End of an era

trbo1007

The Z is like a Ferrari. You don’t see them every day. At least not in my neck of the woods.

Benibiker

The 370z is that old car you always wanted but can still get as a new car.

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2017 Pure Red 6MT 370Z Touring

analogman

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'.

Geoff-AU

well said x 2

SUV's are rife now, next looks like a hot hatch era so it'll be another 10 years by the time people want RWD sports again and by then they may all be electric. Which could be great, but in the meantime if you're going to turn dinosaurs into smoke you might as well do it the proper way, in a RWD sports car

Larso1

No one seems to complain about the VW Golf/GT-I looking basically the same since 1974. And the Porsche 911 and it's descendents since 1966 (I mean, the profiles are nearly identical). Based on that, I think I can live with the same body style for the 370z over a 10 year period.

Thesmoke90

Good point.

Shoeshear

Yeah, but I'm not sure the same can be true with all cars. When the cars are styled relatively subtly and they make incremental, but noticeable changes continuously over the years, I think the car can still feel fresh. Both 911s and GTIs have had their fair share of changes, but usually in relatively small styling cues and size (since everything seems to be getting bigger). But both of these cars are relatively neutral in design, nothing particularly aggressive or stand-out about them.

I think the Z has relatively aggressive styling and could go either way as far as aging well goes. So far, I still think it looks great, even if the interior needs a bit of an update (but the driver-centric layout of the interior is fantastic) as it still stylistically feels mid 2000s Japanese production.

This is all just my random opinion of course, feel free to feel otherwise haha.

Nixin

Subtle tweaks and revisions to the engine, transmission and the interior, especially the gauges, would be welcomed in the Z. I think the body style is aging well.

Volk Z

They have the VR30DTT... I mean put that in the Z and call it a day... People will flock to trade their Z in.
Small subtle tweak Im not trading or selling mine to upgrade 10hp or some lame deal they do normally. Or add a piece of vinyl and think that will sell me.

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Shoeshear

I'm curious as to why they wouldn't just rebadge and adjust the Q60 to be a Z? Like G37 to 370z. Bring down the interior decor a little, make the seats a bit more aggressive, put in a standard gearbox, call it a day.

wanker

It's not the design, but the remanufacturing costs that keep Nissan from relaunching a new Z.

In order to put out a new Z, Nissan will have to re-tool its factory, and get its suppliers up to speed, etc. etc. It's a huge upfront investment, for a car that will sell less than 10,000 units in the USA a year. The 2-seater sports car is a dying market, so the powers that be in Nissan (aka Renault) cannot justify the upfront cost. That's why the BRZ/RF-S is on its way out, and the Supra is taking it's sweat time toward a release.

Blame the Millennials.

Shoeshear

Rather than retool entirely, wouldn't it make sense to sell the identical car with only slightly revised bodywork to minimize costs (a different bumper and side skirts or headlights, but otherwise identical)? BRZ and FRS are on the way out, but they've been on the market for a few years right. I'm sure people have gotten their fill of low power RWD cars that aren't quite as good as a Miata, but are still painful as a daily (IMO, I found the car to not have anything that wow-ed me in any aspect).

I'm saying basically sell the Q60 with a manual transmission and badge it as a Z. Don't even have to take the rear seats out, you could bring it back as a 300ZX refresh. Simply to keep the Z alive.

Edit: PS, don't blame all the millennials. I'm technically one. Plenty of us still like cars, just not a lot.

KCZ

Retooling nearly anything structural means Nissan has to go through the process to pass US safety standards again, which is not a trivial thing. And I don't want a rebadged Q60 with rear seats for the next Z. I think they're dragging their feet, will come up with a re-painted, re-trimmed, and re-badged 50th anniversary model, then kill the Z off.

Shoeshear

Sad... If they end up killing the Z, hopefully either the cars get cheap, everyone buys one, the aftermarket flourishes and there will be cool development. Or maybe, cars get a little cheaper, people realize it is a cool car with some character, and they become prized. Either way, I'd be happy.

But I suppose the third option and perhaps most likely, is that they kill the Z, no one cares except us, the aftermarket dies, and it becomes a car that people only remember when they see it on the road and is seen as the weird/interesting sports car Nissan used to make. GG no RE...

old guy

when I bought my 370 I trolled this site for months getting all of the info. possible, ended up with a new touring with an auto, which I love !
Didn't get a stick because of the dreaded csc,clutch chatter, and synchro issues
that said, this is my fourth summer with the car and I'm missing the fun of stretching and going thru the gears!
Solution: been searching for a 240,260, or 300zx 4 or 5 speed just to have a little fun with... I'll always keep the 370