Can someone explain Nissan's mentality to me.
 

The 350z seemed like a hot selling car. I owned a g35 at the time. It seemed like everyone and their mother owned a 350. In 2009 I leased a 370. 2 years later I see other 370s every once in a while.

Is it because Nissan doesn't budge on 370 negotiations? Why hasn't the 370 sold as well. I don't mind as it makes me feel like I own a more rare car, but what is Nissan thinking. As far as sales numbers go? Has the 370 been a failure? Why doesnt the dealership offer better deals?

I just don't get it.

In 15 months my lease is up, what should I get?

You can get whatever you like...

Here in NC, the 370's are pretty common. The Nissan dealers here are pretty willing to "wheel and deal." I see the coupes very often, but I only see the roadsters (like mine) every so often. However, I must agree with you that the 350's were much more common. I had 2 of them and always saw them EVERYWHERE.

I wouldn't worry too much about the z. Nissan is a smart company with a lot of talented designers, and marketing people. The altima and sentras are their bread and butter, cars like the z and gtr are not.

Get the Boss Mustang. It would make a lot of us drool. Or a Miata. For the doors, obviously.

There's a million reasons why you dont see them everywhere Shesh.. Probably the biggest is that it only has two seats which makes it impractical for anyone with kids. Then there is the fact that it only gets around 21 mpg, the tree huggers dont like that. It's not the cheapest car on the road either.

Then there's the slouches you see out there that think a "car is just a car"...

All I know is that this car does everything I ever wanted a car to do.. and I've had 20 of the damn things. :driving:

Their mentality is that they had to fill a niche market for people like us so that we would be in a Nissan. They never intended for this to be the next taurus.

What should you get? How much can you spend ?

Keep in mind that the 370 has only been available for a little over 2 years where the 350 has 6 years of sales on the streets. Also, I'm sure the economy over the last 2 years has not helped the sales numbers of many car models (especially 2 seated sport coupes).

:iagree:

350z in cali are very common. the 370z i see them once in a blue moon. So im happy to DD mine at my neighborhood. Plus sales on the Z are going down because of our economy. Look what happen to the s2000. They didnt sell much in the last few years it had left. But they were beautiful cars imo.

The 350Z was produced during the time when everyone thought they were rich due to the housing bubble, and bought more than they could afford. The 350Z was everywhere in my neighborhood, sort of like mosquitos; most of of them (and other $30k plus cars) were bought with second mortgages (helocs) and other dodgy home financing (like $20k cash back on a 40 year zero percent for 3 years arm). I rarely see new cars on the road these days, and most of the new ones are Ford F series trucks, which have always been the best selling vehicles world wide. With the economy back to normal (ish), at least closer to normal than during the bubble, you will not see many new cars on the road that are priced over $25k (like we used to see), which is about the "affordable" car price for the average individual income (a single person with one income), according to historically typical economic trends. And the thing about history, is that it always repeats itself when it comes to physics, and that includes economics, which is a type of social physics.

Take a look at the unemployment rate. Gas prices. National debt.

It's not Nissan's fault. The 370Z is a great car.

That said, if you want American, mustang gt or corvette. If you want import, 370Z. Just my .02 since you asked.

This makes a lot of sense. Actually you all do. I love my car so much by the way. It renewed my love for driving even if it's 10 Mph on the god damn 405 in so cal.

I just wanted to start a diologue with you guys about my observations.

Comparitive sales numbers to support your claim?
Pretty broad statement.

U.S. is in a economic shltstorm......no other reason.

This.

It's a 2 seater sports car.

:iagree: Spending is down. Impractical.

They just don't know what they are missing.

1. Economics- pricing, insurance and most states negotiations are not good with exceptions to the east coast (due to higher cost of living per capita). Gas pricing vs. Mpg's

2. Niché import cars- always sell low volume compared to let's say a corvette.

3. Low practicality... 2 seats. A car for singles and couples with no kids.

4. Genesis coupe is very practical and gives people who want a sports car but doesn't want a muscle car an affordable option. When the 350z was out. The only other affordable option was the mustang.

Nissan built an awesome car in the Z, if you can understand what kind of car this is? Many will try to compare this car to cars that couldn't begin to match this level of performance. Most people discount extreme high performance driveability for quarter mile times.
But what can you expect from a country who's idea of a functional great performing vehicle is a Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and Ford expedition. (I'm a proud american but a spade is a spade)
To appreciate this car for what it is, you must be able to understand all the philosophy of the engineers and designers. Understand the history and what this car means, not only as a mode of transportation or a cool ride. But as a work of art. The Z is an incredible machine.

All sports cars are incredible machines. Whether you choose a Z, mustang, corvette or whatever??? My advice, buy from your heart and soul. A sports car should be an extension of your soul. It should remind you of what excites you about life. It should be a representation of what makes you a spiritually free man or woman.
You can buy a sports car to be the kool guy on the block. And that's kool I guess??? I won't knock that... at least right now. Lol But if you do? You will be missing out on so much a sports car has to offer.

There's no Tokyo drift with a 370z..

Like everyone else has said, it's the economy. Even look at Mustang sales figures... they are way down compared to years past. It's very hard to justify the purchase of an impractical car that drinks premium gasoline when the national unemployment rate is as high as it is.

When the 370Z was approved by NISSAN it was done so under the assumption that they would sell 30,000 units in the first year, similar to 350Z sales. In 2009 they only sold 10,000, and it's looking like it will take them three full model years to reach that 30,000 figure. It's tough to make a $30k 2-seat sports car work in this economy.

If this were 2005 or 2006 they'd probably be selling three times as many.

Another thing is that the 350 was the first new Z in the states for a few years. It was announced with a lot of fanfare and it got attention and free marketing. Just like the camaro is doing now it sold a lot in the first two years of production because of people who grew up loving the car could now get a new one.

idk something about the 350Z that made it an instant hit! I mean that car took off in sales...also the production numbers betweeen the 2 is allot aless....the 370 is barely being pumped out...i think nissan has something huge in the brewing

I see the Z going out of production in 2014. Then the Z coming back on its 50th birthday in 2019 as a 2020 model.

as a 4.0 liter v8 :stirthepot:

400Z anyone?

Maybe their thinking it's the best selling and most popular sport car in history ;)

:drool:

:yum:

people don't have money now + they can get a used 350 (which looks similiar if not identical to most folk) for less than half the price of the 370's

1) economy tanked..

2) i got mine at invoice... so not sure wat you mean.

3) you should get a 4 door mustang.

Most of the reasons have already been given:
1. Poor economy
2. Gas prices, etc.

There is one other factor to consider: demand for sports cars is fairly inelastic. The 350 arrived as the new kid. It was really the first true sports car under $40k in years. This opened up a new market. Now young adults (20-35) could afford the payments for the 350. So, more sales...for a while.

It's interesting to note that other car makers did not hop onto this band wagon. The Z still stands pretty much alone in the affordable sports car category. Everyone in the industry, including Nissan, realizes that two-seat sports cars are niche products. The market for these cars isn't going to grow dramatically. The 350 opened up a new demographic segment. That segment began getting saturated by 2008. When the recession hit, one of the most impacted segments was the 20-35 year-old males; exactly the target market for the Z. So it isn't a big surprise that the market slowed.

The Mitsubishi Eclipse is an interesting parallel. I am not saying it is a sports car like the Z, so no flames. But in the 1990's it was an affordable sporty looking car that sold well to young males. However, by 1998 sales had dropped dramatically. Mitsubishi figured it was saturation of their demographic. In 2000 they introduced a new Eclipse. It was wider, had more comfortable seats, lots of ammenities. They were trying to appeal to the older (richer) crowd in order to expand the market.

I am very happy that Nissan is staying true to the Z's tradition of being a hard core sports car. If you look at it in the light of the Eclipse transformation, you can see that the 370 is a more refined version of the 350. I suspect Nissan wanted to broaden the appeal to a larger demographic.

It certainly worked for me. I looked at a 350 when it first came out. It just didn't work for me. I ended up with a Pathfinder. When I sat in the 370 it was a totally different experience, so I bought it. I am older (a lot) than 35 and things like leather seats, sat nav, good comfort are important to me. I am in the Porsche demographic, but the 370 won me over.

Why then are sales poor? I suspect it is that my demographic can afford Porsches and more often than not, that is the choice. Also, since the Z isn't a good choice for your one and only vehicle (my wife has a truck), the recession forced a lot of potential buyers to choose larger, more practical cars.

I don't think that the Z will disappear again. Modern car plants can produce multiple models on the same line. Once the cost of dies, tooling, etc are invested, it isn't particularly difficult to support a low volume model.

From my perspective I like that there are very few 370's out there. Makes my Z exotic. That's cool.

:icon14:

Right, so why do the sales dept. at Nissan still have this "ehhhh take it or leave it. We don't budge on this car" Attitude?

must be that way down in charlotte. up around raleigh i'm lucky if i see maybe 3-4 a month and some months i don't see any at all.

attitude is strictly a subjective perception lol

also cause its "exlcusivveeee"

You have to shop around at different dealerships to find the ones that are willing to negotiate a fair price. That and I feel like dealerships have been playing the Japanese disaster card. In 2010 I found an incredible deal on a left over 2009, but it was 3 hours away.

the first dealership i went to told me they weren't likely to make anymore z's due to the tsunami, so i should buy their overpriced one today. i walked out.

2 other dealerships i went to still had 2010's on the lot that they desperately wanted to get rid of, but they weren't the right color/options for me.

I've had my Z for about three weeks now. What initially struck me as odd, was in that in that time frame, I had not seen another 370Z on the road. Not a single one! Living in Southern California, you see all kinds of cars everyday...but not in the case of the 370Z.

I actually have no problem with this...just makes me feel like I'm driving a special car...not like every Tom, D!ck and Harry who's rolling a 3-series. :p

Pretty right on the money with most parts. I remember when I got my S2000 back in 2005 (new) it was no big deal and everyone in my community was getting some nice new car (or cars). I bought a new house in a new housing development with a standard 30-year mortgage and down payment that I spent a while saving for. I moved away from the house this year and it's a rental now, but it's only worth 60% of what I owe on it. Of the 50 homes in my community over 15 have gone through foreclosure, and 6 are currently going through the process. Great judgement with those 5-year ARMs!

It's rediculous that we let people be this stupid and back out of it. Every month I lose $500 on my rental home because the market is so crappy. In a steady economy I should be able to cover my mortgage with rental income (with a proper loan like I have).

I've had a few people I know tell me I'm being foolish and wasting my $ buying a new sports car in this economy. I've been told (amazing to hear btw) that it's probably something I can't really afford if I give it proper thought. It's ironic how people now act as though they know everything considering two of the three people who have said this to me foreclosed on their homes already. Of course, they drive nice cars that were purchased a few years back on HELOCs. Now they live in apartments!

:shakes head:

Yep, I feel special, too!.....until I drove to Irvine.

The thing is...it's a Nissan brand thing. Every person and their mother wants to own an Infinite, Acura, BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus. If this was an Infinite 370z, there be a whole lot of sales. I mean, I see more G37 on the road than 370z.

:iagree: