^^ this is why I find it works. They haven't shelved it. Remember Mustang II? Ford has its bad times too. Nissan just erased the 510/1600 out of existence. Even if the Bluebird exists in Japan, it doesn't in its biggest market.
The Altima serves the market once occupied by the Bluebird. The name may no longer exist, but in a sedan range that includes the Versa, Sentra, Altima and Maxima, Nissan hasn't exactly abandoned the market itself. It's little different to the BMW 2002 eventually becoming the 3-series we have today - along with the 2-series, 4-series, GT models and umpteen other variations.
Done right, that iDX would be a feasible product for Nissan.
I'm not so sure it would, unless the market already showed there was potential. In Nissan's own words, that means companies like Toyota bringing a product like the S-FR to market and it being successful, which is very much a "wait and see" moment.
However, I have a strong feeling when you say a product like the IDx would be feasible, you mean specifically that Nissan could feasibly sell suitable numbers of a compact, lightweight, rear-wheel drive coupe or sedan. Possibly with retro styling.
That is why I'm not so sure it's feasible. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, a compact, rear-wheel drive coupe or sedan was effectively the norm. The
majority of cars were compact, lightweight, rear-wheel drive coupes or sedans. And the "retro" styling was contemporary.
Now, that exact format is a niche, rather than the mainstream. People didn't buy Bluebirds back in the 70s because they were pining for the days of light, rear-drive sedans like today; they bought them because they wanted a cheap grocery-getter and that just happens to be what was available to them at the time.
Today, the mainstream Nissans serving that same purpose are cars like the Versa and Sentra. They might have changed in form and ethos, but ultimately they serve the same ends, and they sell because of it. (Incidentally, the same applies to everyone who thinks the VW Beetle should still be rear-engined, rear drive, and everyone who complained that Dodge was somehow abusing the Dart name with the latest model.)
It'd be great to have the 510's original ethos in a modern car, but ultimately the market for such a thing is very slim. Return on investment is low, and that's even more off-putting when you'd have to develop a rear-drive platform from scratch, as Nissan would have to with a production IDx. So no, I'm not so sure an IDx would be feasible, unless the market for small, lightweight, rear-drive sports cars suddenly exploded.
And even then, we'd have to live in a world where people didn't immediately complain that the IDx/S-FR/MX-5/86/BRZ "wasn't fast enough".
