Car and Driver's Cars Worth Waiting For: 2016 Z

Originally Posted by ZBro16

I really just want to vent about this article quick.

1) Author thinks Hyundai is Japanese, and that 16hp easily makes up for 144 lbs in extra weight.
2) Author thinks horsepower is the only way to measure the performance of a sports car.
3) Author thinks a prospective 370Z buyer will opt for a BRZ because of a back seat.

The author only has an article title. And sales numbers. But the rest of it is pretty much garbage.

The backseat argument is weak. How many sports cars out there don't have a back seat? Miata, Cayman, Corvette, Z, Camaro Z28, Mustang Boss 302, BMW Z4, Honda S2000, just to name a few. I agree the option is nice, but if the lack of availability of a back seat turns you away from any of these cars, then a sports car isn't what you are in the market for in the first place. On top of that, he adds that it has a tiny interior. Seating space in a Z (for the driver - the important part) is larger than that of an FRS. He conveniently leaves the Miata out of that argument.

The fixation on horsepower really makes me think the author has only ever driven a "sports" car on a dragstrip. Ever tried to sail a Challenger around a tight road course against a Z? I would imagine the extra 1000 pounds doesn't help much. It really doesn't matter that the Challenger has 460hp compared to the Z's 332 in this context. Stupid argument. If you like the sound of a V8, excellent. The Z hasn't been in your pool of consideration for the last 43 years.

The car is priced a bit high to make it truly competitive in today's market, and that's not because it's not a great performer for the dollar. The 370Z can hang with a Cayman around a track, and that car is $15k more in price. Unfortunately these days, car buyers don't see the value in that comparison. Bang for the buck thrill for simpler-minded drivers goes to the big three - Camaro, Challenger, Mustang. They perform great and the put your head back in the seat and Americans are typically built a little bigger on average so a big muscle car is just... easier. I get it.

Stupid articles like this aren't going to make the Z a better car, IMHO. Stupid articles like this are written by stupid journalists who have a very vague knowledge of the s*** they're writing about. This article is a lazy a** interpretation of sales numbers written by a dude that drives a Corolla XRS on an autocross course and considers himself a sports car aficionado. Hopefully there aren't too many people like him influencing the product planners at Nissan for the next gen Z.