Psychology of New-Old Cars

"flatisflat" (flatisflat)
10/09/2020 at 22:50 • Filed to: Subaru, Nissan z proto

(this was my first post, but since I didn’t know how to kinja yet, it effectively disappeared into history upon initial publishing)

Screenshot hack by yours truly

Reverie for what has been tried-and-true vs. lambasting a dogged tooth-long product exist in what I believe to be a cognitive coin flip separation from one another.

Given that no vehicle comes away clean on either side of that coin toss, this is not a debate on how “one is good; the other bad”, but rather an inspection on how it is that one product goes heads more often than another.

And with that, we begin with the most critical part of reviewing something like the Subaru WRX versus the Nissan Z cars. And that is a person’s perception; so we’ll start with mine.

The Datsun/Nissan Z has had a significant head start in the automotive lexicon compared to the WRX. Nostalgia had time to peak for the 240Z by the time I was born, whereas the WRX came into its own only a couple years before I was old enough to legally drive one. Both cars had achieved added notoriety via rally racing, while the Z could comparatively rest more easily on its sexy sculptured laurels. The Z experienced a reinvention in the vein of the early-90's 300ZX after what was a slow burn of aesthetically riffing off its self through the 1980's. It, of course, was then killed off (because bubbles can be deadly), and then brought back again as the 350Z, then the 370Z, and now the recently revealed Z Proto — the two recent generations of Z going as far back as 2002.

The WRX, on the other hand, only just recently stopped shipping with the same engine code it had since the mid-90's; its chassis change in 2008 wasn’t much more than sheetmetal and a new rear suspension design (but same rear diff). And I’ve stopped following the details of it much since then, but I’d wager a guess that this storyline has maintained regardless of what’s on the VIN. In 2015, Subaru switched to the FA20 instead of an EJ-engine; the turbo now sits elsewhere in the bay and there’s direct injection (courtesy of Toyota if I’m not mistaken). But. That’s about it.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

So why do I find the WRX the more appealing long-toothed package?

Some of it I believe simply comes down to body type: I prefer sedans and wagons over coupes, though Subaru killing off the WRX Hatchback isn’t helping their case. Another is that, while the Z has been around much longer, it has experienced more ‘fits and starts’ than the WRX.

Similar to what we’ve seen with the new Bronco reveal, the Z Proto had options to choose from for its historical callbacks. Ford decided to go with hailing back only to the original Bronco; Nissan chose the 240Z and the 90's 300ZX (while invariably continuing a form factor of the 370Z since that’s still what it is underneath). This makes sense for them as those two iterations represented times when Nissan had made something new with the Z (in actuality or at least perceived) — and luckily for them, the 300ZX is old enough now to be looked back upon with a similar nostalgia.

But that ability to choose is as much a luxury as it is an existential burden on the marque. We know what they’re not referencing as much as what they are. And I believe that is unavoidable deadweight in the eyes of an enthusiast.

For the $30K tooth-long sporting vehicle that can be had with a stick and around 300hp, the WRX turns up heads versus the Z-car 8 out of 10 times for me. If only perhaps by actually being a new-old car versus just looking like one.

DISCUSSION (8)

WRXforScience > flatisflat
10/09/2020 at 23:10

I had a 2010 WRX and the 2015 was a noticeable upgrade/update. Getting a whole new engine is a pretty big deal. It didn’t really change the nature of the car, but the generational change was definitely noticeable (at least as much if not more than the 350z to 370z transition).

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > flatisflat
10/10/2020 at 01:53

I actually saw this post when I clicked on your profile after not recognizing your name a few weeks ago. Not sure if I ever formally welcomed you to the club but you’ve done some good writing already.

I have to disagree with you here if you are including the Z Proto but I definitely would take a WRX sedan over a 360Z coupe. It's a more modern package and more practical while delivering similar performance. I disagree about the Nissan's feeling overly derivative though. The WRX in silver blends in disconcertingly well. I'll take mine in World Rally Blue thank you very much.

flatisflat > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
10/10/2020 at 02:19

Thanks for the writing compliment! :)

I am curious to see how the Z Proto actually turns out once it reaches production, but that still doesn’t change what is the more practical package with the WRX, like you said, but the Z Proto is likely to up its performance point so then the comparison could very well get skewed.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > flatisflat
10/10/2020 at 07:42

Z Proto will be to the 2020s what the iDx was to the 2010s...

flatisflat > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
10/10/2020 at 10:32

I think we’ll actually get the new Z! That dang iDx though...that one still stings.

MrSnrub > flatisflat
10/10/2020 at 12:36

I think the WRX, being all-wheel-drive + turbo, also comes across as more sophisticated technically vs a RWD V6 car. So even if it’s similarly dated, it started out ahead.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > flatisflat
10/10/2020 at 12:44

Yeah because the 370Z feels like poorly aged mid 2000s while the WRX feels like really boring 2010s. They can be quite stunning to look at but they can also be vanilla looking in the same way a Toyota Land C ruiser is pretty vanilla looking.

Textured Soy Protein > flatisflat
10/10/2020 at 17:23

The WRX is sorta kinda old. It’s riding on the previous-gen Impreza platform that originally appeared in 2012, but the first year of the WRX on this platform was 2015, and it came with the then-new FA20F motor . The only thing really old about it is the STI’s EJ257 motor which has been around in the same basic form since 2004.

The new 2022 WRX will be on the same vehicle architecture as all of Subaru’s other current cars, the oldest of which is the 2017 Impreza. It’ll at the very least have the new FA24F that first appeared in the 2019 Ascent. I dunno if the regular WRX will have any more than the 260 hp that the other cars like the Ascent, Legacy and Outback get but that’s at least the floor. The STI will presumably get a higher output version of the FA24F.