300zx, My personal car.

History:

This is my 1990 300zx. It's an automatic, non-turbo model. The 300zx was originally produced in 1983(1984 US). Having driven one of the first ones, frankly, they were, when stock, wedge shaped $h!t boxes. Sloppy, kinda ugly, and almost no power beyond the seemingly endless turbo lag. The first Gen 300zx was more or less the same as the 280zx before it, just as all the previous Z-cars of Datsun/Nissan had been. It handled about the same as the original fairlady Z...only worse. The remedy? Nissan spent 7 years building the next generation of Z. In that time, they moved the car from a quick, low cost, sports car, to a full size, high tech, money pit, FAST AS BALLS semi-supercar. They also made a fairly cheaper, non-turbo model. The 300zx had such insane features as rear wheel steer(twin turbo only), corner specific wheel geometry, and a semi-rollcage hidden within the interior bits. The 5-speed TT could rocket up to about 160mph. The nonturbo is arguably more impressive in that it doesn't lose much of this performance, regardless of it's claimed loss of 80 HP. Either they lied, or nissan is better without turbos.

My Opinion:

Well, i've been driving this car almost every day since sophomore year of high school. Frankly, it's pretty bad. The automatic is comfortable, but a bit slow. and if they were worried with comfort, why put in race style bucket seats that bend your shoulders so far forward, your knuckles drag the ground. The back seats are too small, the trunk can't carry much more than the T-tops... that leak. In fact, for such a big car, there isn't much room at all. The wheels look goofy and it's actually ugly without some sort of spoiler on the back. It doesn't get very good gas mileage for a 3.0L. Everything is expensive. And yet... I love it. There's something there that outweighs all the problems. The car has a fiery passion that lurks in the shadows of the RPMs the majority of the time you drive it. But every once in a while, the beast that it is will rear it's beautiful head and pull you by the nuts to the edge of euphoria, carrying with it a wail that shatters all doubt to anyone within ear shot that the thing is alive, and it's angry. In retrospect, it's not a very good car for a high school student, but it's a very good dose of lead-foot disease to anyone that can afford the maintenance, which isn't that high as long as you don't touch the internals. In fact, don't even look at them. Remember, the car is angry. And fast? oh boy is it. i've had it up to about a buck forty (private road) and it felt like it wanted to keep going. But reason kicked in and i eased off. The car went and pouted until I opened the taps again about a week later. So one day, go out and drive one. Spend more than a week with one and you'll want to keep it forever.