Did The Nissan 240Z Forever Change The Way You Think About Japanese Cars?

Not at all because I was born in '82.

Not at all because I was born in '82.

When I was kid, there was lots of rusted 280zx on the roads.
Don't remember having seen any 240.
I think the first one I saw was completeley restored one at an auto show in the 90's

its a pretty sexy car

It was a trend setter for the day.

No, but the Toyota recall did...

It is a Ferrari Daytona copy! except it is cheap!

So no it did not change the way I think about japanese cars

Depends on how you look at it. The Japanese philosophy is to look at what is, and refine it into what it should be. Doesn't allow for much clean slate design originality.

at least the japanese were SMART ENUFF to not even bother trying to copy the porsche 356! LOL!

and brit car lovers won't like this:

japanese cars in the '50s and early '60s looked similar to brit cars. datsun first made austin sedans under license, and the brit influence continued for years.

it was the DUMPING of DOWDY brit-type styling which signaled the increased acceptance of japanese cars in america. leading to the explosive success from the 1970s onward.

(at least, they never even went down wrong, dead-end roads by emulating VW or french styling!)

"Japanese cars are still stale and dowdy!"


yet they cannot compete with FORD in dowdyness on many models! classic case: ford ranger, an old looking square BOX even when it was brand new!

and the new f-150 is just so FLAT NOSED; even older tundras look more sleek. the flex is a most UNflexible square BOX too. i could go on...

Like it or not Datsun 240Z is considered one of the landmark vehicles of the 20th century and japanese car haters cannot stand that. I was fortunate to enjoy from brand new a 1972 Datsun 240Z (the best Datsun 240Z ever), dark olive green with saddle interior until it was stolen in 1976.

Never had a want for a japanese Car.... Period

Yup! Aside from being a design masterpiece with an enviable level of reliability, performance and handling for its time it was the first medium-priced Japanese car to truly be successful in the then critical American sales market.

When the 240-Z came out the most popular Japanese cars were those that sold for around $2,000. Oh sure, there were exceptions like the Toyota Crown which seemed like a well-equipped, but over-priced, Plymouth Valiant six, or the rare and limited production Toyota 2000 that no one ever actually saw.

The stylish 240-Z had a MSRP of around $3,700 (about the same price as well-equipped mid-size American car of the time, a Chevelle or Ford Torino for example, or about the same as a lightly-equipped full-sized Chevy or Ford.

Even so, at $3,700 it seemed like a bargain at the time. Demand stripped supply and dealers added hundreds of dollars in additional dealer markup to the suggested retail price. It couldn't match American pony cars in straight-line performance, but it sure ate the lunch of any number of popular European sports cars in both performance and reliability.

Adding to success of the 240-Z was that when equipped with an automatic transmission the car still delivered good performance and was enjoyable to drive. It was also available with a reasonably good for the time air-conditioning system as an option. Not up to American standards, but much better than the Europeans back then.

The success of the 240-Z came at the expense of MG, Triumph, and Fiat in the U.S. market and helped push those cars out of the U.S. market. And nobody misses them.

few know it, but Datsun/nissan was nipping at the heels of the classic euro sports cars EVEN BEFORE the 240Z was introduced.

there were Fairlady 1600 and 2000 roadsters, which were much like the MGs and Triumphs of the day. but with japanese engineering and reliability.
these tended to DOMINATE their class in SCCA races.

there was also the datsun 510 sedan, which also dominated sedan races in the 1600cc class. (they even had IRS like bmw 1600s and 2002s.)

motojournalists of the day recognized the outstanding engines and mechanical qualities. one stated that the ONLY thing lacking, was sexy styling. the 240Z provided that, and the rest is history.

there is a VAST DIFFERENCE between copying and IMPROVING UPON existing designs.

just borrowing from your own quote: "This 2 liter powerplant, the U20, was designed by the new combined engineering team at Nissan, put a Prince Mercedes based head on a modified and stroked Austin based roadster 1600 block and came up with a SOHC engine capable of 150 horsepower."

and if you didn't know, or just chose to IGNORE: bmw itself 'copied' early austin designs. initially, without even improving upon them like the japanese tend to do. they built austins under license, making EXACT COPIES.