Not meant to stir it up

Originally Posted by m4a1mustang

The sales numbers on the Z certainly have to call into question any next generation at all. Nissan accepted the Z project on the assumption of 30k unit sales in the first year. It's been three years now and the cumulative total of Zs sold has just hit that goal.

Given economic conditions a 2 seat sports car in the $30-45k range is a tough sell. Especially when you have stiff competition from other potentially more practical cars that go for roughly the same price. This has to be weighing on the minds of the bean counters at Nissan. They know we are in for a long and jobless economic recovery here in the US, so they know selling Zs as they are now would likely be a tough sell for at least the next 5 years.

I tend to think the Z will either be cancelled after the 370's final model year, or the next generation will be some sort of hybrid. Something to differentiate from the competition and help advance the brands green initiatives. We all know the world is heading the way of alternatively fueled vehicles, so this would be a good time for Nissan to get ahead of the curve with the Z and offer the first affordable hybrid sports car to the public. They did something similar in 1969 when they brought us the first truly affordable everyman's sports car.

But who knows what will happen. We are only 3 years into the 370. The 350Z went for 7 years if you include the 2009 roadster. The Z32 went for something like 11 years in Japan and 6 in the US. So the 370 could still have 3+ model years ahead of it. Nissan could be planning just to make as many as they can sell for now and if the world looks like it's changing for the better in a year or two maybe they will reevaluate and decide what they want to do for a next generation car.

All we know is that the future is very uncertain for the Z, especially considering it's in a difficult spot right now. Stiff competition and a crappy economy can really make life tough on a sports car.