Bad sales new for z's

blackcherry20

Ithought it was good bang for the buck.
Gt-R was too expensive.
The mustang and ford reliability (for me) kicked it off my list although I really wanted a 302Boss...and there are sooooo many Mustangs around.
Corvette too expensive and "old" for me
and the Camaro was just plain to large. If I wanted a family sedan I would have bought a Maxima or an Accord.
THere really wasn't anything else I was interested in becuase I wanted a true sports car. One that looked like a sports car, not one that could just go fast. I wanted the exclusivity (is that a word?)of a two seater that was sexy.
I have a Z! and it turns heads even with Zero mods

I would be interested in seeing the GM/Ford/ sports car sales numbers. Have they gone down too?

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Grand Sport Corvette Arctic White

My_third_Z

This. I was walking to my car in a parking lot yesterday and saw a young guy (~20) looking at my car. When I opened the door he said, "Hey man, nice car!". Had I been driving a car that sells 10 times as well, there's no way that conversation happens because I'm just one of 1000s on the road. I'll take my slow, heavy Z, any day over the Mustang or Camaro.

JungleZ

If Honda and Toyota wanted to make a sport car it would blow Nissan away in quality,pricing, resale value.

Nissan is a cheap company, nobody really wants their overpriced cars only their cheap economy cars.

Red__Zed

Don't have Camaro numbers, but they were doing much better than Ford last I checked.

2xtreme1

YES!!!
370Z is just so sexy .
Looks attracted me first. After looking at engine specs I thought 332hp would be enough for me. Coming from a Honda with probably 100hp it is a rather big leap.

blackcherry20

TY!

I will tell you , I live in a very depresssed area of Ohio and there are sooooo many mustangs, all years, all versions....but mostly run down and not well taken care of and badly modded....embarasses me to think I almost bought one.

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Grand Sport Corvette Arctic White

bdavis89

What the average consumer looks at:

200hp for $24k - FR-S/BRZ
300hp for $24k - V6 Mustang/Camaro
300hp for $32k - 370z
400hp for $32k - Mustang GT/Camaro

What's the best value for hp? Mustang/Camaro

I, like a lot of people here, picked the 370z for the more "sporty" feel, design, and because it was less common. However, the first thing people mention and compare is hp (rightly or wrongly) and that's just the way it is. There certainly is something crazy cool about having 400hp from a $32k car. I almost got one, but it didn't have the same steering "feel" as the Mustang (regardless of how well it actually handles, it doesn't FEEL like its handling well). Most roads are straight(ish), so people in the USA value power more.

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hadokenuh

Someone has pointed out, the price increase is really the problem. For me, I need both Touring and Sport packs. For 2013, the price is around $40K+. That's too much.

I picked up my 09 (fully loaded with NAV) for 26K about 15 months ago. I wouldn't pay 40K+ for a 2013.

blackcherry20

yeah, I got a 2012 sport for 36k (plus or minus).. that was my price point...max. more than that I was not comfortable with...not rich, just a comfortable income and I could not justify spending 40K+ on a two seat vehicle.

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Grand Sport Corvette Arctic White

chops

wow i had no idea the price went up that much. MSRP on a nismo is now 43 almost 44k?!

i know no one pays MSRP, but wow. i think my 2010's MSRP was only 40k. would definitely not pay almost 4k more today, especially since i only paid 35k for mine, new. jesus

kenchan

ok, read the first line "My first car was a 2004 350Z" just told me this kid will not understand the 370Z and why it is the way it is.

Cmike2780

I think you need to look at a lot of things to really know why the sales are so low compared to the 350Z. There was a huge shift in priorities and a lot of performance cars entering the market when the 370Z came out. A big chunk of the target demo was also already filled. Think about it, if you're a fan of the Z and already have a 350 in the garage, it wouldn't be an easy decision to fork over money for a new one during a recession. I'd say the large amount of 350Z sales definitely hindered the overall sales for the 370. They sold something like 150k 350z's overall. It's a nich car and in many way impractical as a two seater. The performance side is subjective, the 370Z was faster than the 09 stang. Nissan just fell asleep since then.

Also a bit unfair to compare a car sales volume in a different segment. It wouldn't make sense to compare the FR-S/BR-Z sales to Boxter,Cayman or Z4 sales for example.

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[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

Bucketlist2012

I have always owned Z's...The 370Z I bought for Looks and the feel of the road when I drive it.

I never see another 370Z on the road, and that is fine by me...Both my Z's are rare to see on the road and I like it that way.

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2009 Sport/Touring 370Z
1971 Z/28 with coil overs, rushforth's, willwoods, Hotchkis. 4 speed
GMC Sierra1500

UNKNOWN_370

Mai Wei Tao's comment was spot on BIG tIME.

"The 370Z is one of the most distinctive cars on the road. At least it is within a price range most would consider affordable. It's styling addressed many of the shortcomings with the 350Z, namely that the design felt incomplete and was starting to look dated by the end of it's run.

The problem with the Z is that it's market has dried up. I think it's a similar problem to what we've seen with less expensive Japanese coupes. The people to whom the car appeals can't afford it and everyone else wants something more upmarket. This is evidenced by the fact that it's expensive twin, the G35/G37 coupe continues to sell fairly well. People want their sportiness immersed in luxury.

A second problem is that it's performance is middling. It's never been a standout in comparisons. There has always been a car better at every individual task than the Z. The fact that people modify them is irrelevant if other cars offer a better starting point.

The Z doesn't enjoy the same kind of loyalty as a Mustang or a Camaro. If they're going to offer a BR-Z/FR-S competitor it would make more sense to revive 240SX. Going upmarket doesn't make sense either, as they've already got the aforementioned G37 and the GT-R. I don't know if the market is there for anything in between either of those cars. A baby GT-R might make more sense.

The point is that as nice as it would be to see a proper successor to the Z I just don't think the market exists anymore. Look at the attention the Juke-R has generated. I don't think the kind of person interested in a performance-oriented compact SUV is ever going to be interested in a low slung sports car. The few who are shop elsewhere."
written by, Mai Wei Tao

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Favorite Quote.
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UNKNOWN_370

Selling more than ford still, but GM numbers dropped as well, Camaro was selling in the 6 digits for a while. Now the are in the 80,000 units annual range, give or take 5,000 units

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Favorite Quote.
"I'm not gonna kill you... I'm just gonna Bash Your Face In" Jack Nicholson-"The Shining". 1980