Nissan RZ34...A future classic, or a byzantine modern mess?

[FSUZ33]

Traded in my '05 Z33 for my current RZ34 last year.
It was 20 years old, but still in fantastic shape.
But it had a tape deck (I don't own tapes) and an in0dash CD changer (I'd have to scrounge the attic/garage to find CDs).

I wonder if my daughter will be joking at some point that her car is so old it has a USB-C port.

 

[bpeckham]

I wonder if my daughter will be joking at some point that her car is so old it has a USB-C port.

And a display. That car is so old it doesn't have a neural interface!

 

[25 IS V8]

Yup.

The day may come that Nissan pulls that crap too, but the Z is still technically "ancient", and people are beginning to realize that's actually desired as they realize everyone else has gone too far off the deep end.

The new Sentra and Armada has gone full LCD widescreen dash, I don't know if Nissan implemented module hardware locks on those, all of the competitors with those screens do it.

Wanna really get your blood boiling? GM has begun manufacturing their trucks with door panels that are unserviceable. Bad power window switch? All new door panel. Bad interior door handle? All new door panel. And they come in a dozen different material/color combos. Once GM stops making the replacement door panels, owners will be SCREWED.

Nissan has been using the same interior parts in the Z over twenty years. Doesn't seem so janky in 2026, does it?

Speaking of the LCD cluster, Nissan was cheap and the cluster is the same across many models (Honda does this too) so physically the same.

On the Q60, the infotainment was related to the GTR, so Nissan loaded the model specific files into the screen ROM, you could hack into it and enable GTR model and you'd get the performance pages and startup animation from the GTR. I believe VW/Audi does the same thing. Their clusters are preloaded with Golf R, GTI, basic Golf, e-Golf, Taos, etc, and people will tinker with the file to bring up the wrong car, just for giggles. No harm to switch vehicle styles.

It makes it cheaper because the manufacturer is basically buying the same exact p/n from their screen vendor, they can quickly select the vehicle it's going into before installing it. It's just a selection since the software files for all applicable vehicles is just sitting in the memory.

Every time I get in my IS 500 it's ancient. Hard to believe the Z is actually MORE ancient than my IS 500.

And believe me, the tech in my car is ancient too. Hey! Where did that CD player come from?

 

[JWG]

Every time I get in my IS 500 it's ancient. Hard to believe the Z is actually MORE ancient than my IS 500.

And believe me, the tech in my car is ancient too. Hey! Where did that CD player come from?

I am actually also considering an RC-F FE v8. How do you like it vs the Z?

 

[takemorepills]

Every time I get in my IS 500 it's ancient. Hard to believe the Z is actually MORE ancient than my IS 500.

And believe me, the tech in my car is ancient too. Hey! Where did that CD player come from?

I believe that the IS platform was the last car sold in USA with a CD player.

Did you see the recent IS updates? Not only is the CD player gone, but also the seriously awesome instrument cluster, and the interior just looks cheaper now. I'm a huge fan of how Lexus always had the buttons for everything. My Nissan Titan "feels" like a Lexus, it even has the Lexus style gauge cluster and buttons everywhere, that was my first impression of it when I saw the truck.

My neighbor recently offered to sell me his mint 2005 SC430, it had both an in-dash CD changer and tape deck. Pretty nice car, but I'm saving up for the Z, so can't be distracted.....

 

[25 IS V8]

I am actually also considering an RC-F FE v8. How do you like it vs the Z?

Well I've never driven a Z so I can't compare. What is not comparable at all is the glorious sound of the 2UR-GSE that powers this car. You just can't get that kind of sound from turbocharged engines and it's intoxicating. Drive an RC F and wring it out. You'll see what I mean.

I believe that the IS platform was the last car sold in USA with a CD player.

Did you see the recent IS updates? Not only is the CD player gone, but also the seriously awesome instrument cluster, and the interior just looks cheaper now. I'm a huge fan of how Lexus always had the buttons for everything. My Nissan Titan "feels" like a Lexus, it even has the Lexus style gauge cluster and buttons everywhere, that was my first impression of it when I saw the truck.

My neighbor recently offered to sell me his mint 2005 SC430, it had both an in-dash CD changer and tape deck. Pretty nice car, but I'm saving up for the Z, so can't be distracted.....

Yep. The updates make the cabin more modern but also completely screw it up IMO. The digital instrument cluster lags and say what you will about Lexus' RTI, it at least lets me not get fingerprints all over the screen (which bothers the crap out of me).

 

[d4rkg04t]

My Dad was in his 40's back in the 1980/90's. Contrary to what many of you think, the 80's weren't "20 years ago...). He was doing okay at the time, but a divorce and some other things put a bit of stress on his finances, which isn't the point of this thread really, but I thought how cool would it have been, if he had bought a C4 ZR1, or a VR4, or a 300ZX TT and just kept it as a second car? He would be cruising around in that today, super cool!

A friend of mine bought a 3000GT VR4 back when they were new. I think it made 320bhp w/ AWD. That thing was a legit ride. Wait, come to think of it, I don't believe I've ever seen a VR4 in person that wasn't red. I'm sure they came in different colors but hell if I've ever seen one.

 

[d4rkg04t]

I'm mostly presuming that Nissan didn't invest anything into the electrical architecture of the recycled Z platform.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. A lot of cars out there, mine included, have gone WAY too far with trying to computerize everything whether it's a good idea or not. I disabled the tracking module in my Dark Horse after seeing how GM resold driving/speeding data to Lexusnexus who them resold it again, with personally identifiable information intact, to Progressive, Geico, Alstate, etc... who then started proactively dropping policies on people because their data showed they <insert Pikachu surprised face meme here> liked to go fast from time to time in their sports cars. I figured it was only a matter of time before Ford started doing it, too.

 

[loki2191]

“… but the Z is still technically "ancient", and people are beginning to realize that's actually desired as they realize everyone else has gone too far off the deep end…” Indeed.

True,
Let’s see how the 20 lcd screens in the new vehicle hold up in 20 years.

 

[RHE2026]

Has anyone come across any display failures after the factory warranty is up? Plus any other problems that I may encounter? Thx