I just got my short block installed. The car runs better than when it was new and they did an excellent job as far as clean.

Sounds to me like this inferior paint/clearcoat situation could have the makings of a class action law suit. I've seen class actions filed over very speculative allegations of defect. These allegations seem to be supported in fact. A national level class action law firm should take a look at this one.

No issues here
 

I have a 2009 Sport/Touring and she has 19,000 miles....only problem I had was the rear hatch...however that was a quick fix with adjusting the rubber stoppers....as far as cabin noise...don't notice.....no ECU whining....as far as oil temp..she stays around 180ish normal drive and 220ish if I push her alil on the highway but also depends on ambient temperature outside...no coolant temp issues, radio is Bose and its good to go....comfort good to go....paint is ok...would be nice for a thicker or more road friendly clear coat....

All in all.......... my Z status coming from a previous Lexus IS300 Owner:

Mechanical: 9/10
Comfort (Inside Interior): 9/10
Comfort (Road): 9/10 (8/10 on Crappy Roads)
Visual Appeal: 10/10
Fuel Cost: 10/10
Navigation: 10/10 (Haven't got me lost :P)
Radio/CD/IPOD/Bluetooth: 10/10 Pretty nice for STOCK Bose
Resale K.B.B.: 10/10
Tire Price: BLAH :P LMAO

I'm just waiting on Craft Square TC-F (Short) Mirrors :) and MRworks Fenders :) and my Z will be complete ;) SHIFT_the way you move :) :yum:

Actually, last year the reports were the opposite. Also, CR has no input intot these ratings. They are based purely on the survey which is sent to every CR subscriber (several million of them).

Does the G have an oil temp guage? If not, then the difference in owner satisfaction around engiine temp could be that they couldn't watch the temp rise like we do. Also, driving habits probably figure in.

People don't respond to surveys unless they have an extreme opinion.

While I generally think CR pushing these results can lead people to make horrible choices when making big purchases, perhaps it will get the attention of people at Nissan and lead to TSBs, improved quality, etc.

I would really want to know what the "issues" were that gave the car a low rating. For example, my new Z had a faulty tire pressure gage and the hatch does not open on the first try but on the second. The dealer replaced the faulty indicator and Nissan has issued a bulletin on the hatch matter and so that will soon be fixed. Also the amplifier on the radio was not working and so that had to be replaced. That is three problems in the first week but my point is that these are just minor things.. yes they should not have happened but they are really no big deal. Its not like the engine blew or the transmission slipped. Now that these "problems" with the gage have been fixed and the radio and the hatch are soon to be corrected everything will be perfect.

I am very happy with my new Z but unless something really serious happens I can only say there were some minor problems that caused a bit of aggravation but did not seriously detract from the quality of the car.
However if I were surveyed I would have to say I had far more "problems" with this car then with my previous Honda but not knowing the details someone might think this car is junk when in fact the problems were very minor. So all in all I think that without knowing the details of exactly what kinds of problems owners encountered the low rating of the car might give a very false impression.
Of course if the wheels fall off tomorrow.. well then that is another matter but unless that happens I will say the car is of excellent quality but that a little more attention could be given to the small details which can really hurt the image of a really good car.