Quote:
Originally Posted by Benibiker
The 370z is that old car you always wanted but can still get as a new car.
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Benibiker, that is exactly why I'm shopping for a 370Z. You said it perfectly.
We live in an age of increasingly bland, flavorless cars with too many electronic gizmos. Some people love all the gee-gaws, paddle shifted automatic transmissions, turbocharged instead of naturally aspirated, electric parking brakes and electric doors (like on the Corvette), electronic stability control, semi-autonomous cruise control, adaptive suspensions, remote electric steering, etc. etc. etc. Its just getting worse. Even the next generation Corvette, and the coming Toyota Supra, will be automatic only! I'm old-school, and to me all that crap just results in a disconnected, anesthetized excuse for a driving experience.
I don't care if a paddle shifter can change gears 0.003 seconds faster than I can, and can give a 0.047 seconds faster 0-60 time. Maybe I would if I was racing on a track, but I'm just looking for a visceral, fun, connected driving experience on the street. I like the feeling of a car being directly hard-wired into my central nervous system. The Mazda Miata does a good job with that, but I want something a little more, a little more power, a little more serious of a car. I don't need (and couldn't afford anyway) an Aston Martin/Ferrari/McLaren etc. supercar, I just want to have fun on the roads. I think the 370Z fits the bill perfectly, and is the last remaining 'analog' new car to do that - a simple, rear-wheel drive, manual transmission, naturally aspirated V6 (the BRZ/FRS come close, but, not quite enough power).
The 370Z might be slow selling now, and that's the reason Nissan is very unlikely to spend the money to come up with a next-generation one. The old Nissan is long gone. The Carlos Ghosn culture is all about the numbers, and the recent sales of the 370Z just don't justify the development expense of making a new one. I think it's pretty certain that the 2019 model will be the end of the road for the 370Z (unless they do something unspeakable and bring back the name on some kind of abominable CUV or SUV).
That's OK. I think 5 or 10 years down the road, after the 370Z is long gone and so have the few remaining other cars like it, people will start to appreciate it for what it was - the last analog sports car. Like you said, the last opportunity to buy a 'new old car'.