Nissan Trademarks New Logo for Z Cars… and Itself
Everybody knows Nissan’s 370Z has overstayed its welcome. With over a decade of service beneath her belt, the old girl has done her part and now cries out desperately for retirement.
It’s not the car’s fault; Nissan simply hasn’t had anything to replace it with. As such, it’s had to keep sending the tired veteran back to the front. While a successor has been rumored to be in development for ages, little hard evidence turned up to prove its existence.
Meanwhile, the current Z continues to bleed sales. Nissan only managed to move 2,384 examples inside the United States last year — down from a similarly modest 3,468 in 2018. This year won’t be any better for the model, though we now finally have confirmation that Nissan is making moves on the next Z car — and it seems to support rumors that it will adhere to a retro-inspired look. Nissan has filed a trademark patent with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and the Z logo looks quite a bit like it did when we were still calling the marque Datsun.
According to Nissan Senior Vice President Ivan Espinosa, public previews of the actual car are off the table until at least October. But Motor Trend managed to spot the patent filing early, presumably before the automaker managed to do the same in other countries.
Nissan has also been busy filing a new trademark for itself. Following the trend where automakers nix the three-dimensional aspects of their existing designs for a cleaner look, the brand has streamlined its corporate iconography quite a bit. It looks decent, offering more changes than the recent BMW revamp while managing to look better overall. Motor1 reports that it saw the emblem illuminated on the front of the Ariya concept in Tokyo (below). That seems to indicate it’s already gearing up to swap over to the new badge — though it could still be reserved for EVs.
Realistically speaking, the next Z car is probably years away. Nissan has confirmed it’s in development and rampant speculation has gradually given way to persistent rumors that the car will utilize a turbocharged 3.o-liter V6 and the name 400Z.
[Image: Nissan]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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The Z is similar to 1957 Zorro TV series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYdDqi1EsFQ
I live in NZ where most people drive ex-JDM cars 'cause we're RHD. One thing I love about Nissan and Toyota's old JDM cars, is that they gave many model ranges their own logo, and put THAT on the front of the car, instead of the Nissan or Toyota logo. You've got to look at the back to see who makes it. It makes each model range look like a sub-brand. (I think Nissan stopped doing this for new designs from about '99.) And the JDM word names are always cooler than whatever silly letter/number combos they come up with for other countries. Z cars should have a Z on the front. A Lexus SC should've been called a Soarer and had a lion with wings on it.