Nissan Z-car preceded it, the first-gen 300ZX was thought by enthusiasts as more GT than true sports car. It had improved handling, acceleration, and refinement than any previous model Z-car. Nissan made various changes and claimed improvements to the Z31 model through its entire production. In 1983 Nissan first offered the 300ZX in Japan. It was introduced in the US one year later. All US-market 1984 model Nissan vehicles carried both Datsun and Nissan nameplates. Along with the arrival of their new flagship sports coupe, Nissan launched an aggressive marketing campaign to promote the brand name change from Datsun to Nissan. The
Nissan Lucino versions were available: GSE with the 1.6-liter engine, and GSR with the 2.0-liter unit. For the United States and Canada, Nissan renamed the Lucino, recycling the 200SX nameplate to designate the two-door coupé version of the Nissan Sunny/Sentra (B14). The 200SX, introduced in 1995 for the 1995 model year, replaced Nissan's previous compact two-door models, the Sentra (B13) and NX. With exception to this Lucino-derived model, every other Nissan with a name ending in "SX" refers to a car based on the Nissan S platform. The North American 200SX came in base, SE, and sportier SE-R models. Base and SE