The Nissan Z Is Thriving Thanks to an Unlikely Hero: Your Parents

[-]

Sexyturtletime@reddit

I see more Ferrari 296’s than these Z’s.

[-]

cadmiumredlight@reddit

I've seen more Enzo's and F50's on the road than I've seen Nissan Z's.

[-]

TheRealPizza@reddit

This is true for me too but exclusively because of attending monterey car week

[-]

I'm excluding Monterey in this. That would be cheating. This is just cars I've seen randomly on the road around the Bay Area. I've only seen one Z. I've also seen one XJ220, one Ariel Atom and one Delta Integrale. It's crazy that I can even compare any of those cars to the Z in terms of rarity.

[-]

AcrobaticButterfly@reddit

Well who’s to say Ferrari isn’t doing great selling to new money? If anything it helps the Z be the more rare and exclusive car lol

[-]

Sexyturtletime@reddit

Rarity will help Z values in 10 years, but It doesn’t help Nissan if no one is buying it. And yes, Ferrari is doing well with the 296 but successful sales targets are very different when a car is 10x the price.

[-]

ozymandingus578@reddit

I remember riding around in my friend’s dad’s brand new 280Z back in 1984. Later on another friend’s dad had a 300ZX I got to ride around in a few times. I never owned a Z myself but they’ve been on my radar forever.

[-]

jdmb0y@reddit

I've still only seen 2 or 3 in my region. I contrast I see an Ineos Grenadier every week.

[-]

phxbimmer@reddit

I think that’s just the general direction of the rich people market. For whatever reason, rich people are way more into off-road SUV’s nowadays, dropping oodles of money into Grenadiers, restored Broncos, restored Defenders, Land Cruisers, etc.

[-]

HarryTruman@reddit

I don’t think it’s just a rich person thing. The boxy look is back in style, and these are all vehicles that can get you anywhere. Everybody wants them!

[-]

phxbimmer@reddit

I like old boxy cars more than SUV’s, personally. Like 80’s and 90’s BMW’s.

[-]

RAZGRIZTP@reddit

Dude are you fucking shitting your username is HarryTruman

[-]

HarryTruman@reddit

I mean…yeah I WAS…but I’m done now.

[-]

Hollow-Ling@reddit

And yet they'll rarely touch dirt

[-]

ApolloPredditor@reddit

They’re everywhere in New York

[-]

the_lamou@reddit

I'm in New York and I think I've maybe seen one in five years.

[-]

SharkBaitDLS@reddit

I’ve seen more Fisker Oceans than Zs on the road.

[-]

extreme_diabetus@reddit

I almost snapped my neck doing a double take the first time I saw one.

[-]

dWaldizzle@reddit

I've seen more Fisker Karmas lol

[-]

SharkBaitDLS@reddit

I think I might be tied 2 and 2 on Karmas and Zs, but it’s close!

[-]

rgbblk@reddit

Yes, ten fold

[-]

m1a2c2kali@reddit

They were pretty much all given away as fleet vehicles in some areas so that comparison shouldn’t be too surprising lol

[-]

DudeWhereIsMyDuduk@reddit

If it had a stick I'd be in a Grenadier now.

[-]

ggouge@reddit

I actually love the new z. I just can't afford a sports car. I haven't seen a single one on the road and I live about 2kms from a Nissan dealership.

[-]

jaraldo3@reddit

It’s so weird, I have only seen one in my area (small town in the south) in the last 2 years I’ve lived here. Today I saw 4 of them while driving home from where I work.

[-]

DoubleOPanda@reddit

Ive seen 3 traded into the dealer I work at. Ive seen a different 2 out on the road.

I dont know where these cars go and who drives them lol

[-]

MJather@reddit

Funny you mention it because I’ve been thinking about having both of those 😆

[-]

zalcecan@reddit

Same in my city, those are everywhere but the Z i see maybe one once every other week.

[-]

Wolf24h@reddit

But they're dead

[-]

dox1842@reddit

why are they dead??

[-]

Weekly-Government350@reddit

Happens to the best of us

[-]

eggdropk@reddit

Plot twist: you inherited their flair

[-]

Liesthroughisteeth@reddit

Have they got timing chain stretch and tensioners figured out yet?

[-]

mvrkd@reddit

I live in so cal, LA county, and I go to car meets fairly often and I’ve only seen a handful of them in my local area

[-]

MisterDoctor___@reddit

Yeah, I live in SoCal too and have seen more Aventadors and 750S’s than new Z’s. I also go to Willow Springs and Chuckwalla regularly and see more GT3RS and Huracans there than Z’s lol.

[-]

cobrareaper@reddit

Same, I was just at a large, primarily Japanese show this morning and not a single new Z rolled up. Meanwhile there were at least 4 of us classic Zs, THREE new Honda Preludes, and even a Nissan Silvia Varietta!

[-]

Jamaican_Dynamite@reddit

It's always been a trophy car. Same thing with Vettes or Porsches or whatever. You somehow survived the rat race, copped you a little sports car for the weekend. And so on.

It's not the 1st buyer that gets memed, it's always the 8th owner.

[-]

headcoat2013@reddit

350/370 Zs were super common in their day and hardly a trophy car. They were cross shopped against Mustangs and Camaros.

[-]

roman_maverik@reddit

I'd make the argument that the closest competitor to the 350z was the Porsche Cayman / Boxster

The Camaro was not in production, and the 5th Gen mustang was a dinosaur compared to the 350z, and not on the same performance tier.

during the 370z era (2009+) is when it all changed, when the alpha platform Camaro and 6th gen mustang finally came out in 2015.

[-]

randeus@reddit

I’d say the first gen Coyote s197 was preforming well enough to being the same performance tier as the Nissan Z

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2011-2011-ford-mustang-gt-vs-2011-bmw-m3-comparison

[-]

Riverrattpei@reddit

Performance wise the 350z might have been closer to the Boxster/Cayman, but price wise they weren't even in the same ballpark

In 2003 a Boxster started at $52,000 while a 350z was $27,000-$35,000 according to trim and a Terminator Cobra could be had for $35,000

[-]

the_lamou@reddit

The 350z also hit at kind of the perfect time. The S2000 and NSX had just left the market or were about to leave. The MR-S and Miata were much weaker and less impressive on paper. The Mustang of the day was a joke. The Camaro was gone. The 918 was a lot more expensive. It basically competed against like... maybe the 320i/325i? And the Golf R or GTI? WRX/Evo? There just wasn't a whole lot on tap, especially if you wanted RWD and a coupe body.

[-]

AndroidMyAndroid@reddit

Well yeah, back in those days the Nissan Zs were comparably powerful with V8 Mustangs. Now the Mustang GT has like 480 horsepower, and the Z is nowhere close to it in any metric except price.

[-]

JillierHaroldLamaar@reddit

The Z has had a weird history. The 240Z was a hit because it came in at an affordable price, but by 1990, it was competing in the Corvette price bracket. Then the 350z was launched at a more affordable MSRP, and now it's going back up. It's an odd cycle.

[-]

Jamaican_Dynamite@reddit

When you compare them to, say, your parents' Corolla at the time? All three of them meant you kinda made it.

[-]

-175-@reddit

What? A corolla has never meant you made it..

I remember when the 350Z came out. Middle class sports car, like Nissan’s mustang, but better appointed.

Corolla has always been several leagues below

[-]

frankztn@reddit

You’re making me feel old because I’m pretty sure this article is talking about old 90s and older Z’s. Everytime my car comes up in a conversation with a boomer. Someone always knows someone whether it’s immediate family or not, that owned a “classic” Z, not a 350z or 370z. 😂

[-]

Nouseriously@reddit

In the 70s & 80s they were just small cars that went fast, not a flex

[-]

Tyraid@reddit

I’d argue it’s the first owner that gets memed in a corvette

[-]

Jamaican_Dynamite@reddit

I concede. Because New Balances.

[-]

AndroidMyAndroid@reddit

New Balances are not bad shoes, either! They are needed to catch the drip of a 75 year old man with knee-high white Walmart socks and cargo shorts under a Corvette graphic t-shirt and Vietnam Vet 8th infantry battalion baseball hat.

[-]

Tyraid@reddit

Jorts, tall white socks, “1 of 1 because the right side door was installed by Janice while Tom was on lunch break and it the only one in yellow she did that for”

[-]

ebnight@reddit

I’ve seen a tone of them… but I live near Franklin, TN. So I may have some location bias.

[-]

Windows-XP-Home-NEW@reddit

I am yet to see ONE.

[-]

Huxington@reddit

I was thinking, what are these people talking about. I loved my 370z. It’s a solid car and im only 40..

[-]

XMAN2YMAN@reddit

Congratulations you are the target market. We are the “old” parents they speak about. I had a 350z and have a c6 vette. Would love the new z but the depreciation is hard to swallow lol.

[-]

dox1842@reddit

Do the Z cars depretiate fast? I bought a 2017 toyota 86 new for $30k. I looked on carmax for same year same miles cars and they go for $20k. 10k depreciation after 9 years isn't bad.

[-]

Uptons_BJs@reddit

I mean, that’s always been the 2 seat sports car - corvette, SL, etc are also older men cars.

I am a younger guy who makes decent money and is willing to buy a car new, but I need the 2+2 and a nice trunk

[-]

AndreLeGeant88@reddit

That's why I'm in a M240. Would I have preferred a Vette? Yes. But I have a kid and buy groceries.

[-]

Multifaceted-Simp@reddit

Vette + prius

[-]

AndroidMyAndroid@reddit

That's called an E Ray

[-]

Daneth@reddit

Exactly

[-]

FrankReynoldsCPA@reddit

I see I'm not the only one who had thoughts of washing their car at home only to leave the pressure washer unused in the garage.

[-]

Daneth@reddit

I got it out ... maybe 3 years after buying it

[-]

AndreLeGeant88@reddit

But my kid can't ride in the vette

[-]

mada447@reddit

You need a nice trunk and went with the Camaro?

[-]

Uptons_BJs@reddit

The camaro sucks compared with my previous mustang, but I made it work lol. I can pick up my girlfriend with one piece of checked luggage and a carry on with it - not something I can do with an F type (the other car I was considering)

[-]

an0nym0usgamer@reddit

Are you sure about that?

[-]

Dirty_Dragons@reddit

I'm considering getting a Z but I don't know if I can live with onky a 2 seat car. I've used the back seats of my 86 to carry a whole bunch of stuff.

[-]

IndianaJones_Jr_@reddit

Sure but I see c8s or c7s multiple times a week, almost daily. I might see an SL a couple of times a month, although granted a new one is more like once every couple of months. I'm sure I could count on one hand the number of Zs I've seen since they came out.

[-]

ZaheerAlGhul@reddit

Old guys love the Z my coworker bought one

[-]

Runner303@reddit

Man, I should have picked up one of those lot rot specials last fall for 10-15k off MSRP.

[-]

iscreamtruck@reddit

I almost bought one early this year. I really liked it, and thought the poor press and whataboutism for the Supra was unwarranted. I showed up to dealers with 40-50k cash in hand and had a lot of trouble closing the deal on 2024-2025 performance trims.

[-]

UndercoverGTR@reddit

The RZ34 is probably going to be my midlife-crisis/trophy car, unless Honda pulls out a next gen S2000. I never really desired to own a supercar or exotic. Being working class and taking care of a family kind of makes a mid-level sports car a realistic dream car.

I think this may be a great car to pick up in the sub $30k range in 10 years. Good for me, not so good for Nissan though.

[-]

johntaylor37@reddit

I went all the way and more or less back again with cars. You’re making a good choice. 👍

[-]

SirTickleyPickely@reddit

Ive seen one on the road in Alberta since its release.

Parents are buying vehicles easy to get in and out of, not sports cars.

The source for this shit article is a Nissan executive. This is basically sponsored content with "trust us bro" levels of authenticity.

[-]

ABirdOfParadise@reddit

I'm in AB too

I have not seen a single one.

I've seen a Merc/Maybach GLS, many Hummer EVs (saw the truck version a couple of days ago), a Roma, a 488, Lucid Air, and a Vantage and there are no dealerships near me for all 4 of those.

Hell I've seen a Pontiac Aztek, and someone in my area has a HHR.

[-]

Hohenh3im@reddit

Dang I've seen quite a few in Arkansas and Tennessee and I thought these places would be the last place I'd see them

[-]

evilspoons@reddit

I saw one here in Edmonton... sitting in the dealership. At 50% over MSRP. Nobody wanted it - I wonder why. Maybe it was the Toyota Supra available at the same time was less money 🤦‍♂️

[-]

ABirdOfParadise@reddit

yeah in the beginning the markup was insane, you could see the price drops on some websites that track that where then went down like $20-30k, but eventually they relisted em

[-]

AcrobaticButterfly@reddit

Just a thread saying “I see more lambos than Zs” and it’s true

[-]

JARDIS@reddit

The price point vs performance of this means I've never seen one on the road in my country. Most boomers in sports cars I see are driving V8 Mustangs. Given the Z is basically the same price point you aren't really going to convince the average "bloke", that spent the last 40 years watching V8 Supercars on the TV, that it's the car for them. Anyone younger than them looking for a sports car can't afford it and are getting into GR86/i30N instead.

I'd be interested to see who's actually buying them in Australia. I suspect it's actually no one.

[-]

NotoriousCFR@reddit

"Thriving" feels like an overstatement

Anyway, hasn't it been the case for a while now that the average age of new car buyers is in the deep 50s? This isn't really a surprise.

[-]

jallenscott@reddit

But my parents are dead…

[-]

privatejetvillain-@reddit

I’ve seen more Lamborghini Revueltos driving around than I’ve seen this.