Japanese Nostalgic Car

Happy April Fools’ Day. Instead of playing a joke on you this year, we’re going to explore the jokes that this cruel world has played on all of us. It would be too easy to mock the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet, a car so ugly and strange it’s almost endearing. Instead, we’re going to laugh at how Nissan actually spent good money to produce it during a time when it was absolutely slashing costs in all other aspects. The CrossCab came out just as Nissan began obliterating decades of hard-earned reputation by installing its worst generation of CVTs across its entire lineup. Rumor is that Carlos Ghosn’s wife came up with the idea, which fast-tracked the car into production. That alone should have been cause enough to have sent him packing in a musical instrument box. Your answers of the week don’t have to be a specific car, though many certainly deserve the ridicule. They can be a personal story, a trend, or a sad universal truth.

What’s the biggest joke in the automotive world?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What car still feels new to you even though it’s actually old?“. Continue reading →

As lovers of classic cars our perception of time can get seriously warped. That often manifests itself when we see a car like the Nissan 350Z, which because we grew up admiring the S30-Z32 generations, we think of as new even though it came out over 20 years ago. Maybe it’s because there was a Z hiatus between Z32 and Z33, or perhaps it’s the styling, but the 350Z just doesn’t give us the same warm fuzzy feeling or jolt of excitement as its predecessors when we see one.

What car still feels new to you even though it’s actually old?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which Nissan model is the most Nissan?“. Continue reading →