I didn't fit in the 370z I tried to test drive... I was pretty fat at the time, 5'11" ~250lbs. I should try again...

I'm moving the hell out of New England and kinda want something fun. If I stay here for another winter, I'm getting a Jeep.

Oh wow, that's out then.

Performance wise yes it would have to be compared to the Z28, but that's only because Nissan doesn't make a rental spec version of the GT-R, it's all or nothing. The GT-R is the Japanese muscle car. Nissan is obviously not going to do a pushrod V8 and RWD, that's not what they're about. The concept is the same though, big, heavy car that's way faster than it has any right to be.

The G37 coupe is not a muscle car. A 330hp V6 doesn't make you a muscle car, not when V6 Camrys and Accords are packing 270. Same with the stock S5. Not fast enough. After a trip to APR, then we'll talk.

I agree...I feel like the G37 is definitely not as performance oriented as a Stang or Camaro, with way more creature comfort standard and no "bare bones" option, which muscle cars usually always have (these cars' implicit pitch is "Buy me cheap so you can throw a few K at my intake and exhaust and embarrass that snobby asshole and his Beemer!").

I feel like the GTR is the Japanese Dodge Viper, if we're being realistic about performance and cost. No way it fits into this category. It's the same mission too - "Hey look how cheaply we can smoke most Porsches, Ferraris and Lambos!"

I'm calling it at Genesis Coupe and Eclipse. IMO the Eclipse is the Japanese Mustang - it shares a similar place in cultural ethos, available in coupe or drop, and targets the same price range.

Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, I take my Prius out of Eco mode and really let it rip. After a few minutes, I feel guilty and put it back.

So, I totally get you guys.

XD

I used to be a car geek in school with a few others. If there is a convertible I still admire it is the Alfa Romeo Spider. Go for that and no one questions your taste in aesthetics.



Hopefully a new one will come at one point.

In Cultural ethos the Z car = Mustang. 3000GT is closer to Camaro than Eclipse. Plus the Eclipse used to come in AWD and was relatively light with decent handling. For the same generation, you would never say that about a Fox body Mustang unless it was gutted and rebuilt.

In Cultural ethos the Z car = Mustang. 3000GT is closer to Camaro than Eclipse. Plus the Eclipse used to come in AWD and was relatively light with decent handling. For the same generation, you would never say that about a Fox body Mustang unless it was gutted and rebuilt.

Ehhh but what movies have featured the Z? Or the 3000GT? All the kids in my generation wanted an Eclipse - just like kids in the 50s and 60s wanted Mustangs. And plenty wound up getting them. Neither of those things are true about the Nissans.

I agree that they aren't similar as cars (Eclipse and Stang), but they occupy the same symbolic role in their respective time periods of greatest fame, and are priced accessibly which strengthens their cultural role, if you will - the car that's working-class attainable and will beat a BMW or Benz with a little work.

Then again, this is from an American perspective; maybe in Asia the Z cars are what the Mustang is to the US? I still think the price changes the image though...

But yeah, as far as car-ness goes sans cultural status, Genesis coupe is probably as close as it gets to a concrete equivalent.

...oh and for the record, the 300ZX is the car I actually want, but I don't have the money to make it the way I want it right now. Also I need a car that doesn't make me look completely irresponsible/flamboyant...