90's Japanese sports cars and aging

[Jeremy C]

I was just reading Jalopnik's ode to the mkIV Supra, when I got to this point:

This new Supra had flowing, elegant lines, a long hood, and its signature huge wing. I think that in terms of design, the Nissan 300ZX and Mazda RX-7 have aged better, but the Supra is unmistakably pretty.

I have to agree that the FD has aged remarkably well, but the 300ZX? I'm starting to think I must be one of the only people out there that think it looked aged the moment it was released. It really doesn't have any design qualities that stand out to me. Now the 1st gen 3S is starting to look aged with the pop ups, but comparing the four more common Japanese sports cars of the era (Supra, 300ZX, 3000GT, RX-7), I would put the Z as dead last in styling appeal and it's appeal 20 years later. The face lift on the 3S made a huge difference in longevity from my perspective, and would put it right behind the FD in aging gracefully. I always thought the Supra was OK looking, but didn't care of the long nose and slab sides. The widebody TRD 3000GT (great name choice too!) went a long way to making the Supra look better, but I don't consider that option since it was a rather rare car and demanded a stupid amount of money.

So strictly on looks alone, how would you rate the cars of the 90's today?

EDIT: I suppose we can add other cars to the mix like the NSX (will never look old to me) or the Skyline (R33 > *), but I was thinking primarily the four that we see most often talked about as competition to the 3000GT on our shores.

[CoreyB]

3000GT>Supra>FD>RX7>300ZX

[JasonY]

This is the best looking car from the 90's imo...I also agree the 300 is dead last in appeal. The 2.5 gen VR4 is probably my favorite currently of the 3/S flavors..

Actually have a pic of the FD with a nice 98:


Jason

[CoreyB]

My bad, RX7 and FD are the same car lol. But 3S IMO wins for looks. The FD is kinda a stretch out Miata to me, even though I believe it precedes the Miata.

[JasonY]

3/S is too numb for me to enjoy driving anymore. Took the 98 down the street the other day since Todd complained it was making an odd noise around 55mph. Of course it was silent when i drove it. Not my car so didnt go very far. But the steering feels as boosted as my trucks is compared to my FD. The FD doesnt even have that great of steering compared to an older M3. But the car is so alive vs a 3/S which is why i enjoy it so much more since i enjoy the drive. Supra is predictably boring and well engineered. Like all toyotas of that era.(and Toyota in general). The 300zx while visually unappealing does have the appeal of being made with higher quality materials than a 3/S is. So they are aging better in that respect.

Jason

[NOMIEZVR4]

when I get a chance ill post a pic of the FD and my vr4...He's got 2..one with Petitt flares and another with a stock body...

Only pic I have at the moment...

[Jeremy C]

when I get a chance ill post a pic of the FD and my vr4...He's got 2..one with Petitt flares and another with a stock body...

Only pic I have at the moment...

An FD tires that wide in the back scares me. Only because I know they wouldn't be there if they weren't needed...

And as for the rear: Yeah, the 3000GT has a pretty "meh" rear on it. The Supra tails are by far my favorite. They're probably the most exciting part of the car to me. That isn't to say that a race with just about any Supra would end with me staring at the tail lights (though I would), just that I think they look good. FD's I feel the same. I did the best I could with an arc spoiler swap, 99 center garnish, and GTO tails to at least break things up some.

That's one of the few things the 3S has over any of the other cars: We have factory options to swap around parts to make the car look the way we want. None of the others changed at all, we have lots of parts to swap to make the car look the way we want without having to resort to aftermarket bits.

[Jeremy C]

3/S is too numb for me to enjoy driving anymore. Took the 98 down the street the other day since Todd complained it was making an odd noise around 55mph. Of course it was silent when i drove it. Not my car so didnt go very far. But the steering feels as boosted as my trucks is compared to my FD. The FD doesnt even have that great of steering compared to an older M3. But the car is so alive vs a 3/S which is why i enjoy it so much more since i enjoy the drive. Supra is predictably boring and well engineered. Like all toyotas of that era.(and Toyota in general). The 300zx while visually unappealing does have the appeal of being made with higher quality materials than a 3/S is. So they are aging better in that respect.

Jason

You know what's funny there: my lowly as fuck SVT Focus has far better steering feel than the 3S. I didn't think the 3S felt bad until I drove the Focus for a while then switched back, then I felt just how overly boosted it is. You really feel it once you can compare. And no, I know better to think that Focus has anything on a proper right wheel drive steering setup.

[AdamVR4]

You know what's funny there: my lowly as fuck SVT Focus has far better steering feel than the 3S. I didn't think the 3S felt bad until I drove the Focus for a while then switched back, then I felt just how overly boosted it is. You really feel it once you can compare. And no, I know better to think that Focus has anything on a proper right wheel drive steering setup.

Is it that the steering wheel is too large or that the power steering just provides too much mechanical advantage or that you have to physically turn the wheel too much to turn the car or all of the above..? I feel like those can be remedied if you really cared.

I thought this thread was about looks

[Jeremy C]

Is it that the steering wheel is too large or that the power steering just provides too much mechanical advantage or that you have to physically turn the wheel too much to turn the car or all of the above..? I feel like those can be remedied if you really cared.

I thought this thread was about looks

I was only replying to a post, I can derail a little.

To answer, I think it would be a mixture of mechanical advantage and steering ratio as you mentioned, along with not enough feedback coming through the wheel.

And kudos on the pictures! I supposed I should have done that, but figured everyone would know what each of those cars looked like by now.