Are you Nissan Fans?

[bloggy]

Hello,

 

I am a student currently writing on motoring/automotive fans and thought that maybe you could help me a bit

 

While many brands have lots of fans (Ferrari, Harley Davidson...), it is surprising to see that Nissan has a lot of owner communities (Primera, Micra, GTR...).

 

Do you consider yourselves as 350z Fans? Nissan Fans? What would be the difference?

What does it mean to you?

Are you particularly loyal to 350z? to Nissan? Do you have 350z/Nissan tattoos?

And what do you seek for when subscribing to an owners community?

 

Do you consider yourselves as "special" for Nissan? Do they do anything in particular to recognize you? If not, would you expect them to treat you differently?

 

Sorry for all these questions, and thank you in advance for your responses!

 

Isabelle

[martinmac]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Interesting questions and I will give it my best shot.

 

I would say we were more fans of the Z marque rather than Nissan in general.

 

 

This forum is as much about the community and social side as the cars although its a great source of information and parts.

 

Suprisingly Nissan show almost no interest in us which I can never understand. We have recent dealer interest which is encouraging and I am sure many others visit the forum.

[varley16]

quick answers here

 

Im a 350Z fan, not a nissan fan, although i do love there sportier cars like skyline, GTR, 350, 370, the do have a crap side...all the other cars not mentioned.

havin a 350Z is different to others,a 350z constantly gets good comments, i like to have a car that are not that common, something special.

im loyal to my 350Z, not nissan, i would want to keep it forever, i would like to be buried with it, but i dont think i would be allowed.

no nissan/350z tats, thats just weird.

i usually subscribe to owners clubs, loads of info on here, like to chat about the car, give advice, inspiration from other owners, loads of pics.

and yes i do consider myself special, most people do aswell, i dont expect anything from nissan, dont expect to be treated differently, at the end of the day there selling a product, i want it, i give them money, end of really unless something breaks that shouldnt and its under warranty.

[DoogyRev]

Welcome Along

 

Personally I am a Zed Fan.... 350z, 370z and the classic 240z, 260z and 280z. I have always loved the look and since owning my 350 the driving to go with it

 

Would I have bought a Zed without this forum...... probably yes...... but I think being a member of this forum makes the whole Zed experience that more special

 

Never been a "forum" person until this one .... and not really an active member on any others. I think the fact that there are a few who have moved on to other cars but still remain active members speaks volumes.

 

I am sure others will be along to post their views

[Neilp]

I'm a fan of what nissan have achieved in the sports car world with low cost sports cars.

 

I'm a massive fan of the Z- Marque and the Skyline R marques.

 

I'm not loyal to nissan, I'm loyal to this community though. We have a very tight-nit community on here and have many friends of all age categories. We also have brilliant social gatherings with lots of alcohol.

 

I subscribed here as after a quick browse over the site it seemed very very friendly and decided this is where I wanted to join.

 

Signed up and there is a wealth on knowledge on here from much older, experienced, Z fanatics.

 

Nissan do nothing for us. Some local dealers do discounted deals on labour etc which can help people out but i'd say the forums biggest help is from one man.

 

I dont consider myself special. I feel owning a 350z is more of an achievement.

[Wasso]

As Varley said we don't love Nissan we love the Zed, the Zed name the pedigree and the sheer enjoyment. Although we can't totally shove Nissan in a corner, we have to thank them for the creation, it's just a shame that once the dealership gets hold of the vehicle things go Pete Tong as half of them haven't got a clue about the Zed and how to look after one.

 

I an totally addicted to my Zed, I've personalised her and call her Suzi (and that's no joke). I let her sleep at night and awake in the morning to let her purr her V6 in the mornings and scream at the weekends as we all show Audi and BMW (example) what a car should look like.

 

We all personalise our Zeds because they are our 2nd or 1st love in some cases. I can tell you that I have actually slept with my Suzi, but I wouldn't be as strange to get a tatoo of Nissan on my skin.

 

If you want to read more I wrote a story about her life in my possession.

 

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=50472&hilit=+My+350z

[docwra]

Im on the committee of the 200SX owners club and currently have a 350Z, an S13 200, a Silvia Convertible and an an older S12 Silvia, Ive also driven lots of Skylines and tested a GTR not too long ago.

 

Am I a Nissan fan? Kinda like Neil, I can appreciate what they have achieved with fast, affordable cars (the 350 particularly) but they dont have the same effect on me that an old Alfa, or a Mk2 Escort, or any Ferrari at all does for instance

 

As for what Nissan do for us, SXOC at one time had over 2000 paid up members and another 2-3000 regular board users and we didnt even get replies from Nissan UK to questions we had asked. Generally speaking the dealers are not very knowledgable (with some notable exceptions) and part prices are ridiculous, its definitely not that making me come back every time

 

If you are specifically looking at Nissan then you have to consider drift racing IMO, about 3/4 of the competition cars in the UK are either Skylines or 200SX's, if you want actual "fans" thats where they are.

[DRIFTZ]

Well, I bought my first Nissan (family car) because it was being built in the UK where I live.

 

I liked the car and the dealer a lot - I then bought my wife a Nissan Juke and the experience was even better.

 

So, I thought - well, lets give the 370z a go. Having previously owned two S2000 honda's (great machines) and enjoyed the dealers over there I found that it was the dealer 1st, then the Z, and then the manufacturer.

 

Now I have the 370z I can honestly say that the car is one heck of an achievement for the money for Nissan - I moved to Nissan for the cars and dealers, not the name Nissan.

[LRF4N]

I'm both but more a zed fan than Nissan fan. My zeds up for sale, currently sorned on the driveway. Been driving the skyline for over a week daily but still spend more time here than the skyline forum and will prob continue to do so. I have a lot of friends on here. Im not selling the zed through choice, just change of circumstances. Spend a lot of money on it and don't think il have such an extensive project again.

 

Having said that I love Nissan sports cars, all the S range, most of the R range but in the Z range the only one I loved is the 350

 

I wouldn't say I'm loyal to one brand just because of that brand. I doubt il buy another Nissan. Even the skyline wasn't top of my list. I'm a huge BMW fan but I would get one cos none of the models at the moment are 'me' I just buy the car that suits me at the time

[Dom187]

As other members have said Nissan dont seem to acknowledge the exisitence of owners clubs from what I have seen, when I owned a Golf I was invited to the new MK6 GTI launch at the local dealers which was an invite only event. Not a massive deal I know but at least they offered something. I think the fact Nissan dont acknowledge us is a great shame and they are missing out on some potential opportunities.

 

Prepare for some babble....

 

For me the reason I brought a 350z was for the car not the badge, for me the the fact the 350z is a 'Nissan' is irrelevant. I love the way it drives, I love the way it looks, I love the way it sounds. I can honestly say I have never been this attached to any other car, I think in part this is due to all the saving I had to do to own one. Also unfortunately the Zed I have now is my second, my first got written off... I was so gutted took me a while to get over it TBH and I released what I had lost. So I had the option to go off and get another car after owning a Zed for a year. I wanted to get something different not another Zed, I got pi**ed off as I could not seem to find another car which ticked my boxes but I was adamant I should not get the same car again. My Mrs said to me, "Its ok to love a car you know" when I was talking about my old Zed and moaning that nothing else seemed to flick my switch... something clicked when she said that, I had to have another Zed.

 

I know some people say to me its just a car and I get too emotional over an object, for me its more than that... its a feeling I can get no where else.

 

Sorry for the babble but you asked!

[JetSet]

I've had quite a few Nissan and other Jap cars, in fact the first ones I had were when the company was called Datsun. I've always found them to be ultra reliable which is for me the most important factor when buying a car that you intend to keep for quite a while. Had the 350Z been made by Ford, TVR, Fiat or Alfa for example then I wouldn't have touched it. I daresay a TT or a BMW would have been a safer option but the unreliability of the TT and Z4 my wife had and the bland looks of the Eurobox BMW's (and they are both so common) meant that The 350Z was what I chose.

 

 

Pete

[Keyser]

I just like Zeds

got 3

 

Love the look of the 350z that's why I have one

 

The forum - It's fun full off lots of different people from all walks of life with at least one common interested (other than flaming noobs), its friendly a great source of information and inspiration.

 

Nissan - Errr no loyalty here I'd b just as happy with a Skoda if it looked and drove like a Zed

 

I have no Tattoos car related or otherwise.

 

Am I special - People often see me and whisper to their friends "he's special he is" so maybe I am?

[Railgun]

I'm a real jap car fan. With the exception of my first car (Fiat Stillo) which I used to bolster no claims. I've had Toyota, Honda and Nissan cars, the latter taking the gold for me. 350 and now 370 really have stuck their hand down the front of my trousers and had a good rummage around. Truly brilliant cars. I honestly dont think there is a car on the market that gives you so much performance and draws as much attention as the Z.

 

I had a guy pull up at the pumps next to me yesterday, who after filling up, came over to tell me how great the car looked, and question me about........"what's the fastest you've had it?"........"what milage do you get?"..........."have you seen any others around, because this is the first one I've seen!".............then a really awkward silence while he walked round it expecting me to ask him if he wanted a burn in it (I'm assuming) LOL

Great car, and I've yet to pass another Z driver who hasn't acknowledged me! I think that says something in itself!

[Ebized]

Zeds represent great value for money with looks, power and reliability that is unequalled. On my 3rd example.

 

Enjoyed many Japanese cars in the past - all of which have been near-on 100% reliable, unlike English and French offerings in the past whilst the high prices of the German marques or badly handling American barges are a turn-off. Love many of the Italian cars in style and performance - unfortunately mostly well beyond my budget and probably no bad thing as their lack of reliability can be expensive.

[bronzee]

Love cars in general, especially fast ones that handle well, and love the Z marque, whether it be a 240z or a 370z and all the models in between.

[Dano190485]

i can answer this question for you buddy, just look at how many people change the nissan badges on the front and the back of the motor also the wheels to just a z. i love the 350 but could never see my self driving a micra lol

[Wasso]

Funny you say that Dano, the only remaining badges on the exterior are the Z badges on the wings. All others have been removed. But then that does call for more people asking "what is it?" and taking longer looks when passing me on the motorway. On my recent European trip I've never seen so many people breaking their neck just to look at the front of the car. Even the German police pulled me over for a detailed look

[Blitzkrieg]

Do you consider yourselves as 350z Fans? Nissan Fans? What would be the difference?

I am a 'fan' of certain cars in the respect that I think they are good drivers cars, but its not because of the brand or heritage. It just so happens that Nissan have made lots of cars that I like (Silvia, 350z, 370Z Skyline) but this is the first Nissan I have had and the next car will be picked on its own merits and what I need at the time.

 

Are you particularly loyal to 350z? to Nissan? Do you have 350z/Nissan tattoos?

I would defend my car if somebody slagged it of as its a very good car. But apart from that no.

 

And what do you seek for when subscribing to an owners community?

I needed advice on replacement parts for my car and upgrades for track use. I knew that the 350Z had a large modifying following, so I went looking for it so I could learn from other peoples experience.

 

Do you consider yourselves as "special" for Nissan? Do they do anything in particular to recognize you? If not, would you expect them to treat you differently?

The only contact I have had with Nissan is through the dealers and they just seem to want to rip me off with extortionate part prices. Its an old car now so I'm not expecting to get any special treatment in the same way that a new car buyer would get (as they want them to buy more new cars)

[bloggy]

Thank you all for your responses!

 

So it's not about Nissan in particular, right?

Passion for cars comes first, and then it seems that "Zeds" are good cars... Nissan as a brand comes last in the whole thing?

 

Because of it being a smaller brand? Producing a wide range of models (incl. Micra or Qashqai) and all different from each other unlike Porsche or Ferrari?

So in the end, it failed to stand for something in particular except in their sports car range?

 

Isabelle

[LRF4N]

That pretty well sums it up

[MidnightRacer]

Do you consider yourselves as 350z Fans? Nissan Fans? What would be the difference?

I'm actually both although to be truthful I'm probably more a "Jap" car fan. I have however owned mostly nissans over the last 12 years in the form of Primera, GTIR, 200sx and 350z but mixed that up with Mazda and Suzuki Cars too.

 

Are you particularly loyal to 350z? to Nissan? Do you have 350z/Nissan tattoos?

I'm pretty loyal to nissan although their modern cars don't do it for me any more. My nissans are pretty much all play things built over 5 years ago.

 

And what do you seek for when subscribing to an owners community?

Frequent posts and good information on modifying and general messing about. forums with low post counts tend to go stale pretty quickly. not having such a clicky atmospehere helps too, some forums have a small group of people who are "regulars" who dont seem to want to mix with other people unless its for their own personal gain. This can make it quite uncomfortable.

 

Do you consider yourselves as "special" for Nissan? Do they do anything in particular to recognize you? If not, would you expect them to treat you differently?

Nissan Generally have played little part in owners clubs that I've seen however about 5 years ago nissan did provide a load of merchandise free to my owners club (the Primera Owners Club back then) in the form of Mugs, Keyrings etc.

[Chester]

Not been here too long but really surprised to hear about the lack of manufacturer support. Over on SeatCupra.net, Seat really get involved and so do pretty much the entire dealer network. Obviously with more affordable cars you're going to get more people loyal to the brand. Like others have posted, I've been invited to open days and unveiling events; they like to keep the customers wanting the next model and keep the customer base happy.

 

So I'm definitely not a Nissan fanboy. My first and currently only Japanese car was a Mazda 323F 2.0 V6 ZXi which was a one of a kind car, and there was nothing else out there to touch it for style and practicality in a single package. Considering ultimately it's a 4 door FWD hatch, it drove fantastically well too. I wish they or someone else would develop something similar, but I guess that was a fashionable car then, for some reason that's all gone.

 

But the 350Z is another pretty unique proposition, and that's why I'm hoping to buy one. In the same way that there's nothing to compete with the ol' Mazda, Nissan have the balance of this car right. Put it this way, for all of the research in trying to find an alternative to the 350Z, it all lead back to the Zed. And there's got to be some very good reasons for that. At the end of the day, people have voted with their wallet.