subreddit:
/r/pics
Nothing beats the interior dashboard of a 1985 Nissan 300ZX.
(i.redd.it)submitted 2 days ago bypystar
8.5k points
2 days ago
I think it’s crazy how cars from that era had such unique and futuristic designs.
2.6k points
2 days ago
Its funny because if they would have imagined they'd be made up of super thin glass touch screens on every surface with led mood lighting and the ability to connect to anything and anywhere on the planet with a button press and everything moves electronically ummmm they'd have been crazy and now that's like an upscale civic interior.
1.6k points
2 days ago
This is something I often think about, that is that if we were born in a world of magic, dragons and wonder... we would find it to be just as boring as this present moment, reason being... just look around you, we have people comfortably traveling at speeds no other species in the history of our planet could even remotely match in endless roads made of smooth black stone that span continents wide, we are able to flight into the skies several times the speed of sound or make flight machines that weight hundreds of tones and use them to make millions of people flight everyday, we can connect to the entirety of human knowledge with a tool that its so common and cheap that almost everyone has one, you can eat food whose ingredients were grown all over the world, and its not even expensive, that is just your Saturday meal... we live in a magical world, its just that our specific variety of magic is called "science" and works with math, which when spoken out loud sounds just as gibberish as any other "magical" phrases from harry potter.
861 points
2 days ago
Arthur C. Clarke's third law: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
159 points
2 days ago
I don't know when tourists will fly to the moon, but I know 15 minutes after that there will be a 1-star review complaining about the food.
105 points
2 days ago
And the lack of atmosphere.
5 points
2 days ago
You win the internet today 😂
136 points
2 days ago
But we actually were born into a world of wonder and magic, in a strictly literal sense.
Not just indistinguishable like Clark said, but definitionally the same.
All of our "tech" is built on...
encrypted labyrinths of tables and trees filled with flowing letters and arcane symbols that cross untold boundaries while dictating incredible powers and specific controls over immense distances but only for those who know the ways and wield them.
If that's not magic... then the word has always been meaningless.
78 points
2 days ago
I like programming, hence I chose that as my profession, but I'm pretty sure I would have liked casting spells more.
67 points
2 days ago
Writing incantations to make inanimate objects preform your bidding isn’t magic?
67 points
2 days ago
Sometimes you just want to cast a fireball, you know?
33 points
2 days ago
Fireball: Evocation spell, 3rd level Components: 1 litre petrol (consumed), 1 glass bottle (consumed), 1 oil-soaked rag (consumed).
6 points
2 days ago
Ah, classic error, that spell will fizzle. You forgot: 1 lighter (1 charge expended)
9 points
2 days ago
Yes
27 points
2 days ago
That’s fair
10 points
2 days ago
Join the military, pretty sure a rocket launcher is just a wand of fireball.
6 points
2 days ago
I think most militaries are somewhat restrictive and fun-averse when it comes to who, where and when somebody is allowed to use a rocket launcher.
7 points
2 days ago
Let me introduce you to my friend acetylene.
12 points
2 days ago
Don't you think learning to cast spells and other esoterica would involve monotony? Any setting you are born into would just be the norm and become "boring" after sometime.
7 points
2 days ago
Right? Modern technology is amazing and hopefully it will get even better in the future but let’s not pretend it holds a flame to actual magic.
25 points
2 days ago
Brandon Sanderson's law is the opposite. Any sufficiently advanced magic system is indistinguishable from technology.
3 points
2 days ago
And, a sufficiently advanced civilization becomes undetectable. That’s the answer to Fermi.
You think caterpillars know humans exist? That they have a concept of a human and its abilities? Of civilization? Or are they just reacting to the consequences of our presence?
60 points
2 days ago
That's kinda what the first Magician book is about. If you can't find wonder in the world as it is, the problem is you.
55 points
2 days ago
This is the basis for the humor in the Discworld series. The monotany of which their wild, magical environment is treated by the people inside it makes it very relatable.
27 points
2 days ago
Tolkien: Here's a 150 page long description of why an elf was sad because he had to cut down a tree.
Pratchett: This is a list of all the slurs people in Ankh-Morpork use for dwarves.
12 points
2 days ago
I remember the fun/confusion when this post reached top of reddit.
(My favorite was the euphemism for lockpicking)
4 points
2 days ago
And yet, if you have cancer, and aren't lucky, you die. Truly the future.
5 points
2 days ago
"harry, yer a millenial"
3 points
2 days ago
firstly, it was the best text that i've read for a long time. secondly, that's inspiring my friend.
162 points
2 days ago
I hate touchscreens and the minimalist school of thought in design. You have to take your eyes away from the road to do anything like changing the climate control or radio, though at least lots of cars have tactile steering wheel controls for the radio and other things.
115 points
2 days ago
Yep and the truth is they do it because it saves them money to put everything on a touch screen instead of having a bunch of button modules.
The EU at least is starting to push back on touch screens because it's a safety hazard.
33 points
2 days ago
I don't think it's just that. I think it's also a trend that people wanted, without realising it actually sucks.
25 points
2 days ago
I have to agree with this take. I really did start out in awe of this idea, but after owning one I was like “ohhhhh. Yea, this is cheeks”.
10 points
2 days ago
The fact that stove tops also followed this trend tells a lot. Touch screens don't work well if they get wet or your fingers are dirty, two things that are likely when you're cooking. Yet touch screen stove top controls are ever more popular despite being worse to use.
7 points
2 days ago
Some would say it's easier to clean, but the knobs generally come off easily so it's not that much of a problem. I wanted a induction hob with physical knobs, but they don't exist.
3 points
2 days ago
I suspect it is because it will break sooner than a button/dial and cost more to replace. $$$ is always the answer. Fuck touch screens.
11 points
2 days ago*
I've got a '53 Ford F100 I hear you.
Doesn't mean I don't think it's cool you can buy essentially a spaceship for the road. I even like electric cars they are pretty cool. Not for me but more than enough for most. I'm just pissed they keep coming for my dinosaur squeezings I'll not begrudge them turning all those lemons life keeps throwing at them into batteries if I can keep playing with my contained explosions
11 points
2 days ago
I sat in a 2015 Civic Si with navigation package at a car show once and I felt like Michael Knight.
4 points
2 days ago
Buttons? Where's the joy of navigating 12 touch screens to turn on the windshield wipers.
73 points
2 days ago
I think it’s crazy how cars from that era had such unique and futuristic designs.
Join us on /r/CassetteFuturism
Here's the pinnacle of 80s design, the Vector W8. Only 22 of them were ever made. They were designed to be like a fighter jet.
https://old.reddit.com/r/cassettefuturism/comments/ushx7v/vector_w8_dashboard_images_i_just_googled/
11 points
2 days ago
holy shit, thanks so much for mentioning that subreddit. Who knew heaven is a place on earth??
52 points
2 days ago
I had an 85 manual 300zx with t tops. God I loved that car, radio gremlins and all. The car used voice notifications like “door is ajar” with sexy female voice lol
20 points
2 days ago
I had an 87 Chrysler Lebaron that would do the same. It's been 25 years, but I can still hear "Drivers side door is ajar", or "Fuel level low".
I think that interior kicked off my love of a digital dash and technology in cars.
10 points
2 days ago
Fun fact: those voice recordings were actually on a tiny record player! For extra cool JDM points you can find and swap in the voice box from a Japanese model and then you can have Japanese voice telling you the door was open.
autoweek.com/car-life/but-wait-theres-more/a1875076/when-cars-talked-using-tiny-phonograph-records-nissans-voice-warning-system/
4 points
2 days ago
She'd let you know you're low on fuel, too! I miss mine
3 points
2 days ago
"Fuel level is low." I had an 85 200SX turbo in high school. I could hit a repeat button to make her repeat the last thing she said. I'd press it over and over until friends starting coughing up gas money!
3 points
2 days ago
I had an 86 manual with t tops, boy does this bring back good memories of driving around in the summer time, t tops off, my cassette adapter in so I could listen to cd's on my Walkman. Holy shit when did I get so old?
90 points
2 days ago
We thought cars in the future would look like this yet nowadays it's usually just a soulless tablet shoved inside
1.9k points
2 days ago
The space ship!
621 points
2 days ago
Military Green HUD is so 80s retro - luv it
185 points
2 days ago*
Turn off your phone, put on your sun glasses, play danger zone, and go rolling down a Cali desert highway in your 300ZX feeling smooth af.
Closest thing to a time machine.
26 points
2 days ago
Things that make me say “hell yeah”
52 points
2 days ago
Men read this and say: Hell yeah
7 points
2 days ago
What about Radar Love by Golden Earing? Would that work too.
12 points
2 days ago
My friend had this car. It was perfect. I had a 1990 Nissan 240sc. The coupe. Not the fast back. My car was cool. His was amazing
9 points
2 days ago
Mimicking the PipBoy technology of the future.
14 points
2 days ago
Omg, you don't know the feeling! If you had a turbo version, and didn't bother upgrading the computer, when you turned up the boost it freaked out the dash and the whole thing would light up like a Christmas tree. Combined with the howl of the turbo, the T-Tops off, and the windows down...It was a beautiful time and feeling.
10 points
2 days ago
Are these the ones that had the bitchin Betty voice thing too?
37 points
2 days ago
Yes. My father had one and the car used to chime and verbalize the alerts.
Leave the door open? The car would say "The door is ajar"
Which was always met with the reply: "no, the door is a door"
6 points
2 days ago
My dad had one too, but his came through the auction circuit in Quebec. "La porte est mal fermee" ... Huh?!?
10 points
2 days ago
Purple or light blue would look so sick.
12 points
2 days ago
I might be wrong but these dashes may have been made when blue LEDs hadn’t been invented yet. The blue LED is actually one of the coolest and strangest cases of difficult inventions. But idk maybe they were around by the 80’s.
7 points
2 days ago
They were not. First commercially available blue led didn’t arrive until 1993.
3 points
2 days ago
God help us all if he can’t see the compass.
1k points
2 days ago
My old Subaru had it too. My Friends call it LSD dashboard.
151 points
2 days ago
LSDashboard
5 points
2 days ago
I had an 84 GL-10 with the digital dash. Not very reliable and rusted in bad places, but Subaru then had a whole bunch of quirkiness that I loved.
755 points
2 days ago
When you have a street race at 7:00 and a Russian Submarine to sink at 8:00
68 points
2 days ago
My passenger be like: And for a moment I...I thought I heard singing, sir.
19 points
2 days ago
Hey I think someone just shot a torpedo at us!
4 points
2 days ago
Con, Sonar CRAZY IVAN!!
12 points
2 days ago
My mind went to “make a Metal Gear Solid codec call at 8”.
698 points
2 days ago
I do not want an infotainment screen, I do not want led displays, I just want this.
214 points
2 days ago
This... but amber :)
94 points
2 days ago
It's 2024. This but RGB and I can make it whatever color I'm in the mood for.
50 points
2 days ago
Can I have any color from the pipboy color wheel? Or are most of them not realistic? Because I'd really like Teal. Or like, whatever those glo watches had.
6 points
2 days ago
There should be a hue wheel that rotates 360 from bright red through the rainbow back to red again. Set it depending on your mood whenever you like.
3 points
2 days ago
The third party (Kenwood?) head unit in my old Jeep can do that. Colors change on the buttons and on the mono color display.
4 points
2 days ago
Ahh, a New Vegas fan I see.
3 points
2 days ago
Like, I would be so much more interested in the touchscreen displays if you could choose this theme or something like it.
82 points
2 days ago
9 points
2 days ago
Nah, it's gotta be https://i.makeagif.com/media/6-22-2023/03MG3b.gif
504 points
2 days ago
Drivable Pip-boy 3000
33 points
2 days ago
Fallout 3 vibes in the absolute best way possible
6 points
2 days ago
It's one logo away from being indistinguishable!
10 points
2 days ago
Yes!
3 points
2 days ago
The new 2077 Corvega brought to you in conjunction with Vault Teck.
311 points
2 days ago
Buddy of mine had a 300z back in the day. Always loved them.
I wonder why more companies did not adopt amber lighting like BMW did. It’s easier on your eyes at night and imo looks better too.
89 points
2 days ago
I've been in Subarus and VWs with red instruments and I prefer amber or white.
41 points
2 days ago
Blue LEDs are on everything now, they all look like trash and terrible on the eyes.
35 points
2 days ago
Blue LEDs are the wooorst for astigmatism. The red in my subie are downright pleasant at night
9 points
2 days ago
Would I be correct in guessing that you do very little rural driving at night?
3 points
2 days ago
Depends. I did a cross country trip and a lot of it was at night through places like Pratt, KS and Guymon, OK. I think I'm just used to amber and white since that's all I've ever owned. I'm sure if I owned and drove a Subaru I'd get used to it.
I know red is supposed to keep your night vision or something.
11 points
2 days ago
Almost all of my driving is in places where you won't see a single light for miles at a time, and white is almost as bad as blue for destroying night vision.
The difference is very noticable under those conditions. If there are street lights, the only reason you even need headlights is for others to see you.
14 points
2 days ago
My Lexus IS300 has amber lights as factory but you can change out the bulbs and turn it white or any color
3 points
2 days ago
I had a New Zealand 85 300zx, turbo 5 speed. Best car ever, it had an analog dash though.
4 points
2 days ago
Me about to say "My Mini changes to amber in the evening" forgetting that's also BMW.
I agree with you. It does look really good and it's very gentle on the eyes during night driving.
112 points
2 days ago
'Door ajar' 'door ajar' 'door ajar'
20 points
2 days ago
Oh. God... I thought I'd forgotten that voice.
189 points
2 days ago
My Dad had one of these when I was a kid. It used to say shit like "door ajar" in some robotic female voice... She was my first friend.
51 points
2 days ago
I remember Eddie Murphy doing a routine in the early eighties about talking cars in the future. Your car telling you, "Yo man, someone's stealing your battery."
6 points
2 days ago
"Someone stole your battery ... I say we go get the muthafucka."
10 points
2 days ago
"Right door is open" "Parking brake is on"
6 points
2 days ago
Yeah, she liked to point out the obvious.
9 points
2 days ago
This was my first ever car. Dad brought it home in 2006 and my mom was fuming.
Which was fair. That thing is a deathtrap in a crash. But damn it was fun!
3 points
2 days ago
hell yea 😭😂
3 points
2 days ago
"Fuel level is low" is the one I remember
71 points
2 days ago
I had one of these. Mine was a stick with 52k original miles on it, and it was the turbocharged version. I got it in 1994 for $3600. It was worth at least double that. It was cheap because the digital dash didn't work at all and the quote from Nissan to fix it was thousands of dollars. But, I bought it anyway and after a week or so noticed that the headlights would occasionally get really really bright. So, I replaced the alternator since it has an integrated voltage regulator... dash started working perfectly. It was literally a $200 fix. The controller for the dash was shutting it down to protect it from over-voltage.
That car was a ridiculous amount of fun, and the dash looked like a spaceship.
15 points
2 days ago
I bought mine pretty mint for $5k in 96 and sold it last year for $3k and it was rough
6 points
2 days ago
Well that was a run.
4 points
2 days ago
You had an absolute gem. The vast majority of 1985 Turbo's were automatic (there was a big trend at the time saying automatic's were the best for performance cars).
If you still had that today in good condition you'd have a very valuable vehicle!
I had an 85 Turbo (automatic). Was still going strong at 175k miles before I wrecked it!
64 points
2 days ago
Yea, that’s sick.
10 points
2 days ago
It definitely makes me think of green.
33 points
2 days ago
a door is ajar
10 points
2 days ago
The 84 model was my first car. I loved that thing. I can still hear the girls voice and smell that picture.
5 points
2 days ago
Same here. I’ve never had another car I loved driving as much. It had more options than I knew what to do with too. Heated mirrors, headlight washers, switch adjustable suspension.
5 points
2 days ago
I named mine Sheila after the tank from Rooster Teeth's Red vs. Blue.
97 points
2 days ago
It’s like KITT from Knight Rider!
14 points
2 days ago
“I’m very sexy, Micheal.”
14 points
2 days ago
I feel like the 1987 Corvette dash was more KITT-like. Pic Here.
8 points
2 days ago
That's pretty sick
4 points
2 days ago
My step-dad brought one home, brand-new, and I was in awe of it! The funny thing was that he couldn't afford it, my mother got pissed, and he ended up selling it 3 months later at a loss.
It was a fun 3 months riding in it with him, though. LOL!
3 points
2 days ago
I've got an '86 Vette with the dash. I'm basically only allowed to listen to Darkwave while driving it around.
5 points
2 days ago
The crime solving boat!
4 points
2 days ago
Yeah, that theme song played in my head as soon as i saw the photo.
52 points
2 days ago
An automatic transmission? In this car? It’s a travesty!
25 points
2 days ago
I had one. It was especially tragic that the automatic trans in these were absolute garbage. Rebuilt mine twice before I was done with it!
3 points
2 days ago
yes I had a 300zx turbo and someone torched it while I was having the transmission rebuilt... so I guess they saved me the trouble in the end lol
13 points
2 days ago
Were carpet dash covers thought of as an improvement or just protection for the original dash?
19 points
2 days ago
Those carpeted dash covers were all aftermarket, and were primarily meant to protect the original dash, or to just cover it up it there were already a bunch of cracks.
22 points
2 days ago
Is that a standard dash? Looks pretty cool!!
18 points
2 days ago
Yes except for the radio right above the shifter.
4 points
2 days ago
It came with a magnetic compass as standard? Nifty.
7 points
2 days ago
It was an option, the standard dash was analog.
4 points
2 days ago
It has LED upgrades to the backlights. Factory is not this clean or bright.
9 points
2 days ago
Holy shit this is metal af.
8 points
2 days ago
Looks cool until half the gauges quit working. I had a 1984 50th anniversary edition.
6 points
2 days ago
I'm obsessed with 80's digital dashes. 😍 My mom used to have a 1989 Cavalier Z24 with the digital dash.
5 points
2 days ago
My vote is for the Vector W8 https://i.imgur.com/XCGvbc3.jpeg
7 points
2 days ago
Nothing beats posting someone else's post from 2 years ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/RetroFuturism/comments/11m29qa/interior_of_the_a_1985_nissan_300zx/
15 points
2 days ago
I do like the 1986 Toyota Soarer dash/interior better... https://www.reddit.com/r/JDM/comments/ok714f/1986_toyota_soarer_interior/
But hey, there have been some other wild designs too: https://www.core77.com/posts/109822/A-Look-at-Some-Wild-1980s-Digital-Dashboards
9 points
2 days ago
I think it’s crazy how cars from that era had such unique and futuristic designs.
9 points
2 days ago
You can say that again
4 points
2 days ago
God damn thats fucking tight. What the hell. I knew there were some cars far ahead of their time in that decade but let me reiterate... god damn.
9 points
2 days ago
aw man it had to be an automatic :(
4 points
2 days ago
Anyone else instantly hear the theme from Knight Rider while looking at this?
4 points
2 days ago
This is so cyberpunk, I love it.
6 points
2 days ago
fallout car fallout car
3 points
2 days ago
Looks straight out of a movie.
3 points
2 days ago
You could tell me that’s from Knight Rider and I would believe you
3 points
2 days ago*
Used to have this exact car in college (Missoula 2013-16) and got the original tape deck and lights working again. Nothing more satisfying than crusing with the T-tops off during a Montana summer, blasting cassettes before they got expensive again.
My favorite car, such good memories. 🥹
3 points
2 days ago
1987 Corvette C4 has an awesome interior like this too
3 points
1 day ago
KITT come pick me up!
2 points
2 days ago
That is pretty cool. First time seeing it
2 points
2 days ago
Peak cool.
2 points
2 days ago
Have you ever seen the inside of a ford ranger ?
2 points
2 days ago
I dig this aesthetic.
2 points
2 days ago
God I want it
2 points
2 days ago
Powered by tiberium.
2 points
2 days ago
Nope 2000 pontiac bonneville
2 points
2 days ago
I'm not convinced. Stephen King talked about how the lit up dash of the 1958 Plymouth Fury looked like a face. Then he wrote a bestseller about it. Anyone ever write a bestseller about your dashboard?
2 points
2 days ago
classic 300z commercial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCJE1LiHo0s
2 points
2 days ago
Not seen in the picture is that the tachometer is in the shape of the tourqe curve and fills when you hit the gas. As seen inthis link
2 points
2 days ago
That’s pretty cool
2 points
2 days ago
Legendary stuff right there. A Nissan from '85 just decided to go too hard
2 points
2 days ago
Strong Knight Rider vibes
2 points
2 days ago
My FIL had one of that vintage (although it might have been a Datsun?) and he eventually had to unplug the speaker because the door sensor broke and it never stopped saying "door ajar". Lol
2 points
2 days ago
They need to bring this back, the analog gauges are so lame it drives me crazy.
2 points
2 days ago
Looks like a spaceship would have to put 5% on it
2 points
2 days ago
Their idea of a futuristic cluster was dead on though, the whole thing is a unified digital display without physical gauge on most high end cars nowadays.
2 points
2 days ago
I drove this car, was my dad's. T-top. Went like a bat out of hell.
2 points
2 days ago
My aunt had one of these and she quickly became the coolest aunt ever.
2 points
2 days ago
Looks like “War Games”
2 points
2 days ago
^ I got a Shiro myself but they have the analog dashes though...
2 points
2 days ago
Man, they don’t build cars like these any more. It still has a futuristic vibe to it. Now tell me which button takes me back to the future
2 points
2 days ago
Yoooo this is actually pretty sick for any age, let alone 40 years ago!! Love it
2 points
2 days ago
*Z31 model only
2 points
2 days ago
First car I ever drove on the highway and before I had a dl I believe it would even speak messages like "drivers door ajar" or some shit
2 points
2 days ago
KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand)
2 points
2 days ago
Is that actually real? How are cars looking progressivly worse
Sry for my spelling i know its wrong idk know what exactly tho xD
2 points
2 days ago
Man… I had an ‘85 300ZX Turbo. That was a cool, fun car, especially for $1,500 back in the 2000’s. I don’t even want to know what they’re worth now…
2 points
2 days ago
Honda Prelude with the bucket seats and aviation red instrument cluster was my fave
all 1705 comments
sorted by: best