I can totally relate... some co-workers have started to act funny after I bought my Z and they make smart remarks like "oh a Japanese sports car" or they tell me how it's a bad investment to buy a new car. Also, my neighbor (who happens to drive a Benz SUV) keeps saying how he likes the front but the back is ugly and gives me $hit for not driving it every day to work since I drive my auto beater because I don't wanna sit in traffic shifting. wtf is up with these ppl?

 

JEALOUSY and the Mercedes SUV has one of the worst reliability records in the industry.

 

People are jealous and tear others down to make themselves feel better about their own inadequacies.

 

For some reason EVERYONE, even total strangers, have been totally pumped about seeing the car and letting me know how cool it is. Pretty much every day I get at least one stranger who comes up or drives up to look at the car and say how they love it and envy me. I'd say maybe it's where you live, but I'm in S Jersey, and people aren't known for being real warm and fuzzy here. Maybe there's some kind of paint color corroboration or something? Mine's DB. Who knows? Maybe they're just happy a big dork like me has something going for him!

 

I have had my 350Z for over a month now and haven't even told the people I work with or driven it to work because I don't want to deal with the remarks.

 

The same thing is happening here in Aus with this huge shift towards SUVs (or what we call 4WDs) increasingly populating our roads. Nearly every manufacture has an SUV in thier line up, selling them to soccer moms who brave the urban jungle with the false feeling of being safe.

The fact that these eye sores never leave sealed roads and account for more fatal accidents makes me wonder y the governments let them share the road with smaller cars. And what i cant stand is the ppl who use this mammoths to bully other motorists, and often enough its the same soccer mom whos tailgating u coz shes 2mins late picking up her dweeb of a son.

In Aus the governments r campaigning a strict zero tolerance speed limit masking it as a safety issue for motorists. Surely then these SUVs must adhere to lower speed limits, since the thought of being t-boned by a two storey truck is less appealing than a hatch back at twice the speed.

F...ing SUVs

 

What remarks? What business is it of theirs that you bought a Z? I have a theory working on why many people are cool to or outright hostile about 2 seater sports cars. Every fad or fashion has a lifespan. Trucks and SUVs are so in now they are beginning to fall out of fashion. Sports cars are becoming the next new fashion and people who drive SUVs are suddenly realizing everyone has one and they are not too safe, Ford and Firestone ring a bell?

Trucks started the fad for a good reason, insurance rates and commercial tags which cost less everywhere, especially for drivers under 25 who couldn't afford the sports cars because their insurance per month almost equalled their car payment. Trucks have always been around for utilitarian reasons, people used them in work. Then some bright designers decided to start enclosing their trucks so they could haul more people than just working stuff and they could claim they were a business expense and got money back from their taxes.

Many people do use their trucks and SUVs for work, a lot do not, yet say they do for registration purposes and now trucks and SUVs are the most popular vehicles w/ the most sales in the U.S. What happens when everyone has the same thing? Its BORING, thats what. We are the largest consumerist country in the world and we are always looking for the next new toy, I'm a victim of the same phenomenon. I have more toys than I can use.

What are being shown in all the car shows? Crossover vehiciles with car chassises and sports cars! Sports cars are back and crossover vehicles are the new STATION WAGONS!! Real station wagons are making a comeback as high performance vehicles, Lexus IS Sportcross anyone? People in regular sized cars are attacking the wasteful SUVs, not me, some don't like them because they are too big for conventional parking spaces and they get 13mpg and pay no GAS GUZZLER TAX like cars that get the same mileage, exotic cars and big limo size sedans. Those cars pay $1000s in taxes , but the Trucks and SUVs don't because way back a couple of decades ago, farm trucks were a business expense and the loophole hasn't been changed that I know of, enlighten me if it has. I don't like huge trucks and SUVs because I can't see around them when I'm behind them, they're clunky and roll over a lot. Just remember, The PT Cruiser is a station wagon!

So, drive your car to work and thumb your nose at your co-workers who all have the same Boring vehicles. Tell them its fun to drive and you can blow all their rides into the weeds because you are driving the hottest car in the land for the $, and it is scary fast and invite them for a ride and you'll prove it when they come right in and sit right down. F**k 'em if they can't take a joke.

Boomer

 

I'm definitely not an SUV fan or anything, but to be fair, that pic is probably not representative of the real vehicle. Most of the time, when a manufacturer is out test driving unreleased vehicles, they plaster weird plastic body parts all over them and paint them weird colors so people won't recognize them. Happens to just about every car out there. I've seem some really awful spy shots of Porsches and BMWs, too, but the actual vehicle didn't look anything like the spy shots when it finally came out.

 

350z crash ratings: http://www.nhtsa.gov/NCAP/Cars/2502.html

Chevy Suburban crash ratings, sorry H2 was not tested (maybe because someone knew that the results would look like the pic zxsaint posted): http://www.nhtsa.gov/NCAP/Cars/2270.html

Like that?

 

man...does anyone else cringe when they see the pics or movie of the Z in the accident? i hope mine will never have to look like that

 

When the Z was first unveiled I HATED the back with a passion! I raised my fist in the air with bloodshot eyes and screamed in fury "long live the G35c the real Z!!!!"

My have things changed. It was like discovering mustard on hot dogs at the age of 12. The Nissan designers had some amazing foresight because I love the back now.

I guess some people don't have that kind of artistic enlightenment.

No offense but...

Mercedes= SUV compact? That thing looks like a lifted undersized mini-van. I can't stand these half-*** cars.

 

Yeah, my friend says nice things about italways finds a way to bring up something bad about my car, or tells me how much better the Vette, Porsche, or 300ZXTT is cooler. I've heard him say, "It's just a nice normal sports car" or something like that. But, during the first few weeks that I would start driving it to school, I would always find him upstairs staring at it out the window for long periods of time.

 

I think the Nissan Aero Package really dramatically changes the rear. I am not a fan of the plain rear of the Z. I HATE the G35C rear. It looks so flat. The spoiler improves it but still, not my cup of tea.

 

There are a few people I would like to shove that data up their nose, but I won't because they would not accept the test results, their blindness extends very far and you or me are not going to crack it. Stupid.