I know it's early speculation, but do you think the Z will look odd in the future?

Certain cars are attractive forever, and have a long lasting appeal. What do you think about the Z, will it still look good 10, 20, 30 years from now?

Examples:
Good - Porsche 911 - whether it's a 1956 or a 1999, a Porsche 911 looks good, and looks like a Porsche.

Bad - Lamborghini Countach - The mid-80s sports car that I thought was the raddest car on the road back in the day now looks totally ridiculous when I see it in my DuPont registry. The car I oogled ten years ago, now just makes me chuckle (I do respect the car for what it was at the time though).


I tend to think the 350z is a flavor of the month car, and it'll appear ridiculous looking back. Whereas cars like the S2000 or Viper, with their traditional muscular body lines, will continue to shine in the future.

 

LOL what are you smoking? The countach was designed in the 80s. Look at it's design. Funny vents and scoops all over the place. Looks like Toxic Avenger met the Delorean. Most 80s cars we're ugly as hell and had bad styling. The problem with 80s sportscars is that they tried to do too much. Vents everywhere, paddle mirrors, scoops on the roof. I've thought the countach looked like crap my entire life. You're just now realizing this?

The 350z was designed after the 240. How can a shape like the 350z look ridiculous one day? The curves are subtle yet distinguished.

Beauty doesnt age Does the 240 look funny to you too?

 

80s cars might be ugly now, but they were kick *** and "modern" back then. Just as today's "modern" cars will seem weird and ugly 20 years from now. I remember drooling over the testarossa the way I currently do for the 360 modena. Now when I look at the old ferrari, it makes me go ugh!! what was I thinking. It's popular culture, it brainwashes people from decade to decade.

 

well, considering it's resemblance to the carerra, I think it will still look good for awhile.. just MHO

 

i think that the z will age like the toyota supra. the 90s supra still looks great, but is definitely an example of 90's japanese auto style. the 80s supra looks like it's been hit with the ugly stick quite a few times. but my parents owned a celica in the 80s that looked pretty similar and it wasn't that ugly back then. same thing goes for the honda civic.

the z has stylings that are prevalent in many new cars. the sharp ends on the curves of the lights, the styled door handles, the round butt-end, and those little square hole accents in various places. look at the toyota celica, honda civic, ford focus, audi tt, and you'll see similar design. i figure we've got a good 5 years before this style becomes passe, and another 5 before it starts to look dated. if you don't think those door handles are gonna start looking silly real-soon-now, prepare yourself for a shock.

on the other hand, the look of the z was part of why i bought it instead of the g35 coupe. i believe that in 5 years, the g35c will be a dated luxury vehicle (look at the infiniti m-series from 5 years ago). they go out of fashion much faster than 'performance' cars. in 5 years, i'll still have a car that people (at least those who know something) will appreciate for its capabilities, looks or no looks.

 

I think Z will still look awesome 10 or 20 years from now, 240Z still looks really good to me...

 

Let me first say that I love my 350Z. Hmm, I guess when I say this, it might upset some people but this is my opinion.

I think the 300Z is better looking in some ways than the 350Z. I think the 350 is to blunt in the front, not as aerodynamic looking in comparision. I also feel that the contrast of soft flowing lines and hard edges like the door handles does not flow as well and is distracting from the overall lines of the car.

The tail lights in the 300 are somewhat bland and the flaired fenders in the 350 are a big improvement.

On the more positive side, I am amazed at how much more bang for the buck the 350 is compared to the 300. The weight reduction and improvement in handling make this a much more well balanced sports car.

Do I love my Z, yes. do I think it looks great, yes. I hope the 350Z looks as good 10 years later as the 300 looks now.

Maybe the best thing the 350Z has done is make the sports car popular again. I am sure that many exisiting sports cars and new ones coming out will try to out do the Z providing inexpensive performance and an attractive looking car.

 

Yes if you keep it in mint condition.

 

Honestly I don't think any car from the 80's still appeals to me....well maybe the Delorean because of it's movie stardom but other than that nothin else. The styles were way too abstract to be timeless.

However, the 70's and earlier are quite classic...theres a handful of cars i'd drive from the 70's and early on..60's...50's..considering they're in mint condition.

Like someone said above...the Japanese did something RIGHT as soon as the 90's rolled around. Cars like the Supra, rx7 and skyline will still look stylish and it's ALREADY been a decade since they unleashed those sleek designs.

As far as the 350z goes...it's subtle and elegant enough. It's all up to nissan. Will they change it in subtle ways in the next few years?? Will they stay true to this design and maintain it for half a decade like the 300zx...or what Toyota did for it's supra? If the company maintains the style everything else will sort of revolve around it and the car will stay timeless.

I'd hate to see the Z get a facelift as drastic as the WRX. Those headlights were ditched FAST!

 

Everything from the 80s looks tacky. For reference just watch an M.C. Hammer (black bike shorts with 3 neon stripes and parachute pants) or Vanilla Ice (need I say more???) music video.

The Z is going to be a classic because, quite simply, it is a Z. The reason the Porsche is appealing so many years later is the same reason that the 350 will be appealing in 20 years. It is another chapter in a legendary line of cars. It might look a little funny but it will be famous as another great chapter in the Z line. And you'll be happy to tell your kids, grandkids, whoever, that when you were younger you drove a 350.

 

Exactly everyone. 60s and 70s cars still look great. 80s are ugly. Look at hot chicks from the 1920s, '30s'40's 50s etc. hot ones would still be hot today (granted they dressed different for modern times). Nice straight hair. Light makeup. But they dressed like crap. Now look at hot chicks from the 80s. Big ugly hair, big *** earings, wacky color clothing. I get boners watching the AMC channel sometimes. Then I remind myself that the chicks on it are like 90 right now

 

Totally agree with Beamm,

The Z's style...nothing as BOLD as the Lambo Coontach or Delorean was for its time...so it won't 'grow' ugly. Its subtle yet, refined...plus, its history is a proven winner. Is there anyone that dislikes any of the older Z cars? In 20 years, is anyone going to change their mind? I wouldn't...and I don't think the newest addition to the Z will fail to follow the same path.

 

Notice the word bad, as in example of bad styling, in front of the Lambo.

I think the 350z will look funny, but definitely not as bad as a lot of the 80's cars.

 

No kidding Sherlock. I saw where you said it looks bad. I was simply telling you WHY it looks bad today.

Honestly, I could give a rat's a$$ what you think the car will look like in 20 years . I try not to get caught up in useless logic. Rather, I drive the car and enjoy it. There are tons of hot chicks right now that will probably won't age well in 20 years. Would you still bang them now?

 

If you think the Z will be dated just look around you when youre driving. Does anything remotely come close to its look, and aesthetics. Everytime I drive and I see the same tired old Accords, and Fords it just makes me that much more happy that I chose to buy the Z. As far as 80's are concerned on the affordable side. I still think the 85 Iroc Z28 looks great. The 1992 fox body Mustang is still a fav design of mine. Wouldnt mind having one again today. The 80's Corvette still appeals to me. Of course this is all my personal flavor. Sooooooooo will the Z get tired and outdated, depends on the individuals perception of what they think looks nice. I strongly believe that like the Porsche the Z will remain a strong car in the years to come. The biggest baddest Z's are yet to come though!!!!

 

damn, i think the 80's camaros looked like crap, same with the 90's camaro's. the 80's and early 90's corvettes look old as hell and same with the "fox" body mustang...looks OLD and dated. will not stay "classic" it just looks cheap now.

 

Then why did you ask what I've been smoking?

For someone who doesn't like "to get caught up in useless logic.. ", you've already posted twice and then added your own useless logic.

I posted this because because I've read 2 or 3 articles where the writer states that the 350z will not age well and will look funny in the future. I guess magazine writers love "useless logic" (I'd call it speculation), so why not spread it on the forum! YAY!

 

I try not to get caught up in useless logic. Rather, I drive the car and enjoy it. There are tons of hot chicks right now that will probably won't age well in 20 years. Would you still bang them now?

Good one!

I definetly agree with most of these replies, one more thing to mention is that...if you group those cars that people here that are labeling "ugly", such as the 80' Supra, Celica, Lambo. And compare them to the "classy" ones; The biggest difference is that the good looking ones aren't as busy, they have clean and smooth lines, there are no funny vents, tacky door ding protectors. The 350Z has these simple, straight-forward design cues that are in-line with other great looking cars.
Another example is comparing early-90 Japanese bikes with a solid color Ducati, the duck still looks awesome to this date, while the urban-tiger scheme CBR900 looks....ridiculous. Why? the busy lines and graphics on the Honda. Good thing that they are finally realizing graphics are tacky and start making solid color bikes.

20 years later, I will still bang my Z with the same passion I bang her today.

 

I pretty much agree with everything you've said. I still get compliments on my 13 year old 300TT because of it's timeless styling. Hope it goes the same for the 350.

 

timeless styling = nsx

yes...i think the 350z is also one of those cars.