|
Administrator
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: NJ
Posts: 9,930
Drives: 09 370Z MB Sports M6
Rep Power: 10
|
Edmunds.com: 2009 Nissan 370Z Inside Line Party and Video 11.16.08
Great article by Edmunds.com . YOu can actually find out what people are saying about the new 370Z 
Source: 2009 Nissan 370Z Inside Line Party and Video
Quote:
A good chunk of Southern California is burning with brush fires this Saturday evening in November, but it turns out that the hot place to be is here in this small parking lot, as the incendiary new 2009 Nissan 370Z makes its first official public appearance anywhere on the planet. There are no firefighters on hand — or even an open flame — but the scene is on fire. Inside Line is the first to get its hands on the new '09 Z-car, and we're letting you get your hands on it, too.
If you aren't here, it's your own fault. It's not like you weren't invited.
We're in the parking lot of TWBA/Chiat/Day, Nissan's advertising agency in the U.S., and there's a scrum of wired-up Z-car people, some hitters from the project team at Nissan who created the new car and a platoon of people from Inside Line. Lights are hung from gantries to make the scene as bright as day, and digital cameras and handheld video cams are on every hip. There is even free food from the best damn taco truck in L.A.
It's the coming-out party for the 2009 Nissan 370Z, a full week before its official debut at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.
Is it hot enough for you?
Chiat/Day Parking Lot, the Sequel
After a long dry day, we're sweltering in the heat in the parking lot at Chiat/Day while ash from the brushfires is raining from the sky. We were here a year ago, when Inside Line and Nissan conspired to offer a sneak preview of a sports car, only then it was the 2009 Nissan GT-R. Now we have something new to share, but we're not quite ready yet to present it.
The crowd started to show up just before 4 p.m., and with them came Z-cars dating back to the origin of the species, a quartet of new GT-Rs (including IL's own long-term test car) and a few Nissan family cousins, including a couple of Infiniti G35 coupes. Conspicuous in their absence were any Z-cars built between 1979 and 1989 — a lost decade of bulbous 280ZXs and bland 300ZXs when the Z-car was struggling to find itself.
Now it's 4:30 p.m. and our guests have all been fortified by at least one trip to the taco truck and the anticipation is thicker than the green salsa. It's time for the 2009 Nissan 370Z to appear.
About a block away, we have three Zs stashed out of sight beneath black tarps. As we strip off the protective covers, the cars catch the fiery, smoke-obscured sunset, and the wild brown and red hues in the sky make the car's paintwork really pop. We fire up the three cars and pace down the street toward the crowd in the Chiat/Day parking lot.
We've been told to keep the speed to 15 mph. And at these speeds we can now report that the 370Z remains composed and well mannered. Really, though, the most immediately apparent improvement in the new car is the interior. Vastly improved materials, a clean and logical design to the dash, perfectly shaped seats and a thick-rimmed steering wheel help make the driving environment really impressive. Plus the shift action of the six-speed manual transmission feels stout, like something you'll like using, and the exhaust note from the new 3.7-liter V6 is spot-on perfect (even though, noise regulations notwithstanding, it's not loud enough).
As the three 370Zs roll into the open space beneath the big yellow walkway across the Chiat/Day parking lot, the crowd applauds. The three of us somehow resist the temptation to get out of the cars and take a bow.
Look, It's a Viral Event!
After a moment's hesitation — as if everyone isn't sure they're allowed to approach the 370Zs — the crowd swarms the cars. A moment after that, the doors, hoods and rear decks fly open, and secrets are revealed. Another moment beyond that and people are sticking their soda bottles in the cupholders and trying to figure out whether the carnitas from the taco truck tastes better inside or outside a new 2009 Nissan 370Z.
"It's little more compact than I imagined it would be," says Chris Payne, a visual effects artist and a new GT-R owner. "The rear aero diffuser could be a lot better, but the interior sure has improved. It could be a hell of a track car. Maybe that's the thing to do; buy a base model and just track it."
Steve Fletcher drove his 205,000-mile, one-owner Z32-model 300ZX to the event, and he's impressed that Nissan has improved the utility of the new Z-car's rear cargo area by moving the rear strut tower brace out of the way. "It's a little bit less changed than I thought it would be," he says. "But inside is what I care about and this is a lot better." It's enough better, he tells us, that he might actually consider replacing his ancient 300ZX with a new 370Z.
"It looks like a catfish," comments Susan Redditt, who arrived here in her 2008 Nissan Nismo 350Z, a car so blistering red that we're shocked it wasn't followed by a squad of law enforcement vehicles. "All the 370Z needs is whiskers and it would look just like a catfish. But it is a looker. I really like the way the fenders flare. And it looks like they really upgraded the interior." Oh, it turns out that Redditt works as dispatcher for the California Highway Patrol and maybe that explains why her Nismo Z is unaccompanied by law-enforcement personnel.
Peter Bedrosian, the Z-car product planner from Nissan North America is here to gauge the enthusiasm of the crowd, and he has brought along some interested friends of his own in the Nissan GT-R he's driving. "The Z is who we are as a car company," Bedrosian says. "This is the car that everyone at Nissan wants to work on." Also here is Randy Rodriguez, the young designer who made the first concept drawings of the 370Z at Nissan Design America down in San Diego. He drove here in his own 240Z, one of about 10 early Z-cars that he's owned over the years.
Of course, the big questions about the new 2009 Nissan 370Z are unanswered. That is, how much power is the 370Z's new 3.7-liter version of the VQ V6 making? And how much lighter is this new short-wheelbase 370Z than the 350Z? The answers will have to wait until the car's official introduction at the L.A. auto show on Wednesday, November 19. That's when the rest of the world gets its first look at the new car. You know, after us.
Daze End
As the evening wears on, the crowd slowly drifts away until only a few hard-core die-hards remain. By 7:30 p.m., it's time to pay the guy with the taco truck (in cash) and send him home.
As we read the consensus from the crowd, the elements of the 370Z that seemed radical in photos — like the headlight and taillight designs — seem more natural once you see the car in person. The 370's flared haunches and heavily sculpted front fenders also make this easily the most muscular Z-car yet. But there's also general agreement that there's still enough original Z in the new car to make it an unmistakable member of the family.
There's one surprise, however. As the event is ending, noted GT-R tuning guru Sean Morris asks us what the deal is with the auxiliary differential coolers on all three cars. Coolers? Turns out each of the three cars has some snazzy AN aircraft fittings to plumb in a differential cooler that looks fresh out of the catalog from Summit Racing. We do a little more poking around and find out that each car also has a supplemental cooler for the engine oil as well. Since these cars are scheduled for testing by the media, maybe Nissan is worried about the abuse the cars are likely to get.
As to the questions of how quick the new 2009 Nissan 370Z is, and how well it corners, brakes and hustles around a racetrack, the answers will come soon, since we drove home in one of these cars, a snappy red one. And we're not giving it back until we get the answers we're looking for. Watch this space for a full test.
|
Click Here for the Video: Inside Line: Media Gallery
|