I miss my 300zx

My 75Z was that puke brown, took leave for 2 weeks, drove 1200 miles home straight through, stripped it down to the ground, prepped and did body work [it was almost immaculate, NO rust anywhere] and repainted it inside and out dark red metallic, I believe it was an Old's color. Then I then put it all back together [carefully] and drove it 1200 miles back to base at Ft Polk La.

I somehow found time in all of that to go to and be in my sisters wedding. I think my aftershave was enamel and hardener with a splash of reducer. I had a rosy red glow to my skin and hair.

Late 90s early 2000s was the pinnacle of drivers sports cars that lasted a long time before tech ruined them. Yes modern cars are faster in a straight line and in corners but they don't have that mechanical feel to them where you the driver felt everything and were in full control.

And THAT is why I so enjoy driving my 93 Miata, I FEEL everything but it's also not overly harsh. Little pebble rolling when I turn in on the loaded side, yep, feel it and the tire squirm as it moves a bit, a small patch of sand or gravel and a bit of slide, feel that too but easily controlled. The rear end sliding a bit or skittering over a rough patch, easily felt and controlled early. Can't feel shit with new stuff like you can with that old thing.

''Numb'' is the word when it comes to so many new rides, the computer does everything you used to feel and correct for.

I agree.  I wanted to post one on the first two pages as they were sexy as hell back in the 90's/2000's and I always wanted one.

I bought my wife a tenth anniversary Miata, but I had to drive it occasionally and it was just too damn tight.

Traded it in on a new Z3 3.0 with a five speed manual. Trading it for a 330i ZHP is probably the biggest car regret of my life.

They looked great, but cleaning those wheels was a serious PITA
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I stumbled upon a free hood when I had my S2000 and was just getting into custom painting (And it was more popular back then) so we did this work on the hood.  Turned out great and I sure miss that damn car!

Old Rims are best rims.

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And those were 29 year old tires, OEM Bridgestones. NO weather checking or cracks. Impressive as hell. Guarantee the replacements won't be that nice in 5 years.

Speedo indicated on my MR2 as we were racing on the highway at night.  He was right with me.  I didn't have GPS or anything to corroborate the speedo.

I 100% agree, the ANALOG feel is what has been lost...and what makes driving the sports cars from this era so rewarding.
The early manual transmission NSX's had manual steering, which at anything above parking lot speeds is sublime.
Even the electronic PS on the S2000 still manages to impart excellent feedback!

My baby. It has been neglected for a while. I really need to take it for a spin.

They all look good except for the Lexus.

The NSX and S2000 in particular look incredible.

The Lexus looks like a discount Chevy Lumina

The S2000 was under appreciated.  You just had to keep the revs high.

IIRC, the car needed to be redesigned because it wouldn't meet updated crash safety standards.

The cost of doing this plus the low volumes in which sports cars are sold resulted in Honda just pulling the plug. It also had a good bit of competition from the cheaper Miata.

For the Japanese makers, sports cars often lose them money. Making one isn't a rational decision. In order for it to happen, they need to have leadership that says "I don't care, make it anyway" and sticks to it.

Good thread! Took way too long to bring up the DSMs. Had a few back in the day. They'll always hold a special place in my heart!

Exactly this, Stateside sales got close to 10k units couple years (dont think it ever exceeded)  then decreased every year after that high water mark. 66k units over 9 MY with descending popularity isn't conducive for planners to reinvest. Total World, first year was best then consistent,  downward slope - last few year were sub 10k IIRC, which is kinda the threshold. The 07-08 FinCrisis contributed to the decision here.

Like many models, FJ Cruiser, Supra A80, FD, etc - enthusiast passion creates apparent demand that didn't show up in volumes transacted. This especially after the model is no longer produced, so people can't count on mfg availability,  but only the secondary market. Like art.

Def aren't generally profitable, or at least not in relation to resources monopolized. But the homologation pressures, halo effect and motorsports requirements (Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Mitsubishi have abandoned wholesale mfg works)  - things that drove suitable engine and model development, has waned. I'm sure you @MVolkJ are thinking of Akio here - because otherwise LFA, Supra, Yaris GR - WRC involvement, GR production trims (GR as a whole likely), Dakar efforts, NASCAR, LeMans, etc - would likely all be gone. Toyota leaving F1 was also influenced by the FinCrisis - but not winning with maybe the biggest purse didn't help.

Lol... this guy said RELIABLE...

The timing belt WILL slip and destroy the head. The capacitors in the ECU WILL leak and destroy the ECU. So I guess in a sense they are reliable.

I drove a 1990 GSX with a 16g turbo, Starion front mount intercooler, RFL blowoff, and APEXi N1 muffler in high school.  I thought I was SO cool.

That's exactly who I'm thinking of. Without Morizo, Toyota would still be boring.

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Yep I figured When you got the name and the juice - and you're actually piloting sports prototypes at a high level, you're  legit. He redirected not only Toyota Brands -  but competitors were pushed by his efforts as well. There'd be no Z4, BRZ, I'm not sure Mazda could have continued to afford the low volume Miata w/o Toyota's tie in, not sure where  the  Z would be w/o the Supra returning. Lucky dude - but so are peeps like us.

https://www.driverdb.com/drivers/morizo