That sums it up for me right there...

I've driven a quite a few vehicles over my 45 years behind the wheel. That's muscle cars, sports cars, suv's, mini vans :eek:, trucks, and motorhome. The Z is one vehicle that I love to climb into, and hate climbing out. I just enjoy my time behind that steering wheel. :driving:

...and then there's the exhaust note of the 350Z...

Oh, yeah. Nothing will beat the 350Z Nismo exhaust note. No-thing.
Not even my M3 exhaust tuned by God himself.

As someone who is own my 6th Z in 40+ years (72 240Z, 90 300ZX 2+2, 95 300ZX 2+2, 95 300ZX-TT, 2010 40AE 370Z, and now 2016 370Z Nismo); I understand completely what I think you are trying to say.

As others have mentioned, I experience that joy virtually EVERYTIME I drive it and mostly hate arriving wherever I go. It is a connected experience to my soul like no other car I have driven. I assumed that when I bought my 2010 40th AE, that my next one would be the 400Z; but it seems pretty clear that one is never arriving.

I'm 66 now and drive my cars for a long time; so I'm facing the sad reality that my 2016 Nismo may well be my last one. It makes me sad for a lot of reasons, not the least of which my daughter has discovered the joy and is now on her 2nd 370. I had my Z32-TT to carry me through the dark period from 1996-2005 when they stopped production; so I never had to experience the pain of missing it. However, I feel that it's coming to an end and that is not right for her and many people here who are just starting to discover this joy. It's even disrespectful!

I think our only choice is to take care of the ones we have as best as we possible can, and mostly ... enjoy the drive. Thank you Mr K.

Well said. :tup:

I believe that the Z is one of those sayings "if it's not broken don't fix it" kinda cars. I'm on my 3rd Z now. I bought my 05 350z which was my first "real" sports car at 18. I learned a lot from that car and turned it from a completely stock car to a full bolt on/150 shot car in a year. That car was totaled and I bought my 09 370z base a year later. The car was tastefully modified but eventually strapped nitrous on it and a BP kit. I only had about 500 miles on the newly installed turbo kit and then wanted to sell the car because it wasn't all that fun to me anymore. I wanted more power but the Z platform is almost nonexistent when it comes to high hp cars and I didn't want to go down that route so I sold the car last year and bought my Supra the next day. My goal was to buy a Supra before I turned 25 and I made it happen, a few weeks before my birthday. The Supra is just so much of a better platform to modify than the Z was. I did miss the Z, but not when it was boosted. I had way more fun with the car when it was NA so I bought a 40th a few months ago to use as a daily so I can work on the Supra. I wanted something fun to drive while the Supra was down for work and I made the right choice. Even completely stock the car is so enjoyable. I strongly believe that the Z is a lot more fun NA. I think that is why Nissan has kept it the way it is for so long. Despite the problems they come with from the factory that we all know they have, its still such an enjoyable car to drive. Bolt ons make it even better. It is a well balanced car overall. I think the 370z will be the last true Z car.

This past mid-September, I completed a 29-day cross country trip of 8,800 miles, covering 20 states. In all that, I saw only 4 other current-model Z's on the road. So, to the o/p's point, yes, the model has gone stale, but it's still very unique. I bought my '13 in January, 2013, and it still thrills.

And it still turns heads, and gets stares.

I get a kick out of watching people look at my car and try to figure out what it is... they're quite interested and equally confused as I've taken the Nissan whoppers of the front and back and replaced with black Z emblems. The 370Z badging has been removed as well. I've owned many cool cars in my time, but none that has attracted the attention that this little PW Z car does.

I was talking to my friend's dad yesterday about the Z (the guy that sold me my 40th) and we were talking about how the car gets so many looks because of how unique it is. There really isn't much out there that has the looks and styling that the Z does for the price.

"is this a Porsche..???

ya... it's a Porsche Zarrera..!!"

:icon18::icon18::icon18:

Like we all said and agree it’s long in the tooth BUT...it’s an awesome niche car and God she’s a looker. Driving home from work in my Volvo went up against a white ‘16 Nismo, black rims and she looked sweet fading away in my rear view when we both WOT off the line.


Kidding. I gave him a thumbs up admiring his ride. He was polite enough to wave back. I don’t know how one waves with a middle finger though. Ok ok Kidding!! He waved. Lol.

I take quite a few longer trips in mine and each time I start the trip by asking my wife to guess how many other Zs we will see. It never is very many...

I think you are giving Nissan too much credit for doing nothing. I, too, like the Z being simple and think it has enough power. However, there are things that Nissan omitted to do to keep the car relevant in the segment. Beside finally upgrading the clutch in 2018, the engine is still harsh at high rpm, transmission is still clunky, interior is still noisy, LSD is still weak... As a former 40th AE owner, I really think the car will be much more enjoyable to drive if those issues were being addressed.
There is no complain about the Elise/Exige being old because it is still the benchmark of uncompromised driving experience. Alfa 4C was a nice try but the lack of manual transmission and Alfa reliability keep potential buyers away.