Sales Totals 350 & 370 Z

UNKNOWN_370

Oficionado is a spanish word. It means to make official. Its a word. Lol you learn something new everyday.

Red__Zed

google says it isn't.


Back on topic, I'm curious what traits the Z has besides dismal sales that make people think it will be a classic. There are a couple traits that help raise a car's chances of being collectible after it is gone, and I don't see how the Z really meets any of them...

Historical Significance
Racing history, changing dynamic of a market, etc. Cars like the vette and 64.5 mustang fall into this category. So do many exotics.

The Z is at best an evolution of the 350z.

Lust factor
Cars that people want to own, but can't...then later in life, they can, and are willing to pay extravagantly for it. Top line cars, and many supercars fall into this category.

Most people that want a Z just ******* buy one. It isn't at all exclusive. My dad paid more for his Accord than I did for my Z. Beyond that, the motivation to WANT one is really not that high-- it's not like it was a Bond car...it is not even getting a lot of vendor attention like the supra and 300zx did.

Difficulty to find in good condition

Stuff like this starts to drive prices up early, and it is really what makes some older cars incredibly expensive. If you look around this forum,more than half spend most of their life obsessing over keeping their Z scratch free, and in good condition for their kids to trade in on STIs or whatever. Back in the day, people drove the wheels off their cars, and didn't sell them 3 years after purchase...which means that very few survived, thus driving up the value(of course, only for cars that people WANTED. You don't see much demand for old pintos)

Limited production

I'm not talking 10k a year, I'm talking true limited production...and again, it has to be a car people want. Nobody is thinking the RX8 will be a collectible, but the RX7 is almost a shoe-in. What is the difference? The RX7 is one of the greatest cars ever made...many people felt the 93 model was a better car than the viper of the same year....the RX8 couldn't compete with a mustang. And check out the production numbers:
3rd Gen Mazda RX-7 Production Numbers

There are less FDs out there than there are Z's, and even fewer turbo variants....

Long before the 370z is in a high dollar auction, you'll see bidding wars for FDs, Z32TTs, Supra TT, etc...hell, I think there were more 370z's sold than ap2s