Who loves/hates their Z?

kuruzero

Obviously profit is the priority but if you dont think public opinion/perception can directly affect profit and therefore Nissan's decision making I think you're kidding yourself. Look a the low sales numbers. The 370z isnt a car that Nissan can just throw out at the public and ignore all feedback because it'll get sold regardless. Public opinion definitely matters when it comes to a niche car like the 370z. Even more so BECAUSE the target demo isnt very large. Its already been shown that public gripes and perceptions have led to changes. Ill just name a few. You think Nissan added an oil cooler out of the kindness of their heart or because it was an absolute necessity? You think 15+ Nismos took away the wing and made the ride a little softer just because? How about the price decrease? Because Nissan wanted to help us out? Auto option for 15+ Nismos?

These changes came about due to public opinion, owner's continued gripes, and/or major publication auto reviews that shaped perception and therefore possibly future sales. These changes cost money and wouldnt likely happen unless Nissan felt it'd lead to more prospective buyers and sales. Continued oil temp gripes from owners and reviewers. Constant rear visibility and public opinion(not necessarily core demo opinion) that the wing was annoyingly ostentatious or boy tunerish. Constant criticism of the Nismo harsh ride. Nissan actually took AWAY performance to get more in line with the majority opinion and away from hardcore loyalist desires. Reviewers/owners/prospective buyers began to lament the decrease in "bang for buck" value the Z had been known for and the public opinion spoke with its wallets by not buying the Z to a point that Nissan lowered the price...

Like a said, Nissan might ignore a bit but some it wont and changes will come. Unfortunately the largest voice they seem to hear is the "car costs more than what it's worth" so I think instead of increasing all around performance and stats, they might change their target demo next time around and therefore possibly the nature of the car as we presently know it in an attempt to increase sales for the model.

vtec to vvel

nah man, porsche is the rich man's nissan

i can vouch for your car and yes, your car is awesome! i just wish the sales dude budged to 24k OTD when i was looking at it

i had an 07 HR as well but black and my neighbor had a solar orange. that color sticks out like a MOFO and sometimes i felt like i needed sunglasses to even look at it lol.

damn dude, write novels much?

public opinion doesn't matter to companies. look at ford and their sh*t quality cars - they're still selling. honda and the notorious 3rd gear grind have been around for how many years? guess what? still grinding and still selling.

the low sale numbers you speak of, well, considering the 370Z debuted in 2008 and it's still the same, minus a few cosmetic changes, it's no wonder that 370Z sales are declining, not because nissan is/isn't paying attention to public opinion.

the examples you speak of are valid, however, keep in mind, nissan only did that to either save themselves from a potential lawsuit or if they can make a bit more money off of you. believe you me, they, and most major companies, don't give a sh*t about you. if you knew how a publicly-traded business operated, you would know that they put profits before people, bc they have shareholders to keep happy, not you. and btw, regarding the price decrease, fyi, the base doesn't even come with LED sidemarkers and the base auto doesn't even come with paddle shifters. so if price goes down, it's not nissan losing anything, but YOU.

okay, i stopped reading about a quarter way through. bottom line, if you think nissan or any other company is on your side or is looking out for your best interest, then YOU are kidding YOURSELF and mistaken.

90 ST

While some of what you said makes sense, some does not, if they listened, the CSC would have been fixed with the 350, however they did do a recall on the SL...

AntiVenom

the Z car represents a small slice of the nissan's profit. moreover, we as a group enthusiasts, who know about the CSC "weakness" are an even smaller portion of that pie. (i.e. I don't think the problem is effecting nissan's sales).

as a percent of cars sold (350z & 370z). how many have had CSC failures? in manufacturing you will always tolerate a certain defect rate. i would assume the CSC failure didn't surpass their threshold. nissan is a company interested in making money. if 98% of the time the CSC doesn't fail under warranty, why would would they care?

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overall i feel fortunate that nissan has even bothered to continue with the Z all these years, while other japanese brands dropped their sports cars or made sad attempts/compromises to make sporty cars. our cup is more than half full as Z enthusiasts.

don't like the sound? change the exhaust
not enough power? turbo/supercharge it
don't like the gauges? rip them out and throw something that works for you
your CSC busted? get your *** under there and change it out for something stronger or throw a Z1 elimination kit on there.
***built will always be better than bought.***

what sports car under $100K has everything you want from factory? go to any car forum and you will find guys complaining about something that the factory didn't get right. hell, i'd argue that there are things i'd want to change about ANY car, regardless of price. then again, i am just that type of guy.

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sp911

I love love love my z. and I’ve owned 2 porsches, a bimmer and a turbo supra. Sure no car is perfect. No one will ever make a car to please everyone or even totally please one person. But fun-wise I love it.