the 4cyl POS. I'd take an S13 or S15 Silvia if I wanted a 4 cylinder.

I'd much prefer the 350Z to the STI and Evo cars as well, but I'd prefer the 2 R32 GT-R's over the 350Z, ANY day of the week.

The 350Z should, I agree, be called a 350ZX, but you do get quite a nice car for the price of them. I wouldn't turn one down, the only problem I found with them was when I sat in one and closed the door, the big plastic buldge that is the door intruded on my cockpit area far too much.

[daddz]

Michael,

I disagree with the 350ZX moniker. The new Z was not experimental (where the 280ZX got its name) and it definitely does not have an over abundance of luxury gewgaws like my '82 280ZX and/ or my '86 300ZX (and those are base models--no t-tops or leather and digital packages). My 350Z is also a base model and it is stiffly sprung and has a cloth interior. Except for the power windows/door locks/power steering it is very reminscent of the experience I get from driving my '78 280Z (equipped w/ Tokico Illuminas and Tokico springs set on 3 front and rear).

I would invite you to take one for a test drive and forget what the outside looks like. I think you would like the power delivery and the ability the car has to brake traction in the 2/3 upshift. Not since I owned an '88 Toyota Supra Turbo have I experienced the surge from one gear to the next. For the price the base model is the better deal without all of the DVD bs.

[v12horse]

Kyteler and others outside the US,

Here in the US, 2003 was the first year that we got the sti and evo so they are not as common as they are where you live.

-Ben

[Alfadog]

The X in ZX stands for experimental? I always thought it was luxury...

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by Alfadog

The X in ZX stands for experimental? I always thought it was luxury...

I thought so also. Can't imagine what is/was "experimental" about it. (Well, maybe is was an experiment in terms of IF the market would accept the car since it no longer lived up to the "legendary SPORTS CAR" that preceded it)

I'm ducking for cover now!

[Zrush]

I too thought the "X" was for luXury. That version of the Zcar has all the creature comforts of New Yorks old Studio 54 Disco.

[kyteler]

I was also of the belief the 'X' stood for Lu'X'ury.

There are a number of other Nissan's that also have an X designation, and believe me, there's nothing Experimental about the Bluebird 2.0ZX, it's just an ugly square pile of FWD shite.

[yuppie69]

I take issue with the 280ZX being a disco parlour. Granted, it had a digital dash, but so does the Honda S2000. It had a talking warning sound box, but then so does every navigation system sold on modern cars, and I sometimes question if the new ones, lacking live traffic reports, are any more useful! It had washer headlamps, but most cars sold elsewhere in the world had this available, useful feature (the Europeans simply plugged the holes and de-contented US cars, not dropping the price one cent).

The one useless feature was the ambient/third "wide" channel effect. Granted, these effects come standard on aftermarket radios these days (Pioneer, et al), but at the time it might have been useful for improving the awful sound of am radio monoraul broadcasts. I can't make much of a case for it, but I do know the 84 300Z was a hell of a lot less of a sports car, with far more trinketry, such as electronic firmness control for suspension (who wants to put that in nowadays?), more weight, and the beginning of the absolutely ugly semi-exposed semi-pop up lights. Yecch, that was THE car for 1984 as bland excess in all areas related to true Z features!

John

[Alfadog]

The 280ZX was the most expensive Japanese car sold to Australia when it came outin 1978 - digital dash and T-tops and big sofa chairs, electric windows and all that sure do constitute luxury for that era. Sure Mercedes from the same era had the same kind of 'luxury' features... but they're luxury cars too!!! There is no question that the 280ZX was a luxurious grand tourer, not a sports car. If you wanted a sports car, you'd buy an RX7!!! I don't know how you can compare it with modern cars to try to prove it as not luxurious... The 300ZX was luxury as well, hence the 'X' tacked on hte end. There is no argument there...