so says Jalopnik… i agree 
good article
that was a long read but good
any idea how long oem support will last until it’s just aftermarket parts available?
^It would already be over - oem support is usually 15 years. If you call nissan looking for a part they are all discontinued unless the part was common with something newer. I called awhile ago looking for the rubber grommet around the sunroof, I wanted a mint one but you need to buy the glass as well for a steal of $750 he said there were only a couple left in NA.
Either way cool article and I’m glade to know I have been spending thousands of dollars on a 25 year old car which may someday be a collectors item lol, I can’t say that with a straight face
There seems to be a magical divide between modern and collector cars right now that isn’t so tangible going forward
By the end of the 80’s carbs were out, wooden steering wheels were out, emissions controls were in, fuel economy was up, and plastic dominated interiors vs the old wood/leather/metal, and styling which was somewhat whimsical became instead carefully refined mathematically, there was a ruggedness about the classics making drivers feel like WWII pilots… these characteristics are what make classic cars seem more primitive, like they belong in a certain era, and that era has clearly passed
This is the challenge that the Z-car lineage faces, mostly because of the cult status of the 240z, each successive year getting older took on a little more “classic” status, up until the 300zx came along, which was great technologically (no one was let down by it for sure), but it was now a thoroughly modern EFI car with electric windows/dash/mirrors/etc, and plastic or rubber for everything interior – though leather seating persists to this day, the last reminder of that “classic” era
The difference between the first 300zx and 370z is incremental at best, aside from efficiency and manufacturing improvements, the car has only dulled the fighter pilot experience – those important rattles and squeaks, the punchy throttle response, that sense of danger/excitement is just so muffled, it’s no wonder that cars have lost that magic
And then there’s the S-chassis line, which never had a classic version, though the datsun 1600 is the pretty silvia predecessor, any classic roots it had died shortly after with that hideous pinto-like monstrocity, and subsequently took a styling vacation becoming a box on wheels
The first “real” s-chassis was therefore the s12, and that shared so much styling and technology with the z31, you could almost call them sisters, something that can’t be said anytime after, but like the 300zx, the 200sx never had any of those classic car traits people identify with…
And potentially one of the great kickers, the performance improvements that were always held back a little, nissan wasn’t too keen to compete too closely with the skylines and Z cars, those were the cars you graduated to, aspired to, the s-chassis was therefore the gateway drug
really? fr sport has hundreds of oem stuff for sr20s and usdem and jdm s13s and s14s, Nissan still has alot too from what ive heard.
the engine blocks are still produced by Nissan for Tomei USA and Tomei japan for the S chassis .just like your 350 chev block. lots a life left still.
OEM support in NA is basically dead for the S chassis. Japan on the other hand still has a thriving tuner market, so I’m guessing they still have OEM support by Nissan Japan.
I wonder if it wasn’t for either a)our stupid government or b)poor choice by Japanese automakers, why they never gave us the SR. Seems like Automakers make really weird decisions… not giving us the good engines, not wanting to compete with there own cars (the reason the VW Sirocco wont be in NA anytime soon). There are such amazing cars in the world, but we don’t, or won’t be getting them (for at least 15 years lol)
I remember talking to someone about why North America didn’t get SR’s, which made sense to me but not sure if it’s completely true.
Reason why we got KA’s instead of SR’s was because Nissan’s flagship “sports car” was technically supposed to be the 300ZX and if they gave us SR’s in the 240sx’s, ( i don’t know much about 300zx or VG motors ) would an SR 240sx not be faster (and cheaper?) than the 300zx ? something along those lines.
what that article continues to drive home for me is that the whole of the automotive enthusiast community is under educated and can’t write for shit. I read it agreeing with everything and appreciating the points being made but find it so hard to put up with poor writing in all of these sites and magazines.
by contrast, i don’t care for sports that much but when i pick up a copy of sports illustrated much of the articles are so well written that they engage me in subject matter i don’t even care about a little bit; where as here i had to motivate myself to read the whole thing out of respect for the content.
as for the cars; i’m sure most of us will grow out of them and then when we can afford to (and when our families allow it) will have a home with an extra garage spot for one or two cars we always wanted to build when we couldnt afford it or didnt know how to. I’ll certainly have at least one S-chassis car around when that time comes and maybe more than one
i still for the life of me do not understand why people drive hot rods. they’re heavy, slow, inefficient and expensive… nostalgic maybe, but for my money, i’ll take a less than pristine 240sx build to go hard… and go hard it will
Best two cars to fill the garage, s14 and of course a 2012- GTR
On the other hand it shows that unedumacated yoofs are still discovering it for the first time, and more importantly, having the same magical experience that all veterans of cheap nissan rwd sports cars had before them
That more than anything is nissan’s legacy, they make some pretty good cars amidst a horde or other decent cars, but no one gets in a “safe” and “efficient” fwd car and goes “wow, where have you been all my life??!”
The big irony is, that if nissan was to sell the s15, completely unchanged, tomorrow, they would sell out in north america, and people at toyota would have a heart attack, frs/brz sales would plummet
i thought the piece suggested that the light, rwd cars were not brand specific and although Nissan has had a lock on it for a bit Toyota is clearly carrying the torch right now.
true! when i was 18 back one i got my first 240, 93 hatch RIP, it was the best feeling ever. going from a 1990 celica gts almost buying a 93 prelude srv. to getting the s13. i was on a whole new level of fun. ttein suspension, summer tires, an intake and catback. it was great till the car started falling apart. thats when i bought one of the nicest s14s around and just started building it up till this day and every time i look back on all the money i have spent i tell my self and all my friends i would have it no other way.
Awesome read,nice post bing. After reading that I’m all warm n fuzzy inside,makes me wanna have my ride running this weekend it may just happen