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Originally Posted by cdlong

Come on man, no it's not. You should know that.

The process getting from idea to final production model is long and involves many people, trial and error (time and more time), materials (clay or computer time), etc. Not to mention better designers that will put out the better design you desire will cost more to employ. Pininfarina exists solely as a styling house, they don't actually build anything. They don't run a successful business by working for free.

That 812 certainly spent some time in a wind tunnel, that certainly ain't free.

And some style is dictated by manufacturability and materials. You can't always build the same parts out of steel, fiberglass, or aluminum. The fenders on that 812 definitely cost more than a Z fender. Different materials, production methods, production complexity all impact the manufacturing costs. Even assuming the time and effort of coming up with a better design didn't cost anything, actually building the cars costs more. There's a reason cheap cars look cheap, simple slab sided bodies with little detail is cheaper to produce.

Aside from the fact that some disagree with your idea and expectations (me for one, and probably Nissan stylists) it's just off base to expect them to be able to produce a car that looks expensive for cheap. All the cars you listed look like their price points, and I expect the Z to be the same. Any praise you lay on the FRZ and hold back from the Z is a style opinion and nothing more.

You're confusing styling with R&D. The conceptual styling of a car is usually done well before the actual R&D. While it's not 'free', it comes well before the costly stages where the engineers and bean counters do their thing. Nissan needs to up their game, or get new designers/upper management. Playing it safe is sometimes just as dangerous as being risky.