Hope Nissan is watching this...

ImportConvert

332bhp in 2011 would indeed be a facepalm move in a $35-40K sports car.

theDreamer

No, I am face palming your horrible post, if power is all you want then you are on the wrong forum.

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ImportConvert

I discovered that. Test drove some 370's and LOVED! the quality. Nissan just needs an engine to go with the look/suspension/quality now, and they would have my $$$ in a heartbeat. The car is just boring unless you live in the mountains, and sadly I live in a place with flat/straight roads.

I understand on the track, hp isn't such a big deal, but on the street, the 370Z felt boring to me. Maybe it's because I drove an LS1 car through college, but the car did a lot more for me sitting still or going (silently, and without rattles) over pot-holes on a bad road at 15mph than it did when I floored it.

The 370Z is a great daily driver, but it's not world class like the M3, Z06, or the 911 family. It doesn't cost as much, either. If $40K was the MOST I could spend, I would indeed buy a 370Z. However, considering cars that cost into the 60's, it kinda lost me. If it had 400hp, like I said, I would buy in a heartbeat.

You might sell a man a Z06 who can afford a 911TT, but you won't sell a man a 370Z when he can afford a Z06, is what I am getting at. It's locked itself into niche with its weak engine that is FAR below what the style/suspension limit it to.

Honestly, if Nissan could put out a 385+hp Z, that is all the excuse I would need. Love the car, hate the engine.

shadoquad

Ah, see I compare it right around the low end of the price point, around 30k vehicles. And right there, I feel that it stacks up pretty well, even if it lacks in power compared to some of the others.

ImportConvert

It does great at 30K, but it would do great at 60K, too, if it came with some power. I am looking at cars in the $40-$65K segment--right about what you can get a 1LZ Z06 for. GM quality...meh. However, being beaten by some punk in a stock nearly 15 year-old GM pony-car is MEH!

I like the 370Z's look better than the GT-R's by far, it even sits lower/looks more sleek without the kiddie seats, and I want to drive the car--not the other way around. If they made an intermediate car with more power, no hyper-expensive auto/AWD, I bet it would sell like crazy, stealing base 'vette and P-car sales like candy.

shadoquad

Not really. That 15-yr-old GM pony-car is just that, 15 yrs old. Good chance that it's run down, it has outdated tech, etc. Let's also not forget what performance bargains those cars were, even for their day.

Just because it's not the fastest conceivable car doesn't imply that it can't be fun and fast enough to enjoy.

Also, I think a key component that may be lacking when you drive it is torque. Being a variable valve engine, it makes no real power in the low rev range. GM/Ford v8's give you power all over the rev range. Not necessarily better, but different, and you definitely feel it with more torque.

ImportConvert

I flogged the 370Z I test-drove. To be honest with you, it felt great at every RPM--at least as great as 332bhp could feel. It didn't feel like I had to thrash it to get anything out of it, the gearing was awesome, and I would have sworn it had way more torque than the numbers indicate.

Yes, my 2001 Ws6 was run-down. Not by any fault of mine, but because GM used the cheapest components they could to get a pony-car with a 'vette motor out the door. 4-cylinder rear-end from an S10 pickup, etc.

What do you mean by "outdated tech", though? Yes, it had an SRA, but IRS would have bumped the price-tag up. The tech wasn't out-dated but economized, in that aspect.

The engine was an LS1, making around 300whp and 310-320wtq while returning an observed 27.5mpg highway and around 21mpg on my daily commute.

The transmission was the T56 6-speed.

The only thing that you could argue was "out-dated" was the SRA, which we already discussed.

I just don't see enough of an upgrade to the 370Z other than "The 370 is new and not ratty, and the F-body is older, and ratty".

Cmike2780

I guess he's never heard of cars like the Lotus Exige S. It's got only 218 hp so is must get smoked at the track if it were to run against a +500hp Mustang.

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ImportConvert

Sorry, had a 13 second car, and my daily commute is not an SCCA lay-out in a parking-lot. Exige S