Quote:
Originally Posted by SS_Firehawk
Remember that the price they sell it for directly results in the value of the yen. The yen was getting stronger against the dollar for the past few years. It wasn't until recently that it started dropping again. Building a car for X amount of yen, then selling it for X amount of dollars, they need to have a profit margin. Sure there is a few thousand in every vehicle, but it is not out of line with the profit margin of a car that is similarly equipped. Now if they are able to build the Z here in the states, they can reduce the cost for manufacture, but they still need to sell enough to justify that investment. Look at what Subaru and Mitsubishi gives for their sports cars. A turbo 4 banger, AWD and not much else, but it costs the same. Nissan isn't alone in this price conspiracy.
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There is no doubt to this. The yen burned Nissan. Unfortunately it still won't change the sales numbers for the past few years.
The Z is at a crossroads. Nissan has some real decisions to make on the car. I don't think they want to get into an HP war, it would be smart to avoid it. But they have to compete with the pressure from strong competition.
I think the Toyobaru twins showed there is a strong market out there for sporty cars. And there is big price gap ($10-$12k) between where they sell and where American V8s sell. Nissan can split the difference. Make a small, light, fantastic handling car. Make sure it has a low compression V6, with a small turbo on it, with ok HP, and sell it for $35-$36k. Then basically set up the aftermarket for incredible sales. Give the line a Nismo model that competes with American V8s on performance, more engine, more turbo, more tire, to show the aftermarket what the platform can really do.
I love NA, but the aftermarket is FI. If they go that route, I think that they would have something.