Not a Priority?

SG4247

I worked for many years (over a decade) as a teir one supplier to Nissan, Subaru and Honda for engine and drivetrain assemblies.

As a result, I know each company, their engineers and management very well.

Bottom line: Nissan does not make money on the 370Z program. Not enough sales volume and margin to invest in new product design and development. I know that there are those at Nissan that have great loyalty to the long heritage of the Z product (like Corvette & Camaro, do at GM).

Problem is the the bean counters put pressure on leadership to make certain margins and payback on capital investments by program. Nissan has hopefully now gotten thier ROI on the product since production began in 2008, but I would be surprised if the bankers would be willing to invest millions in new design and tooling for a new 400Z.

I really love the 370Z product, and even liked my old 280ZX very much.

The 370Z is a great and well balanced performance sports car that is affordable.

Hang on to yours, because in 10 years when there arent any, you will be glad you kept it.

280driver

Well, my point was that the Z should represent more to the brand than simple unit margins. Make good margins on all the high volume models so you can afford less margin on the Z. The Z represents the brands sportiness better than the GTR to many people because it's historically more recognizable and obtainable. If you want better sales, keep the car updated and competive. Spend some on marketing and incourage grass roots racing. I'm very happy with my 280Z but am hoping for a modern equivalent to add to the stable (I love the 370 too). Come on Nissan, don't loose your identity.

SG4247

I agree, and thats exactly what they have been doing. The high volume units support the low volume niche products. Fortunately, they have kept the 370Z and not discontinued it as of late. Problem is the bean counters, they do not understand identity, brand image, heritage or legacy, and they dont care to. Its a constant battle between the marketing team and the banker types - to keep this type of car in production.

At one point in time, Ford was losing money on every car model they built, and was surviving only on the F-150 sales. Then gas went to $5/gal and F-150 sales tanked, and the Focus was their best margin product and they couldnt make enough of them lol..

MacCool

Yeah, that's the point. The Z is still here because it's a heritage product being kept alive because it costs them nothing. The only way they can move it forward is by turning it into something that can provide a return on investment, makes market sense. That means a $30,000 Z34 that's in it's 10th model year, or a $65,000 niche sports car with multi-corporate engineering and multi corporate sales and hybrid tech that will let it compete with the 2019 Supra. And then the problem becomes what company will want to partner with them that can or is willing to compete in that market space? Because Nissan will never go it alone...too big a project and too much at stake. Toyota/BMW's approach is really smart.