blacklist hunter,makes predictions for 2012 Z...

UNKNOWN_370

But they can compare to miata sales, corvette sales and bimmer sales. Vettes sell over 60,000 units annually and miatas sell over 20,000 annually. I'm sure nissan wants to sell at least 25k units a year. They steadily sold the 350z between 25k and 30k units a year.

I would like to see a more interesting color pallette, better standard stereo. Bose should be standard and nav bose should be "the" option. I would like to see standard bluetooth and usb and 35 extra lbs taken off the car. Maybe a new sport wheel designwith upgrades to the grille and skirts to break the monotoney. Lastly, the nismo tune for the sport pkg and add even more power to the nismo. Like 370hp @8000rpm

One other thing. I had to jump on this to add... OIL COOLER. That would rock.

UNKNOWN_370

I found this link as well. Someone is claiming on you tube this is the 2012 370z? If its true then it will look sick and I will wait. But I personally think its a bodykit on a current Z...

YouTube - ‪Beautiful 2012 Nissan 370z on 20s‬‏

theDreamer

That is just a white non-sport with wheels & blacked out fang.

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Hambone1

Unknown, I know you're on pain meds dude, so I'll be gentle, but my insurance went DOWN from an Audi S4 to the Z. I also think the boy racer stigma has more to do with the amount of cars modded in that particular style, as well as being performance model variants of commuter or econo cars. The current Z has no downmarket variant, it is essentially an automotive one-off, the closest thing to it in house being the G37. The Evo has it roots in the humble Lancer, STi same story. I could on and on with examples, but I think that has far more to do with the boy racer stigma than it's build location. Not to mention cars like the Dodge SRT4, which are about as heavy on boy racer/ricer image as you can get, despite being American.

Jeffblue

there are like 5 different trim levels of corvettes with different power plants. They have something for everyone. the Z is more or less the same car in any trim.

tsolin01

Where are you getting your sales numbers from? 60k vette sales? really? Do those include used or new model sales?

Production numbers overall have been dropping for the Z since 2003. Oh yea I'm sure Nissan would love to sell 25k to 30k units a year, which by the way they haven't even produced more than 25k units since 2005. I'm talking US sales production btw.

What they could maybe do is spend a little more on Z advertising. I barely see any commercials at all.

__________________
SOLD 12/30/2011 2010 370Z Coupe Monterey Blue 6MT/Touring/Sport/Nav
F.I. CBE CF w/ 12" Res | V1 | SecondSkin | Stillen G3 | EVO-R CF B-Pillars | Volk GT-S Ti Gunmetal 19x9.5 +30 F, 19x10.5 +8 R | Swift Spec-R Springs

Hambone1

350Z U.S. Sales, copied from Wikipedia. I'm not claiming these numbers as the gospel, just a baseline
Year U.S. Sales
2002 13,253
2003 36,728
2004 30,690
2005 27,278
2006 24,635
2007 18,957
2008 10,337

True on the advertising. Aside from the one for the Maxima, I haven't seen anything even showing the Z. Even a few months ago, with the big ad campaign for various sales they had, they didn't even show a Z amongst the other offerings

tsolin01

Here's some production numbers from My350

2003..... 36,728
2004..... 30,690
2005..... 27,278
2006..... 24,635
2007..... 18,957
2008..... 10,337
2009..... 13,117
2010..... 10,215
2011..... 1,138 (through Feb)

Vette production from Corvette Action Center:

2003..... 35,469
2004..... 34,064
2005..... 37,372
2006..... 34,021
2007..... 40,561
2008..... 35,310
2009..... 16,959
2010..... 12,194

I don't know the accuracy of these numbers but it's clear production for all sports cars has been in decline. Adding a few interior bits isn't going to suddenly increase new Z sales...

__________________
SOLD 12/30/2011 2010 370Z Coupe Monterey Blue 6MT/Touring/Sport/Nav
F.I. CBE CF w/ 12" Res | V1 | SecondSkin | Stillen G3 | EVO-R CF B-Pillars | Volk GT-S Ti Gunmetal 19x9.5 +30 F, 19x10.5 +8 R | Swift Spec-R Springs

Hambone1

Looks like we had the same numbers on the 350Z production. As sad as it is to say, I think the only thing that would boost Z sales in this day and age is 2 more seats and a whole lot of interior repackaging. As has been said many times before though, it does make the Z a lot more rare (exclusivity implies some restriction on entry), and does add some appeal to me personally in that regard. I'd also be curious to see Miata and Z4 sales in comparison, I looked around a little but nothing turned up.

Jeffblue

News flash. neither the Z nor the GTR are the bread and butter, cash cow's of nissan. They don't make that much money selling either of these cars. Nissan makes its money selling altimas, maximas, versas, sentras, rogues. They could make hte GTR more fuel efficient, ditch the turbos and DCT and it would be way cheaper then everyone who would otherwise by a maxima could afford one, and they'd sell a hell of a lot more of them. Point is, i'm sure they'd love to sell more Z's but they are more focused on selling more of their main money makers than compromising their higher end sports cars to try and appeal to the masses.

Hambone1

And next up on the nightly news...the sky is blue. In all seriousness, I think the general consensus isn't one of attempting to make the Z a volume seller, more setting it up as a "halo" car along with the GTR simply to attract brand attention.

UNKNOWN_370

This is all fine and dandy and great information. But the topic at hand is being derailed. As far as being gentle on me??? Well you had info and schooled me... is there any reason to get at me harshly other than giving me the info. Anyway thank you for clearing up vette sales for me. I was always under the impression vettes sold more 2 seat sports cars, than any other 2 seat sports cars sold in america.
And as far as the Z being its own car or whatever. Again, hey that's great. My only point is. The car is still affordable enough for a huge chunk of society to obtain. The amount of people that can afford a 33k new car or a 26k used car is pretty high. So boy racer obtainable it is. As far as Z insurance being lower than audi... well that is purely subjective to the area of the United States you live in and what is going on in your area. When I insured my Z. I paid the same rate as my G37 and Altima for full coverage. My insurance is going up in june but its due to increased services. What my insurance will increase due to my accident is still unknown.

Back on the topic that excites and motivates me while going through all this B.S. that I'm going through, is the 370z refresh. I'm just wondering what will be addressed in the refresh. The Z interior is pretty nice for the price. The only thing I can think of is stereo upgrades. Its the only crappy thing on the Z interior. The nav option is among the best in the industry at any price range. Maybe adding a little more color selection on base model seats? Charcoal is the only fabric color. Maybe leather bolsters with cloth inserts will be added on base models like on the hyundai? Lol.
As far as fascia updates, I hope the 2012 grille gets closer to that blacked out GT-R sort of look. It would definately give the Z an awesome look. The Z looks awesome now but the blacked out design is the only design I can dream of worth changing its current look.

Hambone1

The being gentle remark was a joke, which I guess didn't come across as intended. I think that there may be some confusion with obtainable vs. feasible. Yes, the majority of Americans buying new cars today can afford in some way or another a car priced between 26-40k. However this car has to be able to do far more things than the Z can, essentially making the Z completely unfeasible. I also never claimed that the Z was untouchable based on price, my point was that I believe it has a vastly lower "boy racer" appeal due to the fact that it's a standalone model, not a tarted up version of a lower end model.

In regards to the 2012 refresh, I would imagine sound dampening would be high on their list. While most people on here don't care, Nissan likely doesn't have their head in the sand when reading reviews and has taken note of everyone from Consumer Reports to Car and Driver pissing and moaning about how loud it is. I completely agree on the stereo setup, they should do away with the base, and make the Bose stock and add an upmarket setup for the Touring+Nav. The other things would be doing away with the gas gauge and adding other functions to the center gauge pods.

UNKNOWN_370

Yes... so true. The gas gauge is wack. Hopefully they can do some kind of enhanced analog log like the rest of the gauge pod. That would be an excellent upgrade as well. Sound dampening would be upsetting because it will add weight. Unless they are willing to add more carbon fiber to keep weight equal or less? It wouldn't make sense to add sound deadening.

People feed so much into magazine articles its ridiculous. Magazine articles find the Z to be near flawless in performance. So in an effort to make BMW sound that much better. They rant and rave about engine cabin noise which you don't get much of in the 1 and 3 series vehicles. The magazines don't tell you that most dedicated sports cars on the road make a lot of cabin noise. Instead, they make idiotic attempts at comparing the Z to the most average of sports gt coupes in a higher price bracket.
For those that came from high end cars, then took a walk on the wild side and bought low end with the Z,or went from the family sedan/minivan, expected more in the sense of a quiet cabin. Us, with a less refined pallette, that come from older Z cars, v8 muscle and overboosted rotary engines know the Z is fast, noise is normal for what it is and engineering is above and beyond what other cars in the price range are at. Adding sound deadening will change weight distribution and general performance of this car. I will take it off in mine if they add it.

Hambone1

The enhanced gauges would be legit, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for something like the speedo in the S-Class Benz. That way you could have your coolant temp and gas gauge, as well as multifunction options such as tire pressure, etc. As far as sound deadening, while like you said we all have unrefined palates, to the bean counters at a major corporation, the ability to move x number of units more per year, if sound deadening is added, increasing profits by x amount of money, it will likely prove irresistible. My hope is that if they do go that route, it would be something lightweight or easily removed, like foam blocks, wheel well coating, or thicker carpet in the back. It seems pretty stupid to have people complaining about it in the first place, because as an enthusiast who chose the car on my own accord, I knew full well I was getting 2 seats, low storage capacity, cabin noise, and a rough ride, and most reviews act like it's a shock to get in the car and experience these things. However, while everyone here represents the enthusiast population, sadly to say if you look at Z sales since 09, we are in the minority. The boulevard cruisers make up more in sales, thus will carry the day when it comes to changes being made