Quote:
Originally Posted by PluckyPurcell
Then why don't they run special offers (rebates, 0% financing, etc...) like they do on their "most popular sellers." They don't advertize the Z to the general public. I don't think I've ever seen a TV ad for a Z and they rarely even flash a pic of one on regular Nissan TV spots. If they were really concerned about sales figures they'd invest more in marketing. The Z is a totally impractical car. Good marketing is how you get people to buy what they don't need or even want.
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Because that would just be a waste. They can just let the Z be a loss-leader and make it for however many years before they reevaluate and decide if they want to continue with the program or not.
We've talked about this here a lot, but the 370Z program was approved on the basis of selling 30,000 units a year. Well, we all know that 2009 almost looked like the end of the world, so demand forecasts everywhere were slashed, the Z included. Nissan has been lucky to sell roughly 10k units a year.
I think they just make them and whether they make money, break even, or lose out it doesn't really matter. The key will be when they sit down to decide if they are going to continue the Z program beyond the 370 are they going to be pushing for cancelling the Z altogether, reinventing it in a more eco-friendly platform (i.e. a hybrid or full electric sports car), or are they going to go all out and give more power.
My money is on either of the first two options. Unless the demand outlook for impractical 2 seat sports cars in the 30-40k space improves dramatically over the next 2 years, I think the Z is going to either go away once again or be reinvented in a more electric fashion.
We all know we are going towards a hybrid/electric/alt-energy fueled driving future, so a hybrid or full electric Z would allow Nissan to reestablish the Z as a pioneer. It was in the late 60s as the sports car EVERYONE could afford... it could start over as the hybrid/electric sports car EVERYONE can afford... who knows.
