I currently own a 1991 Nissan 300ZX. My next “weekend fun” car: I’m looking at a 93 300ZX Twin-Turbo, and I’d like to pick up a 1983 280ZX Turbo some day. What I’m trying to say is that if you own a Nissan Z-car, you’ve probably owned 2 or 3. They were a true enthusiast car, ever since the 240-Z was introduced 40 years ago. Unfortunately, this also means that there is a limited audience for such a car. Sadly, Nissan stopped production of the Z car in 1996 (2000 in Japan) with the second generation 300ZX due to waning sales. The Z car instantly became a collector.

In 2003, Nissan revived the Z by releasing the 350Z - an everyday sports car aimed at a much larger market than previous Zs. Fortunately for Nissan, they sold gobs of them. Unfortunately for Z-car lovers, the 350Z lacked much of what the Z was about. It was good at being a sports car, but something was missing. The styling inside and out was bland, even boring in some parts; a properly tuned 300ZX TT could still blow the doors off of it, and it was missing the personality of the old Zs. The 350Z was meant for the regular Joe who said “I want a sports car” - not the enthusiast.

For 2009, this has all changed… Continue Reading…

For 2007, Nissan redesigned the entry-level Sentra, making it bigger, sportier, and offering a wider range of trim levels from a base commuter model (base model) to the sporty Sentra SE-R and SE-R V-Spec. With the Sentra out of the way, Nissan introduced the Versa - an inexpensive subcompact with excellent fuel economy that was aimed directly at commuters that want a basic “Point A to Point B” car.

The Nissan Versa was not produced with enthusiasts in mind. If there’s anything I can say about this car is that it’s an absolute bore to drive. It’s bland, boring, vanilla…whatever you want to call it. But isn’t that the point? Continue Reading…

2009 Nissan Maxima SV

In 1989, Nissan unveiled the third generation Maxima, calling it a “four-door sports car.” It was bigger than the previous car, but got a power boost, a significant appearance change, and was actually fun to drive. They went so far as to put “4DSC” stickers on the side windows to remind you of its sporty intentions. Since then, the Maxima seemed have had a sort of identity crisis, leaning back and forth between a sport sedan and luxury sedan. In the mean time, Nissan’s Altima sedan was getting bigger and better every year. In 2007, Nissan redesigned the Altima, making it bigger, faster, and a better drive, which made the Maxima all but obsolete.

With the Altima now serving multiple demographics, who was the Maxima being made for? Nissan needed to do something to make the Maxima desirable again. Now on the seventh generation, Nissan is again calling it a “4-Door Sports Car” - the Maxima has been reborn. Continue Reading…

You’re probably familiar with supercar tours by now, which include World Class Driving, Road & Track Live, and Gotham Dream Cars. These tours let you and a small group of people take some of the wildest supercars on the road for a drive. Most of these tours travel across the US, and some travel overseas. The problem with these tours is that they range from $1500 to $6400. While this may be a fair deal for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it’s out of most people’s price range. What most people don’t know is that there are some smaller but similar supercar tours, and they can be much easier on your wallet.

We recently had a chance to meet up with one of those groups based out of Charlotte, NC called Supercar Sensation. Started just last year, Supercar Sensation gets you into seven different supercars starting at only $200 - a much more affordable option for most. But are you going to get the same experience as the more expensive options? While it may be less expensive, could it be a lesser value than the rest? Continue Reading…

Nissan GT-R Spec V

We’ve been waiting for this since the GT-R was first released. Finally, we get a few details on the upcoming Nissan GT-R SpecV - the modified big brother to the already super-fast GT-R.

Before we get into specs, you need to realize what this upgrade really means. If the GT-R is called Godzilla, then the GT-R SpecV is SpaceGodzilla - with the ability to modify gravity included (yes, I realize I’m a geek.) The GT-R set a record for completing the Nurburgring’s Nordschleife in an amazing 7 minutes, 29 seconds (later beat by the Corvette ZR1 by 3 seconds.) What this means is not only will the GT-R Spec V beat the Vette’s time, but will surely destroy the time, then eat the $105,000 Corvette for breakfast.

So, what’s been upgraded? For starters, Nissan removed the rear seats from the GT-R and swapped the front seats for carbon fiber buckets, lightening it significantly and turning it into a proper supercar. Nissan also swapped quite a few parts with their carbon fiber counterparts and attached some lightweight NISMO wheels, further lightening the car.

More details and pictures after the jump. Continue Reading…

What’s this? If these rumors (just rumors at the moment, pal) turn out to be true, Nissan could bring its highly impressive GT-R to duke it out with the big boys at the Le Mans 24 hour race.

I say good. Racing improves the breed, in the first place, and in the second, I think that Nissan should throw down with the GT-R.

Posting good numbers in the car books and hot lapping the ‘Ring as quick as a Porsche is one thing, but if you want me to take you seriously, you’re going to have to go racing, and go racing for real. And Le Mans is about as real as it gets. Twice around the clock at that place is a grind unlike any other, and not as easy as some marques make it look.

Just ask Nissan or Toyota. Both of them had high profile, high buck efforts to win at Le Mans, and both came up short. Repeatedly.

So now, supposedly, Nissan wants to bring the GT-R out and see how they fair against the big boys over the course of 24 hours, day or night, rain or shine?

Bring it.

If you lose, at least you’ve gained some valuable experience, and hopefully it points out the week spots in your car. And then you can make the GT-R better (I know, for you fan boys, how can it get any better than it already is?). If you win, not only do you get to fold the engineering knowledge you’ve gained into the next gen GT-R, but the advertisements almost write themselves.

Continue Reading…