[Applause]
in the early 1960s the shear idea of
Nissan building a sports car would have
been unimaginable but within ten years
not only would they create a car that
would introduce an entire generation and
beyond the pure joy of driving a sports
car but they would change the face of
racing Japanese imports and affordable
speed forever
this is everything you need to know to
get up to speed on the Nissan Z
in the mid to late 50s Nissan primarily
concerned itself in the American market
with sedans station wagons and pickup
trucks
they called him Dodson's the distance
the North American cars from the parent
company just in case they failed
spectacularly in 1959 however they first
attempted to bring a sports car over at
the chubby little Datsun Fairlady I was
named that because the president of
Nissan at the time wouldn't saw my fair
lady on Broadway and apparently he
[ __ ] loved it
despite being cute as a button a fair
lady sold poorly and its engine was
considered too small to be a sports car
to Americans while the 1600 was in
production
Yutaka caddie yama head of Nissan's West
Coast operations had been pushing
heavily for an affordable international
sports car he championed a design by the
head of Nissan sports car styling studio
which looked completely fresh and new
the car was designed to be fast reliable
and relatively inexpensive to make car
was called the Fairlady Z in Japan but
Mr K didn't think the name would
translate well to the US instead it was
called the 240z in October of 1969 the
240z arrived in America the American
version had a 2.4 liter inline 6 giving
it a robust 151 horsepower had
four-wheel independent suspension
4-speed manual transmission and could go
from 0 to 60 in just under 8 seconds it
was comfortable and futuristic inside
and also cost around 3,600 bucks I would
love to find a 240z for 3,600 bucks
within months dealers could not keep the
240z and stop other cars in its price
range couldn't match the performance and
its competitors and performance couldn't
beat the price the critics and the
public who loved it a moderately priced
sports car made for the people and in
1974 the Datsun 260z arrived in the
American market the 260z had a larger
engine 2.6 liters but actually had a
drop in horsepower because of emissions
standards in the 70s it was however
increasingly luxurious inside it was
also available in a 2+2 for the first
time the 2+2 looks like a hearse ugly in
1975 Datsun introduced the 280 Z this
was a North American special the rest of
the world got a facelift a 260z the
1970s were a different time people were
doing lots of coke disco was all the
rage Nissan went all indicator to the
demand for the XS making a switch from
sports car to comfortable tour in 1978
the second generation Z the
and 280zx was launched it was quieter
uglier and was almost completely new the
only components that had been carried
over from the 280z were the engine the
gearbox and the differential everything
else was new from high-end audio to
carpet freakin everywhere 280zx was a
car of its time but now it cost more the
bass version started in almost 10 grand
quite a jump from the modest pricing of
the Datsun 240z the critics called it
flabbier enthusiasts lamented the focus
on comfort over driving fun and with it
now taking more than eleven seconds to
go from zero to 60
it was rightfully called a slug in 1981
however the sports car under the shag
carpet began to emerge again a
turbocharged version was released and
that brought its horsepower back up to
180 z was getting her groove back and
Car and Driver called it the most
sporting Z car since the original and in
1983 at the Datsun 280zx along with the
name Datsun was retired from now on it
was Nissan all the way baby the new Z 31
Nissan 300zx
first arrived at American dealerships in
1984 it was hella eighty boxy on the
outside and digital is on the inside the
interior was cushy and fully embraced
the plush GT feel of the 280zx before it
however this time it brought an engine
with it it had a new 3 liter v6 and a
turbo option with 200 horsepower that
went 0 to 60 in seven point three
seconds purists hated the fact that
Nissan prioritized GT aesthetics over
sportiness but pure state everything
normal consumers at the time responded
well to both the high-performance and
gorgeous interior Nissan rebuilt the
300zx in 1990 with a new chassis
designation that's z32 how did it do
well this is what car driver had to say
about it let your eyes wander over the
seas said she was formed for a moment
well now Car and Driver I want you to
paint me like one of your french girls
huh it was a beautiful redesign it's
actually one of the first cars that I
ever liked I was at the airport with my
dad and I asked him what it was and he
told me it was one of the only good
moments I ever shared with him z32 was
an immediate success once again Nissan
had set a new standard with the Z series
and this one was beautiful inside and
out just like me
since the z32 300zx was one of the first
production cars completely redesigned
the cad software they were able to cram
an enormous amount under the hood twin
Garrett turbos dual inner cores and four
valves per cylinder the twin turbo
variant had 300 horsepower and could
make 0 to 60 in 5 seconds flat baby not
bad for an extremely heavy luxury sports
car Nissan had delivered a car that
finally got the purest and the high-end
consumer happy Motor Trend named it the
import car of the year 1990 and Car and
Driver put it on the 10 best list every
one of the seven years it was in
production in the US adding a
convertible option in 1993 was like
icing on a very fast very beautiful cake
how fast 1995 Bonneville speed trial
record holding fast comparison against a
Viper fast in eligible for LeMond after
winning in 1994 due to the massive
engine fast that's fast but it was not
to last the 300zx was doomed and
economics were to blame while the zeod
entered the market at around $30,000 it
was now pushing 50 for the base and with
the yen two-dollar ratio making things
worse coupled with the declining
interest in sports cars 300zx his days
were numbered Nissan pulled the car from
the North American market in 1996 and we
entered a new period in America one
month out a Z
[Music]
however in 1999 Nissan also chose to
showcases the series concept car the
North American International Auto Show
but many did not think it worthy of the
comparison but it did have its intended
effect people were talking about the Z
again in 2001 Gosselin made an
announcement the evil bill disease and
we would make it profitable
true to his word Nissan once again debut
the Z car concept at the North American
International Auto Show but this one was
bright orange and sweet looking the
Nissan 350z was released to wide acclaim
in the very next year it was smooth and
most importantly unmistakeably a Z front
mid-engine rear-wheel drive but now
familiar profile of a long hood and
short deck I said deck all these pieces
together gave the 350z an amazing base
price of 26 grand the Z was affordable
again just Z you'll notice the luxurious
X was gone and the car had fully
returned to its roots and it gained a
convertible option in 2004 because you
know hairdressers love Z's to critics
and consumers loved it after an engine
upgrade in 2007 the car truly began to
reach its potential especially after our
boy Chris Forsberg
drove one for three championships and FD
and a perennial favorite in SCCA by both
amateurs and probes it was so popular
that NASA the race guys not the space
guys created a spec C racing class for
only 350 Z's in 2012 while the 350z was
good nissan knew they could do better
the viewing in 2008 the Nissan 370z was
almost completely redesigned from 350
the weight was cut the wheelbase was
shortened and the engine swapped out to
the huge 3.7 liter v6 or still
affordable and looked amazing and of
course it's a star of many Fast and
Furious films the 370z has been in
production now since 2009 and it has
remained a very strong seller albeit one
that is now showing its age lucky for us
and all the Z series fans Nissan is
planning to showcase its new concept car
this October at the Tokyo Auto Show the
rumors are to be believed could be
around 400 horsepowers they're also
floating the idea of hybrid versions but
no matter what engine ends up in
there's no doubt that Nissan's newest
entry will be worthy of the storied and
powerful zeal as long as it's not a
[ __ ] SUV this is everything you need
to know to get up to speed on the Nissan
Z subscribe and comment below what would
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Thursday for the rest of my life does
anybody know any girls feel like me can
you guys send me cool shirts I'll wear
them in the thing even if they're not
cool I will all we're not cool [ __ ]
although our funny shirts to send me
stuff cool
yeah that'd be sweet if I got stuff