Why can't very capeable people do what Ford can ....

Originally Posted by b1adesofcha0s

Should they be compared? No because they are different cars like you said. Are they compared? Yes they are by most people looking to buy a performance car in this price range. Example, I have a budget of about $35k and I'm looking to buy a performance car. I'm obviously gonna cross shop the Z with the 5.0 and even other things like an Evo, Sti, Cayman (used), etc. Just because the cars aren't in the same class doesn't mean I can't compare them. These comparisons are perfectly valid in my decision of which car I want to buy.

Originally Posted by UNKNOWN_370

You're Right... but they are not valid when you ask the Z to be more like a stang. if the Z is too slow? buy the stang? if you like the Z better but need to go faster? buy and mod the Z. Just be realistic about the complete & different and individual purposes of each car. you have 35k maybe you need a corvette used? mustang power, Z like handling under some conditions. better than Z in others. But nissan shouldn't sell out the Z to be like a stang' or downgrade power to be like a BRZ... i want the Z to keep its own identity.

Originally Posted by b1adesofcha0s

I'm planning on test driving a 5.0 tomorrow. Not going to buy it because I don't want to waste money buying a new car, just want to see how it drives.

I don't see what your problem is with Nissan making the Z "mustang fast" as you like to call it. Why shouldn't Nissan strive to outperform the V8 versions of other cars? Porsche does it with the 911. Even the GT-R does it with its TT V6. The V8's Nissan would be aiming for aren't quite the same as those of the 911 and GT-R, but the idea is the same. A TT V6 can be made to outperform a V8.

I never said the Z needed to outpower the 5.0 by becoming a V8 muscle car. They can up the HP and decrease weight to make the car faster overall, not just in a straight line. I was never talking about straight line speed, I'm talking about on a road course. The Z should have better handling than the mustang and should be able to put in better lap times.

Originally Posted by UNKNOWN_370

You're Right... but they are not valid when you ask the Z to be more like a stang. if the Z is too slow? buy the stang? if you like the Z better but need to go faster? buy and mod the Z. Just be realistic about the complete & different and individual purposes of each car. you have 35k maybe you need a corvette used? mustang power, Z like handling under some conditions. better than Z in others. But nissan shouldn't sell out the Z to be like a stang' or downgrade power to be like a BRZ... i want the Z to keep its own identity.

Originally Posted by wolf370z

I think the problem boils down to the Z getting beat at it's own game. It's not much of a sports car if it loses to muscle cars on the track

Originally Posted by bigdog1250

Get the collectors edition Z ('09 - 12)

Originally Posted by ZMan8

what he is referring to is the Nissan/Renault should not be wasting time to just out-do Ford. They have established their own culture and heritage and should build that. Additionally, nissan admitted to wanting to compete with the porsches. In fact though the GTR is completely different car than 911, when it first came out Nissans goal was to have it be better, faster than the 911. when the 370Z came out, they wanted it to be a Porsche Cayman S for half the price, which is basically is.

Originally Posted by b1adesofcha0s

i never said it should be more like the mustang. I said it should be able to match or best its level of performance. To do that with the z you need to significantly mod it, more than just bolt ons. The z can keep its identity and still get a step up in its overall performance level. What i'm saying is that this step up from the z34 to the z35 needs to be a big step and not a small step if it wants to be competitive in the market. Before the z and the mustang used to be at the same level performance wise. Now the 5.0 is up competing with the m3 and the z is getting left behind.

Originally Posted by b1adesofcha0s

i'm a firm believer in "competition breeds innovation", especially for the automotive industry. Why wouldn't you want the z to match or best the performance of the mustang? Staying competitive with its competitors is the only way the z will survive and live to get better. You're missing the fact that the mustang is not only faster than the z in a straight line, but also around a track.

Nissan should be setting their aims high rather than low. Why go after the v6 when you have the capability to take down the bigger and badder v8 mustang/camaro/etc. That's what it did with the gt-r and it has earned so much recognition because of it. They could have easily had it best the bmw and mercedes in it's price range, but instead they went after more exotic supercars that cost like 5 times as much.

Originally Posted by unknown_370

nissan370z=v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v6v 6v6v6v6v6v6
mustang gt=v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v8v 8v8

innovation???????? If nissan chooses to fi and reduce weight on the z to be faster than a stang... Awesome. But dont forget what the z is. And the z is not and never was or should be a v8 or 4cyl.
Selling it out with a 5.6 to appease some domestic muscle-jocker is out of the question to any true z enthusiast.

Remember the gtr cost 106k nicely equipped and the mustang at its highest is 70k. Gtr point not taken

actually the shelby starts at $54,900
the nissan gt-r starts at $96,820



huge difference

Originally Posted by ZMan8

what he is referring to is the Nissan/Renault should not be wasting time to just out-do Ford. They have established their own culture and heritage and should build that. Additionally, nissan admitted to wanting to compete with the porsches. In fact though the GTR is completely different car than 911, when it first came out Nissans goal was to have it be better, faster than the 911. when the 370Z came out, they wanted it to be a Porsche Cayman S for half the price, which is basically is.

Originally Posted by wolf370z

I was actually close to being "that Z guy" who was going to trade in on a 5.0 Mustang GT because of the performance reasons. After the test drive though, it was pretty obvious which I liked more

Can't give up that feeling.

Originally Posted by Davey

I've driven a 5.0 GT fairly extensively and while it is a great car and the performance can't be denied I'm in a Z today. It really does have something, to me, that the 5.0 doesn't, and for whatever reason I like it, "slowness" be damned.

Can't say I wouldn't like another 100 HP at the crank, though, but not if it's going to up the price by $7,000.

Originally Posted by chris410

I agree with those stating that the 370 was developed as is to keep it from competing with the GTR. The motor responds well to boost, the numbers easily compare to the GTR's numbers so it would not make sense for Nissan to offer a SC or Turbo version of the 370. Given the price, if the 370 came with let's say 400HP I think a lot of people would look to the 370 over the GTR.



I hope they do not put a turbo 4 in the mustang. A V6 for the "regular" model sure but a turbo 4? The car is too big and heavy unless they completely move away from the muscle car roots the Mustang has.

I have seen some pictures of what the next gen Mustang is going to look like and IMO it is the wrong direction. Either way I could care less...I have my GT500 and I love it...if Ford does go down what I consider the wrong path I'd pick up a 2013 GT500 later down the road if I had to. Although, I plan on keeping my GT500 for a long time and it's not a daily driver so except for catastrophic engine failure or accident I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

Just my opinion on what Ford should do with the Mustang...keep it a muscle car or improve upon and evolve the current platform ie IRS weight improvement. I could see the GT500 coming out with an auto version, imagine what the 2013 GT500 would do with a transmission similar to that of the GTR let alone IRS added to that equation.