The economy has also tanked since then and competition has increased as well.

Cars sell regardless of how the economy is doing, some just better than others! If Nissan would make body changes sooner, instead of waiting 5 or 6 years, Z sales would increase. Even a small change, as long as the newer model looks noticeably different.

I still support Nissan's design. It seems all the american manufactures are just "remaking" their older cars. Mustangs, Camaros, Chargers... It's just a more modern look of the old 60s-70s version. At least the 350 was something NEW.

But regardless, w/ the decline in sales, would it be easier to bargain when buying the car now?

Yes, if there's leftover new cars from the year below. However if production is limited and MSRP is higher, bargaining seems a whole lot more difficult. It's supply and demand overall.

However, at 10k sales a year in the U.S., I think Nissan USA may very well stop selling in the U.S.

I believe my car was sold new in the busiest month.

March of 09'

But I don't see why many seem so surprised.. there aren't THAT many of them around. Considering what type of car it is, the price, and the economy. It really is a car that can be killed off..

It would only piss off the Z owners that have them and care about the Z family. That would be far less loss customers than say, Altima or Maxima owners.

Not to mention, the Z and GTR lineup account for what, 2% of Nissans annual car sales..? Probably not even that, more like .5-1% I'd be willing to bet.

2011----------------------2010
Jan..567------------------ 673
Feb..571------------------699
Mar..974-----------------1,095
April.942------------------ 952

not too bad. could've been more if it wasn't for shortage in supply?

More like due to plenty of 2010 models still going around. When I went to dealerships in CA, there were still AT LEAST TWO 2010 models brand new still sticking around.

Of course I bought one cuz it's the 40th anniversary edition and a good price :tiphat:

Car sales are not projected to return to normal until 2013, due to the economy.

Not True. There are a lot of altima and maxima buyers that are saving every penny to finally have there Dream Z. When a car like this is cancelled. It also cancels the dreams for future sports car buyers.

Actually I saw last week, salees have increased. SUV and large veehicle drivers are trading for economical gas savers. The Chevy cruze has been the #1 seller for 2 months. Hybrid sales have also doubled. If you can imagine trucks are being highly discounted due to lack of sales.. Its 2008 all over again. This time its permenent.

2011----------------------2010
Jan..567------------------ 673
Feb..571------------------699
Mar..974-----------------1,095
April.942------------------ 952
May..847-----------------1,217

Oh really? How do you know there are a lot of Altima and Maxima owners saving to buy a Z? I think that is a little far fetched.


Sports cars are canceled all the time... don't forget the Z was terminated once before. We have the success of the 350Z to thank for our 370s; If it was a flop in 2003 we'd all be on another forum talking about another car we drive.

The numbers look proportionately right until we get to May 2011. I wonder if the slump in May had to do with low supply due to the earthquake.

If you look at the net change it is

Jan -106
Feb -128
Mar -121
Apr -10
May -370 (hmmm)

So if you normlize Jan-April, sales dropped an average of 91 cars a month. May's sales slipped very badly, about 30% year-over-year. 2010 wasn't a great year either, but not terrible considering the economy. The YTD average sales drop is 147 units a month compared with 2010. May really hurt the averages. But I suspect the real drop is in the 90-cars-a-month range with Japan's problems causing the May slump.

I don't know if Nissan is willing to take another 30% hit in 2012, if that is how they are forecasting. Two things need to happen to make a car maker believe that things will improve tomorrow (well, next year): 1. The economy will improve substantially; more employment, etc. and 2. gas prices will subside to below-$3.50 a gallon. Arguably, gas may need to go below $3.00 a gallon before people take a chance on a high-powered car like the Z.

Since car makers need at least two years lead time for a really new model, did Nissan decide to work on a new Z last year? I wonder. I think if I were in their shoes I would keep making the current 370 with only minor tweaks until the end of the recession and crazy oil prices are in sight. At this point it doesn't hurt Nissan to make/sell less Z's. The tooling and stuff is all paid for.

I hope they look ahead and see an expanding market for sports cars.

It is because of the earthquake. If you look at all Japanese manufacturers' sales numbers for May (there's an article on it on autoblog) you see all of them suffering big time.