400Z will have Driving Automation Standard
 

Nissan put out a statement that by 2023, every single model will have some level of driving automation standard.

https://www.torquenews.com/11681/nis...dard-every-car

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Aut...rd-on-new-cars

Predictable. Adaptive cruise control is considered to be a driving automation system. That's not to say it won't have a bunch of other automated systems to help people break the nasty habit of actually paying attention to their driving.

It's always an adventure trying to figure out how to turn all that crap off when I'm in a rental car :shakes head:

Yup. It's love or hate thing when you realize what our completely analogue drivers car will morph into the next generation.

Nissan doesn't really have a choice though, even if they wanted to. Just like how backup cameras became mandatory for the 2019 model year; automated emergency braking will become mandatory in 2022.

Which is probably one of the reasons that forced Nissan to either come out with a new model or axe the Z. Short of a complete electronic overhaul to accommodate AEB (including adding cameras, radar, computer systems to the 370Z), the current 370z will not be legal to sell as a new car beyond the 2022 model year.

Random thoughts on the new car
 

I drive a 2013 roadster and without a backup camera I would be afraid to back out of my driveway. There is practically no visibility when the convertible top is up.

We have a 2020 Lexus 350 and it has some of the bells and whistles. I find the adaptive speed control to be pretty nice when driving between SF and Sacramento. It's all freeway and there's often a lot of stop and go. My problem is when I get back into my Z I tend to be a little less alert because all that tech lulls me into a sense of security. Not a fan of the lane assist tech on the RX350. I don't think it's quite there yet. It is slow to react going into and out of turns. I usually get so annoyed with it that I turn it off.

About the new 400Z, I'm happy to see they finally came up with something new but the preview in Car and Driver was disappointing. Why go from a 332 hp car to a 300 hp one? The trend now is to go big on HP. Why would Nissan go backwards? I'll keep my old Z with only 40k miles on it.

The Proto Z has the 400HP VR engine. If you look on the dash, you'll see a turbo speed gauge. The 400HP VR engine has turbo speed sensors. This is likely a mid-level engine.

Likely the 300HP VR will be a "base" engine, and it will out perform the VQ37, it just has more power overall despite the low peak HP output.