Here it is, finally and officially. Nissan's social media rep repeatedly responded to YouTube comments asking about price with "starting around forty thousand". I'll go test drive one of these in the spring, and if I like it, I'll buy it. Apparently they're offering two trims, but even though I could technically afford the higher-end one, it's tough to justify so much money for a car: so I'll get the cheaper one, replacing a blue Z with another blue Z.

This new Z is everything I have been dreaming about for a decade: four hundred horse power, a manual transmission, and a modernized design take-- the back end especially, as in my book the 300ZX has always had a top three rear of any car, ever.

If I don't like it, I'll go try out the new Toyobaru "GR 86": it's obviously not in the same power class as the new Z, but I've heard it's just as pleasant to drive as the current generation MX-5. The new WRX reveal got pushed back to September, and while one of those would be more practical given my wintry rural setting with sketchy plowing, I'm not impressed with the long-term build quality of my wife's, and I really want another sports car, having been obsessed with them since about age three.