Jan 19, 2014 article: next 370Z

Rockhound

The problem is, of that list, I think Chevy is the most aware of their customer's desires and most likely to act in a manner they feel honors that, at least when it comes to the Corvette.

Porsche plays their customer base like a fiddle with ridiculous pricing and lousy "German engineering" choices (plastic coolant parts, anyone?). And hey, you guys are clamoring for a fixed roof Boxster? We'll call it the Cayman AND charge you more for it!

I actually like the idea of an owner's letter to Nissan, although it's likely too late and would probably fall on deaf ears. Maybe I'm wrong, but it feels like Nissan really isn't interested in what we think, and I think part of that may be a cultural difference.

The Corvette has been an American icon for 60 years with some ups and downs, but mostly improvements along the way. The Z, while historically significant, has always been an import on our shores; only recently was it at least partially designed with domestic input. And as relatively poor as it sells, I don't know if Nissan corporate cares what we owners want because they apparently want to reach a different demographic.

I also hear how Nissan sees the Z as an important icon to maintain, but with absolutely zero advertising, the public hardly knows it exists. I realize it's hard to deploy capital on advertising a niche car, but maybe they would see a return with slightly increased sales?

I don't mean to be insensitive, but Japanese companies are a proud and stubborn lot, especially because they've mostly been very successful over the last 25 years in the US. Look at the public's reaction to the horrendous Acura beak - and yet they're still pushing that BS on new models. I think if they perceive that the public doesn't like something, that the public is wrong and they just need to be convinced to think differently.