370z rates nearly last on CR's owner satisfaction survey

Zephon13

I don't get how they can even say something about the power output of the Z... Yeah there are V8's that will put down more power, but tell me where you can buy a more powerful NA V6 off the lot.

Funny that all of his reasons not to buy a Z are my reasons to buy a Z.

Of course I could have gotten a FRS for "$8,700 less" (which if I even went that route I would have gotten the more premium BRZ with leather + other features) and that would have actually turned out to be only $3000 less than what I got my Z for (I got a quote and almost put a down payment for it). After test driving a Z it was a REALLY tough decision to make there, bro.

Needless to say I ended up driving the Z home that same day :P

Jordo!

Those are fair criticisms. At minimum the Z35 needs to keep the price down and the power up, which I'm pretty sure would be popular things to do...

A recent rumor claims the Z35 will be a 2+2 (I'm happier with 2 fewer seats, but vestigial ones won't bother me), and that is also a logical issue for folks who bought the Z, but then needed to trade it in for something with back seats.

Actually, of all the random articles I've read that talked smack about the Z34, that one seemed the most reasonable. Only the title is a little on the harsh side, but the points made are fair ones.

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RicerX

I'm not much of a fan of these statistics at all. They're borderline meaningless in the grand scheme of things, especially with this group of cars.

"Sporty" cars is quite a lofty, non-committal term in this case because it tries to do too much at once.

One car I would immediately discredit is the Corvette Stingray. What percentage of owners are still in the "honeymoon" phase? Silly to gauge owner satisfaction there. I know that every car I ever owned, within the first year or so, I would likely say "yes I would buy it again." Is that a fair sentiment when you have most of that car's owners and their satisfaction levels gauged against a likely equal pool of people with a 6 year old 370Z? Of course, at that point, they're likely going to be like "yeah, it's time for something new". Completely asinine. Of those cars on that poll, the 370Z is one of the oldest platforms.

The other piece of it is - why wouldn't you buy again? How many of the people who can afford a Corvette Stingray likely can afford a more practical car to handle life? I challenge you to take that demographic and compare it to Z owners - they likely won't buy another Z because life simply won't accommodate a 2 seater as things happen and they have to move on. Most Vette owners are in their 50s and 60s. There are plenty of Z owners in their late teens and early 20s on this board, and it's their only car.

Then, to combine those two cars, the demographics in each, and compare them to a FWD four-door Civic SI? Or an AWD Audi S4 sedan? A Focus hatchback? A ******* FIAT?

This is why anything Consumer Reports piles together is a load of ****. While there are valid points made by many people in this thread about shortcomings of the Z, the report itself... nothing to see here.

Dcocci

z35- 400hp v8. It's a must in my opinion.

totopo

I am curious as to what direction they are going to take with the next generation Z.

I am curious to as what powerplant they are going to chose, and what overall design philosophy. I wonder if they are going to try to add a third sports car to their line up, back to the old silvia/fairlady/skyline days, or if the market isn't there any more.

Can they tune the vk v8 to make decent OEM power? Supposedly when they designed the GT-R they thought about a V-8, but decided to go for a TT v-6 instead. I wonder if they are going to go for a heavy high HP car to try to capture the large american muscle car market from domestics? such as the VK or a tt VR or tt VQ? Kind of hard to see how you can beat the domestics in the american market in hp/dollar though.

or are they going to try to fight it out with the fr-s/miata in the light/fun category? like a turbo QR (meh) or a turbo MR (meh) or god forbid an NA QR

Or keep it in the mid-range affordable track car where it sits now. and continue with an updated V6 maybe with direct injection or something.

Or maybe they are working on an all new engine block. maybe a half decent i4?

Jordo!

^^^ I wouldn't get your hopes up for a V8... they can get plenty of punch out of a V6 or boosted I4.

They just need to keep the weight down and the throttle response sharp.

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cigarclifford

like the famous line from... The Pawn Stars show............V8 its not going
to happen son............

-Clifford

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Zerocool

Well when Nissan doesn't promote their sports car what's to expect?
I love my car, and love how it stays flat on corners. Are the performance parts expensive? yes, but you gotta pay to play.

The honda Civic si surprises the **** out of me then again, the parts for it are probably a third of the cost for our Z's.

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Duc_Z09

True, but who wants to drive a Civic?

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2009 370z #206 (all mods are Home Depot)
2009 Ducati 848 (full Ohlins, Termignoni, etc)
2003 Grand Cherokee (long arms, big tires, 4.56, lockers)

RonRizz

Holding out for the rocket powered (or magnet driven) next generation Z

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Vegitto-kun

honestly I personally won't buy a Z again. I mean I LIKE the car but there are so many cars out there that I can get that are that fast, are more comfortable and just "better"

TBH the biggest part why I won't buy a Z anymore is because I don't want RWD cars anymore. After several near accidents and spinouts on damp roads and stuff like that I have a "fear" of RWD. I can't punch the Z in a corner anymore. I don't want to drive on a racetrack anymore. Its just RWD has lost all appeal to me. back when I bought the Z I was all like "HELL YEAR RWD WOOOO" and now like 6 years later I am like meh. sure its fun and all if you want to go drift and stuff like that. But since you can't do stuff like that here in this god forsaken country what is the point.

track days are stupid expensive(like a grand + for what 4-5 20 minute sessions in a while day?) we have no drag strips or places where you can legally go drift. we have alot of rain. our roads are mediocre at best and we get freezing and snow for 3-4 months.

now if the Z would have a AWD option. then you know what. maybe I will consider it but for now. no more Z for me.

Zipper 104

OK, I'll play......name 'em for me.
Remember, same price range.....apples to apples.

104

Fuzzzy

Really? I guess I haven't given much thought to people with little or no experience driving RWD cars.

I learned to drive pre-Olds Toronado in RWD cars and largely on dirt or gravel roads--at least until I got my driver's license. One of the main reasons the Z appealed to me was RWD. FWD cars are so boring by comparison.

Good luck in finding something you are happy with. Life is too short to be driving cars you don't enjoy.

Dcocci

Yeap. After reading more about the next gen Z speculation, it sounds like a v8 is out. So instead of going after the mustang GT, it looks like they may dial it back and build the next Z to take on the FRS/BRZ? Think of it as a S car/Z car mix maybe? We'll see. I hate speculating about these things, I'm more of the "I'll believe it when I see it" type.

VCuomo

The rumored multi-engine design (gas/electric) could have more than enough horsepower and (especially) torque to go after the Mustang (and many other high-horsepower cars).

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