Originally Posted by Dark Sarcasm (Post 1658036)

why are american sports cars getting bigger engines and foreign sports cars are getting smaller engines?

Originally Posted by brucelidat (Post 1658242)

America is all about bigger is better. And America is about Muscle so we have bigger and bigger engines with more HP. (and also bigger fatter people)

Originally Posted by juicypinkkk (Post 1656295)

^ I KNOW! lol. The 350z was my dream car, but I wasnt in a position to get it so now I have the 370, and to think its gonna be replaced soon is a nightmare ! haha

Originally Posted by LakeShow (Post 1652560)

We are all going to be dead by then anyways. 12/21/12, also Snooki's baby is due that day.:stirthepot:

Originally Posted by Nismodean (Post 1659498)

I'm suprised no one has thought of this. The Mayan calander never incorporated LEAP YEAR! So 12/21/12 on the Mayan calander has long passed!

Originally Posted by brucelidat (Post 1656243)

yup, soonest I figure would be 2015 also. Maybe a new G in 2014 followed by a Z in 2015. So by 2017, all the bugs will be worked out and I will have owned my Z long enough to not feel like I am wasting too much money by trading up. :tup:

Originally Posted by Dark Sarcasm (Post 1658036)

why are american sports cars getting bigger engines and foreign sports cars are getting smaller engines?

Originally Posted by dragonbreath (Post 1660303)

Not exactly true. Supposedly the 2014 Mustang will be a smaller boosted motor in an all around smaller car.

2014 Ford Mustang to Become a "World Car", Lighter and Smaller with an IRS? (The Torque Report)

Also Dodge is supposed to be getting rid of the Challenger and replacing it with a smaller lighter "sports" car. EPA regulations are getting real tight in the next few years so I think the American car companies are pushing out the biggest motors they can before that happens.

Originally Posted by lol1234 (Post 1660440)

pretty sure the new vette is supposed to get a smaller engine

5.5L DI or so I've read (rumor!!)

Originally Posted by m4a1mustang (Post 1660319)

Ford is focused on weight reduction on all new platforms. The 2014 Mustang is said to be at minimum 250 lbs lighter than the current platform (meaning 3,350 maximum weight) while using a more efficient direct-injected 5.0 V8 in the GT model and a turbo I-4 in the base model. The V8 will probably be a North American option while the smaller engine would be in the European car, most likely.

GM obviously has a different approach with their cars. They still like to throw power at a chassis and call it a day. Granted they are equipping their cars with world class suspensions these days, they need to work on cutting down the weight.

Back to the Z... I often wonder if Nissan will increase the performance of the Z to compete with the V8 cars while they develop a smaller sports car to compete with the likes of the FRS/BRZ. Or will they just downsize the Z to compete with the lower performance tier? Who knows. It will be interesting to see how it develops over the next couple years.

Originally Posted by vo2max99 (Post 1678188)

Because Americans typically value straight line acceleration above all else unfortunately. Many don't understand that test track #'s don't even begin to scratch the service when it comes to how fun / rewarding a car is to drive.

It's easy to sell numbers because people understand numbers but it's harder to put into context and thus sell the truly important aspects of a car that make it great. So what happens is that people wrongly / ignorantly assert the quicker / faster car is somehow by default the superior car.

For example, the MX-5 is world renown for being one of the best cars to drive on the planet regardless of price. Most Americans are for whatever reason more concerned with 0-60 times, etc so they'll skip the MX-5 for something which is quicker but not nearly as fun / rewarding to drive. Also many are really concerned with "image" in how other people will perceive them. Yes it's sad but unfortunately true.

As far as making the Z better there are many things they could do. The problem however is in convincing people slower doesn't mean worse. Because as I stated people still ignorantly assert quicker / faster is somehow by default superior.

With that said a good start would be to dish that huge 3.7l V6 which is basically maxed out for something lighter, more refined, etc. Maybe a 3.0L N/A 6 which produces around 300hp. This could help in achieving a closer to 50/50 weight distribution as well. They could also look for ways to shade weight here and there.

The brakes would perform better which brake cooling ducts. Recaro seats such as the ones in the EVO X would be nice. Other than that they could fine tune the suspension for better feedback and improve outward visibility. The car could be made superior without turning out to be faster.

The value of a car should be measured by how it feels from behind the wheel not its numbers so this idea that Nissan would have to build a lower powered version of the Z to compete with the BRZ / FR-S doesn't make much sense.



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