@Z_ealot: Word, makes sense ... and I wasn't really driving the car that hard so I didn't experience the continued high rpm acceleration.
I'm doing research now into trunk space and snow driving. It seems the trunk is not as small as it seemed at the dealer - people have been able to fit a decent amount of stuff in it.
I'm seeing threads about not really using the Z for snow driving ... without a proper setup:
Anybody planning on driving your Z in winter?
Not sure if this is the best car for me.... = [
I would really like more space and winter capabilities.