Muscular sportsters add glitz to auto show

Al Castanets, vice president of sales for Nissan, accurately identifies the new style as “respectful but not retro,” as it evokes the original Z-car without aping it. The V-6 engine muscles up to 332 horsepower — a 10 percent increase — while boosting fuel economy by one mile per gallon. This is thanks to a weight loss program that slimmed the Z down by an astounding 225 pounds.

Ford’s Mustang has a few years on the Z-car (which went by its maiden name of Datsun back when the 240Z arrived in 1970), but as with the new Nissan, the fast Ford aims to portray a fresh version of its original self.

The 2010 Mustang carries the signature “hockey stick” crease along the sides first seen in the ’64½ model (as they called it that back then, when new models didn’t arrive in the fall as God intended). It also has sequential rear turn signals that flash in series from the inside to the outside of the car when turning, though these are borrowed from the Thunderbird of that era, or the Mercury Cougar, if you prefer, not the Mustang.

As is expected, the 'Stang’s V-8 engine is more powerful with 315 horsepower, up from 300. The suspension is revised for improved ride and more precise handling. The body sculpting includes the addition of a front splitter that blocks air from getting under the car for reduced aerodynamic drag and less lift at high speeds for improved stability.

As with the Z-car, naturally, a convertible Mustang will follow this hardtop, so stock up on sunscreen and bide your time if that’s what you really want.

But if this celebration of wind in the hair and internal combustion seems a bit anachronistic in these anxious times, automakers are also thinking the days of such cars are numbered. That doesn’t necessarily mean an end to sexy lines and sporty handling.

Honda exhibited the FC Sport Design Study, a compact two-seat coupe that evokes the company’s popular CRX runabout of the 1980s. But this future sports car is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell that emits only water vapor for its exertion, no pollution.

The FC Sport Design Study is only the beginning of socially responsible sports cars, and one day we will surely marvel at the stunning performance provided by similarly powered machines.

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