How to Keep with the Jones's

Econ · 02-17-2011, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m4a1mustang

The Z doesn't compete with the cars you listed based on class (2 seat sports car vs. 2+2 sport coupes) but it does compete a bit with the Mustang 5.0, Camaro SS, and maybe the Challenger V8s on price. But I really don't think Nissan has their sights set on these cars. They were very clear in the beginning that they targeted the Cayman. I think they are more concerned with how well the Z stacks up against similarly classed 2-seaters over a wider price range.

I'm a little skeptical that Nissan would give a future Z much more power than the 370 already has. I think it's more likely that the Z either goes away (poor sales) or gets reinvented as a smaller, more efficient sports car (think 4-cyl turbo), or even some sort of hybrid sports car. It really depends on where they want to take the brand.

Consider that Nissan originally planned to sell 30,000+ units a year when they rolled out the 370. They only average a third of that a year. From a purely financial standpoint, I'd be more concerned about whether or not the Z program gets dropped moreso than I would be about it getting a power increase for the next model.

I dont see the Z around much longer. They aren't profiting from this car. I believe they'll make some minor changes, reinvent the car a little, however if the car continues to only sell ~10K cars a year, it wont be around much longer.

sonic370 · 02-17-2011, 08:40 AM

all comments are well said. It would be sad to see the Z dropped
From the Nissan line up. as one poster said the Z takes a back
Seat to no one when it comes to styling. But for better or worse
The flavor of the month right now is HP. And the Z is
Losing that battle and IMO has got to catch up or the car will
go away

shadoquad · 02-17-2011, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonic370

all comments are well said. It would be sad to see the Z dropped
From the Nissan line up. as one poster said the Z takes a back
Seat to no one when it comes to styling. But for better or worse
The flavor of the month right now is HP. And the Z is
Losing that battle and IMO has got to catch up or the car will
go away

Sonic, I have a couple of counter points, though.

Keeping up with the Joneses mean you'll never be satisfied. I'm satisfied with what I've got, and even if the next Z was much faster, I couldn't afford to buy it, so I have to enjoy my Z for what it is.
The Mazda Miata has survived for a long time as a sports car with low hp. HP sells cars, but there has to be a limit somewhere.
If the Z dies, it may come back later, as we saw before.

m4a1mustang · 02-17-2011, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadoquad

Sonic, I have a couple of counter points, though.

Keeping up with the Joneses mean you'll never be satisfied. I'm satisfied with what I've got, and even if the next Z was much faster, I couldn't afford to buy it, so I have to enjoy my Z for what it is.
The Mazda Miata has survived for a long time as a sports car with low hp. HP sells cars, but there has to be a limit somewhere.
If the Z dies, it may come back later, as we saw before.

Great points.

sonic370 · 02-17-2011, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadoquad

Sonic, I have a couple of counter points, though.

Keeping up with the Joneses mean you'll never be satisfied. I'm satisfied with what I've got, and even if the next Z was much faster, I couldn't afford to buy it, so I have to enjoy my Z for what it is.
The Mazda Miata has survived for a long time as a sports car with low hp. HP sells cars, but there has to be a limit somewhere.
If the Z dies, it may come back later, as we saw before.

Well said on all points. But have to disagree on the Mita statement. The Z is a
much better car. And staying in the Miata's playground is going backward.
To me it seems like the Z is caught in a no mans land. Somewhere between all the new products GM,Ford and even Dodge are bringing out.Like it or not imho nissan is in competition with those cars for the customers dollar.

No to get off point but most buyers don't want to buy a car to put mods on it
they want to leave the dealer with the HP ready to go.. But like i said that is imo.........

shadoquad · 02-17-2011, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonic370

Well said on all points. But have to disagree on the Mita statement. The Z is a
much better car. And staying in the Miata's playground is going backward.
To me it seems like the Z is caught in a no mans land. Somewhere between all the new products GM,Ford and even Dodge are bringing out.Like it or not imho nissan is in competition with those cars for the customers dollar.

No to get off point but most buyers don't want to buy a car to put mods on it
they want to leave the dealer with the HP ready to go.. But like i said that is imo.........

I wasn't putting the Z in the Miata's class, just raising the Miata as the counter-example to raising hp to survive. I agree that the Z's niche seems to be between a rock and a hard place right now. But you don't have to scale hp with the competition to survive. Sooner or later, car companies are going to figure this out again. Probably after the consumer tells them with their dollars, but that could be a while.

m4a1mustang · 02-17-2011, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonic370

Well said on all points. But have to disagree on the Mita statement. The Z is a
much better car. And staying in the Miata's playground is going backward.
To me it seems like the Z is caught in a no mans land. Somewhere between all the new products GM,Ford and even Dodge are bringing out.Like it or not imho nissan is in competition with those cars for the customers dollar.

No to get off point but most buyers don't want to buy a car to put mods on it
they want to leave the dealer with the HP ready to go.. But like i said that is imo.........

Better car? No.

Different car, yes. The Miata is a cool little roadster.

And those doors...

m4a1mustang · 02-17-2011, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonic370

all comments are well said. It would be sad to see the Z dropped
From the Nissan line up. as one poster said the Z takes a back
Seat to no one when it comes to styling. But for better or worse
The flavor of the month right now is HP. And the Z is
Losing that battle and IMO has got to catch up or the car will
go away

It would be sad, but the Z has dissappeared before only to return again later. These things never truly die... Z, Camaro, Challenger, etc.

Nismo221 · 02-19-2011, 07:58 PM

I say keep the motor and HP on standard models were they are. But make a Nismo built with Turbos! yeah it cost more but then Nissan could really say, see we have a performance model. I would buy it!

02-19-2011, 07:58 PM	#9 (permalink)
Nismo221 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Decatur, Alabama Age: 37 Posts: 489 Drives: 2010 370z Nismo Rep Power: 16	I say keep the motor and HP on standard models were they are. But make a Nismo built with Turbos! yeah it cost more but then Nissan could really say, see we have a performance model. I would buy it! __________________ Stillen Gen 3, Motordyne M370 Intake Manifold, 25 row oil cooler, Z1 test pipes, Greddy Ti-C 70mm dual exhaust, 15mm front/20mm rear spacers, RE-11's, V1 detector, LED interior lights, LED tag lights, Password JDM CF engine and radiator cooling covers.

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02-17-2011, 08:40 AM	#2 (permalink)
sonic370 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: Orange Texas Posts: 1,574 Drives: 09 370Z Sports PGK Rep Power: 20	all comments are well said. It would be sad to see the Z dropped From the Nissan line up. as one poster said the Z takes a back Seat to no one when it comes to styling. But for better or worse The flavor of the month right now is HP. And the Z is Losing that battle and IMO has got to catch up or the car will go away